Explore Tokyo

Japan is a beautiful country made up of 124 million people, with 38 million living in the greater Tokyo area. While mainly known for its big cities, futuristic technology, and cosplay culture, Japan is also an island country with lush forests and picturesque lakes and rivers. The Japanese culture is closely intertwined with Shinto, the ancient Japanese religion, and Buddhism, which was introduced from Korea in the 6th century. Only about 0.3% of the Japanese population are evangelical Christians, making the Japanese people the second largest unreached people group in the world. Our team’s vision is for God to transform Tokyo through an ever-increasing presence and influence of people who treasure Jesus above all else. The Japanese people are lonely, tired and overworked, seeking success in their careers even at the cost of their emotional and physical health. We aim to introduce them to Jesus so they might believe in Him, know Him, and be transformed by Him. Our team’s mission is to multiply churches by developing, empowering and releasing disciplemakers. Thus far, we’ve accomplished this by starting various evangelistic ministries and planting a network of four “small churches” that meet in homes across the city, and we are always open to new ways the Lord leads us in ministry.An Explore Tokyo intern would join us for 3-12 months and experience the life of a church-planter, learning how to contextualize the gospel to Japanese culture and make disciples. She or he would join one of our church plants, attend our prayer ministries, and participate in one of our gospel outreach ministries, receiving on-the-ground training in evangelism. Because of the short term, this intern would only learn basic Japanese and would do the majority of his or her ministry in English. In addition to the opportunities mentioned, an intern could also contribute through graphic design, managing social media accounts, leading worship and more. We hope to train this intern not to fit into a predetermined mold, but rather to use their unique gifts and strengths to make disciples among the Japanese people.