History

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Feb. 10, 1893 – Ms. Estella Finch arrived in Japan as a missionary.
1897 – Due to discouraging results in mission work, Miss Finch decided to return to the United States. That same year she met Rev. Kuroda whose testimony inspired her to continue on with ministry to the Japanese people.
1898 – Rev. Kuroda convinced Miss Finch to begin ministry with Japanese military men and their families.
October 17, 1898 – The “Japan Army and Navy Club” was established in Yokosuka.
September 23, 1899 – The Club building was completed.
June 16, 1924 – Never fully recovering from her illness, Mitsuyo Hoshida, formerly Estella Finch, died at the age of 55 and is buried in Kinugasa.
1935 – The ministry to the Japanese military continued under the direction of Rev. Kuroda until his death in 1935. The Japan Army and Navy Club closed.
1951 – World War II concluded and Yokosuka was occupied by American troops.
1952 – A building was found which seemed suitable for a Servicemen’s Center. It was discovered that this same building was the former Japan Army and Navy Club, established by Miss Finch.
April 12, 1953 – The Yokosuka Christian Servicemen’s Center building was dedicated to the ministry of American servicemen and their families. The first director was Byron Ryals, a Navigator missionary. The center was owned by servicemen and held in trust by a board of trustees representing 7 different mission boards in compliance with Japanese laws. There was a board of directors composed of seven navy men, all stationed in Yokosuka.
April 15, 1961 – The stone wall next to the Center collapsed and caved in the inboard side of the Center damaging about one third of the building.
January 8, 1962 – A fire ravaged the upper floors of the Center, completely destroying the living quarters of the Center Director. New living quarters were built behind the Center building. The Center became a one-story building.
March 1, 1969 – The Board of Directors asked Overseas Christian Servicemen’s Centers (OCSC), now known as Cadence International, to supply leadership for the Center. OCSC sent Rev. Erv Meyers and his wife Elsie. Their ministry of 19 years at the Center became the longest to date since Miss Finch.
1988 – Ray and Char Hauser took over the ministry. They were instrumental in the future in the sale of the land and purchase of the new land.
July 11, 1990 – A fire ravaged the back living quarters of the Center. The house was a total loss. Again a second floor was added to the old Center building to provide living quarters for the Center Directors.
June 14, 1992 – The former “Japan Army and Navy Club”, and present Yokosuka Christian Servicemen’s Center building, concluded 93 years of Christian ministry to the military members of two nations in that location. The land was sold and the Board of Trustees purchased new property and began planning for a new ministry site.
June 11, 1994 – The new Yokosuka Christian Servicemen’s Center, now known as The Lighthouse, is dedicated for the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, under the direction of Larry and Linda Ingalls. They served a total of seven years.
September 2001 – May 2005 – Sharyn Holl serves in women’s ministry.
September 2003 – October 2007 – Paul and Stacy Cassidy, and their family and teacher, Mary King, serve as directors.
August 2007 – June 201 — Yukie Ida serves in women’s ministry.
June 2008 – June 2012 – Jim and Martha Bowden serve as directors.
July 2012 – July 2013 – Matthew and Jill Bachali, and their four children serve as directors.
June 2013 – October 2016 – Lou and Cathy Rozmiarek serve as directors.
February 2014 – May 2016 – Andrea Haddock serves in women’s ministry.
April 2016 – Beth Mabry serves in youth ministry.
September 2016 – September 2023 – Jeremy and Shawna Quattlebaum, and their two daughters, serve as directors.
September 2023 – Duncan & Suzanne Forbes serve as directors