Team

Richard and Yuko met in Cambridge, England in 2000. Yuko is from Yokohama, Japan, and Richard is from Edinburgh, Scotland. After university Richard worked as an English teacher in a Japanese high school and then as a tax accountant in London. Yuko worked as a technical translator for Fuji-Xerox and then in the risk management department of a Japanese investment bank. While in seminary, Richard served as an intern in Japanese churches in Sendai, Yokosuka, and Kawasaki. As mission partners with JCL (Japan Christian Link), Richard and Yuko focused on Japanese diaspora ministry and student evangelism for five years in Oxford, England. Richard now serves as Dean of Students and Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at CBS, and Yuko develops Japanese-language gospel resources as CBI Media Translator and Editor. They have two school-age children.

Damon and Young-Mi are from southern California and have two daughters, Aliya and Mikayla. They have been serving in Japan since February 2015 as missionaries sent by Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, CA. Damon (PhD, Old Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary) serves as Lecturer in Old Testament at CBS, and Young-Mi (MA, New Testament, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) focuses on women’s ministry. Damon and Young-Mi have a heart to help build strong, gospel-centered churches in Japan. They desire to nurture and equip the upcoming generations for Christ by training church leaders and seminary students, encouraging Japanese Christians, and sharing the gospel through relationships and other ministry opportunities. Learn more about the Cha family on their website.

Craig and Yumiko met near Tokyo in 1988 and were married there in 1999. Yumiko is from the city of Tokorozawa, and Craig is from the Washington, D.C. area. The Chapins are missionaries with Mission to the World and have served on the CBI team since 2007. Craig teaches New Testament and serves as the Academic Dean of CBS. Yumiko puts her love of music to use at CBS and Nisshin Christ Church. You can learn more about the Chapins on their website.

Rebecca has a B.A. in Mathematics and worked as a Computer Programmer from 2008 to 2016. She served as a singer and songwriter at her home church in Louisville, KY. where she also co-led community groups and facilitated a women’s study of systematic theology. She began serving with CBI in 2017 as a short-term missionary through Serge. In 2020 she became a long-term missionary and now serves on the Logistics and Communications team at CBI.

Raised in Mie prefecture, Asako became a Christian at Bethel Korean Church in California. In 2014 she graduated from CBS with an M.Div., focusing her studies on biblical counseling. Asako is a licensed counselor in Japan, and works with CBI Counseling managing the STEPS discipleship program, among other things. She and her husband Yu, who pastors All Nations Fellowship (ANF), have two children.

Saori was born and raised in Tokyo before moving to the UK at the age of 13, spending the next half of her life in Surrey and London. She graduated from the National Conservatory in Lisbon, Portugal, where she trained as a professional ballet dancer. In 2013 she became a Christian through the London Japanese Christian Fellowship and was baptized. Shortly after, she began leading a youth group, and after ceasing her pursuit of dancing she worked for six years as cabin crew for an international airline. She is particularly interested in practical ministry, worship through dance, and Christian counseling. Her husband, Satoshi, is currently a student at CBS.

Masakuni Hotta has served with CBI through Mission to the World since 2015. He is a second-generation Japanese American, born and raised in Michigan, where he earned a B.S.E. from the University of Michigan. Soon after college, he moved to Nagoya to serve with CBI while earning an M.Div. at CBS. Kuni currently serves as Executive Coordinator at CBI.

Paul and Yu are missionaries with JEMS (Japanese Evangelical Missionary Society) and along with their children, Isaac and Sara, have been serving together as a family in Japan since 2008. Paul serves as academic assistant and interpreter at CBS. Yu was born and raised in Nagoya and became a Christian when she was in high school. She has a heart for children’s ministry and loves to share the gospel with those who are neglected and struggling in society.

Raised in Nagoya, Yasuyo came to Christ while studying abroad in Ohio as a high school student. At CBI, she serves as the executive assistant to the Leadership Team. She and her husband, the pastor of Logos Community Church Nagoya, have three children.

Mark and Rachel met at Westminster Theological Seminary, where Mark received his M.Div. and Rachel her M.A. in counseling. Rachel is a half-Japanese missionary kid who grew up in Mexico, while Mark immigrated to the U.S. from Korea. They lived in Philadelphia before joining the CBI team in 2019. They serve with Mission to the World and are currently in language school while assisting with the CBI Logistics and Communications Team, building on their experiences in cross-cultural ministry, the arts, and administration. They have three young children.

Karis has a B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Bible and is certified in Biblical Counseling. She served as a singer in her home church in Plano, TX, where she led bible studies for English as a Second Language (ESL) learners. She currently serves on the Logistics and Communications team at CBI.

Etsuko was born and raised in Nagoya. Since her mother was a Christian, she grew up going to church, though she drifted away during middle and high school. After high school she reaffirmed her faith and was baptized by Pastor Kurokawa at Shiga Church. Subsequently she studied in the U.S. for two years before returning to Japan to work for a Japanese company. She then worked for the International Christian Academy of Nagoya (ICAN) for 15 years, during which time she spent two years serving aboard the missionary ship Doulos. Through her experience studying abroad, her time on the missionary ship, and her previous work at ICAN, Etsuko has had the joy of serving alongside Christians from a variety of countries, and she is excited to continue to serve God through her work at CBI.

Tim and Jenny Martin are both from Texas and met in Japan in 2000. Jenny was a missionary in Tokyo, and Tim served on a US Navy admiral’s staff in Yokosuka. Before meeting, Jenny worked as a speech language pathologist and Tim as an officer aboard a nuclear-powered submarine. He sailed to many parts of the world, even two times to the North Pole. Jenny graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary in 2005 with an M.A. in Biblical Studies, and Tim earned a Th.M in 2008. As missionaries with TEAM, they have served in church ministry in the Matsumoto valley of Nagano, and at CBI Tim serves as the Operations Director. Tim and Jenny have two children, Hudson and Annalise.

Matt and Caroline made their first short-term trip to CBI in the summer of 2008 and have been long-term missionaries through Mission to the World since March 2016. Matt holds a Ph.D. from Wheaton College and serves as President and Professor of Old Testament at CBS, previously serving as a pastor and professor in the United States and Australia. Caroline earned an MA in Intercultural Studies from Wheaton College, and together with Matt and their five children – Lydia, Silas, Ethan, Chloe, and Moses – she loves to encourage and support seminary students and serve the local church. You can learn more about the Newkirks on their website.

Originally from Tokyo, in 2008, Taka was the sole member of CBS’ first graduating class, after which he went on to earn his PhD in Religious Thought from Nanzan University. He is currently a professor at Christ Biblical Seminary, teaching mainly church history. Taka is the author of Eirenaeus’ Theology of the Holy Spirit: The Trinity and Deification Revealed in the Second Century (Jobel, 2022). At Christ Bible Institute, he serves as assistant director of the JOJC Center for Church Development and Revitalization. He also serves as a director of the Chubu Division of the Evangelical Theological Society of Japan.

Brett and Taylor began serving with CBI in 2012 as short-term missionaries through Mission to the World. In March 2013, Brett accepted the call to leadership for CBI, and the family committed to long-term service in Japan. As Executive Director and Team Leader, Brett is responsible for casting vision and leading the team and overall ministry. He graduated with an MDiv from Reformed Theological Seminary in 2012 and is pursuing a PhD in Religion and Theology from the Free University of Amsterdam. They are blessed with three children. Brett writes about missional theology on Medium.

Part of Grace Fellowship Church in Northern Kentucky and sent through Reliant; Jason and Anna joined the CBI team in July 2017.  Jason (MSEd, Virginia Tech) has experience in mental health, event management, and marketing. He now serves as the Virtual Project Manager for CBS.  He also assists with other communications and technology projects. Anna (BS, Radford University) is currently engaged in full-time language study and overseas ministries to MKs and TCKs in the city.  They also enjoy worshiping and serving at Grace City Church Nagoya with their two daughters.

William and Mary Jo met while attending Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly, Missouri, and married soon after graduating in 2007. In 2009 they moved to Sendai, Japan, where they both worked at Meysen Academy. Late in 2011 they moved to Aichi prefecture to attend language school, after which their daughter Elnora was born and William began working at Mustard Seed Christian Church in Nagoya. In 2014 their second daughter, Judy, was born, and in 2017 their son Eddie was born. Currently, William is working as the Technology and Logistics Coordinator for CBI.

Ayako is from Tochigi, Japan (located in the northern part of the Kanto region). At CBI she is in charge of accounting and assists with human resources for Japanese staff. Before coming to CBI she worked for a Japanese manufacturing company, dispatched to China as the supervisor of human resources and general affairs department for eight years. After returning to Japan, she worked for a Christian NGO for five years. She is married to Tony, a Korean-American.

Gary and Lois have worked overseas as missionaries in various roles and locations for over 30 years. Sensing a growing spiritual hunger and desire for gospel-centered churches in Japan, they moved to Tokyo in 2015. Those same reasons brought the Watanabes to Nagoya in September 2016 to partner with CBI, where Gary now serves as the Director of JOJC. Their prayer is that JOJC will provide a greater vision for gospel renewal and help train pastors and leaders who are involved in church planting and revitalization throughout Japan. The Watanabes have three adult children who, with their spouses and kids, add much joy to their lives!

In 2009, Shannon discovered her calling to the Japanese people through a Google search. She learned that the Japanese are the second-largest unreached people group in the world, with less than 1% of the population being Christian. At that moment, she knew that God was calling her to support the Church there in whatever way she could. Since then, Shannon has spent four years teaching English to high school students in Japan, one year teaching preschool and three years teaching 8th grade Reading in Dallas, Texas. She also has four years’ experience tutoring elementary students one-on-one and has been a child advocate. While with CBI, Shannon will be focusing on education: teaching elementary at Nagoya Christian School and tutoring the CBI missionary kids in English.

Caleb Stober began serving with CBI through Serge in 2022. Having grown up as an MK of Bible Translators in Papua New Guinea, he has a deep appreciation for the many cultures and peoples of the world. While he wanted to live in Japan ever since childhood, it was not until moving there in 2014 that he began to understand the spiritual need of the Japanese people and desire to see the gospel go forth among them. Motivated by this, he completed both a B.A. in Intercultural Studies & Bible and an M.A. in Global Migration Studies at Columbia International University, writing his thesis on ongoing obstacles to Christianity in Japan. He is excited to continue his work in this area with the hope of helping to improve the health and strength of the Christian witness among the Japanese, a people much loved by God.

Thomas is from Harrisonburg, Virginia, and received his M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary. During his seminary studies he served at CBI as a one-year intern (2017–2018), and after finishing seminary he returned to CBI in 2020 to serve as a two-year intern with Mission to the World. Currently he serves as the administrative assistant for JOJC while he pursues language study. Thomas helps with church planting classes and manages projects related to JOJC, engages in outreach and evangelism, and enjoys meeting people over good food and board games.