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Continue reading →: Beyond Colorblind: Redeeming Our Ethnic JourneyWhen people meet me for the first time, they often assume that I’m Japanese because of my last name. But “Yamasaki” is my married name, and I’m actually third-generation Chinese-Canadian. “Oh, Chinese and Japanese,” said a new acquaintance recently. “You have a cross-cultural marriage.” She didn’t assume that all Asian…
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Continue reading →: Ministering to Grieving PeopleMinistering during times of grief is a significant portion of the pastoral work of the church, yet even with training and experience, the struggle to “find the right words” remains constant in most of our interactions at these emotion laden times. – “Ministering During Times of Grief,” The Thomas H.…
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Continue reading →: The Pastor-Congregation Ministry Duet“Every pastor in Ontario is writing their memoir”–or so I’ve been told. I hope so, since stories of ministry and of the church are precious and have a lot to teach us. And I hope every memoir is as engaging as The Pastor-Congregation Duet by Gary Harder, a long-time pastor and…
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Continue reading →: Increasing Your Church’s Capacity for ConversationIt is in our churches, I believe, that we learn how to talk well with others. – C. Christopher Smith I wish that were true, don’t you? That in our churches we would learn how to talk well with others—instead of talking past one another, or taking up positions of…
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Continue reading →: Flourishing Congregations: From Understanding to PracticeSince I first heard of the Flourishing Congregations Institute, I’ve been a big fan of their work. While much has already been written on the church in the U.S.A. and U.K., Flourishing Congregations is doing original research on the church in Canada. While some focus on what’s wrong with the…
When You Work for the Church
Hello,
I’m April Yamasaki
Welcome to When You Work for the Church. I’ve been a church volunteer and a full-time pastor. I’ve led small groups and served on denominational committees. When I resigned from pastoral ministry to focus on my writing, I knew that I wanted to be—needed to be—grounded in a local congregation. I love the church!
But I also know that churches and church organizations have not always lived up to their calling, have brought harm instead of healing. So I started this website to share resources for doing ministry better, and pray that together we might serve more faithfully and effectively.
For a healthy rhythm of work and rest, I’d love to send you my ebook.
When You Work for the Church 