October 1, 2026
TIGARD, Ore. – This fall, a Japanese-language church is to start in Chicago, adding to 52 others in the Southern Baptist Convention. A Japanese Baptist church in Tosu, on a southern Japanese island, started as a Bible study last year.
The Japanese Church Planting Network (JCPN) celebrated both during its recent annual meeting at Japanese International Baptist Church in Tigard, Ore., near Portland.
“We are now planting several small groups in Washington, D.C. and [nearby] Virginia; Orlando, Fla.; Kyushu, Japan; and Fukushima, Japan,” Executive Director Mike Yokoy told Baptist Press.
About 150 people gathered for the June 22-25 annual meeting designed to be a time of prayer, worship, fellowship and encouragement, Yokoy said. The theme was “For this Gospel,” based on 2 Timothy 1:9-11.
Special guests included Yasutoshi Takagi and his wife. He is part of the Japan branch of JCPN and pastor of Hasune Baptist Church in the Itabashi-ku area of Tokyo.
Speakers included Mike Yokoy, emeritus pastor of the Tigard church; Go Kaneda, pastor of Lynnwood Japanese Family Church in Lynnwood, Wash.; Yuji Hayashi, pastor of San Diego (Calif.) Japanese Hope Church; and Masaomi Takeuchi, pastor of Japanese International Baptist Church of Tacoma, Wash.
Worship was led in each of the sessions by the worship team from the JCPN-affiliated churches. The Wednesday afternoon session included a musical concert featuring “Duo Takase” performed on a piano and violin.
Sushi Ki-ichi, a Tigard restaurant, catered traditional Japanese sushi and bento meals.
Shuji Go was introduced during the Monday evening session. After he and his wife, students at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago, attended the 2025 JCPN annual meeting in Missouri last year, they changed their minds. Plan A had been to continue until they’d earned doctorates, but as a result of their time at the 2025 Japanese Church Planting Network gathering, they decided to start a Japanese language church in Chicago.
Shuji Go has now been assessed by the North American Mission Board and is approved as a Send City church planter, building a core team with plans to start services this fall.
“The Lord led us to start JCPN,” Yokoy told Baptist Press. “We simply felt the need for more Japanese-speaking churches across the U.S. because we have a lot of people coming here from Japan and we want to preach the gospel to them starting when they first arrive.”
It’s difficult for people who don’t speak English to understand biblical concepts – and even Bible stories – when preaching and teaching is done in English. Even for those with an understanding of English, it’s still their second language so Bible study is more difficult than it needs to be.
“We decided we need to teach the Bible in their own language because once they grow up in the Spirit by hearing Bible truth in their own language, then they start growing much faster than they would in the second language,” Yokoy said. “We want to raise more and new leaders for the future, so it is important to understand the Bible.”
Yokoy said he’s heard that only 1 out of 10 new believers survives as a Christian once they return to Japan.
“It is not easy to have Christian faith in Japan,” the leader said. “That’s why we decided to go back to Japan three years ago to start churches.”
One couple who had started two churches in the Los Angeles area started a church two years ago in Okinawa, and Yokoy is now preparing to start services at a church plant this year in Tosu.
“I am trying to reach other people in the U.S. to do church planting in Japan,” Yokoy said. “New Japanese-language churches in the U.S. to reach Japanese [immigrants] with the gospel and help them grow in the Spirit. And new Japanese-language churches in Japan because the need is so great there.”
People with an interest in short-term mission trips to help churches in Japan might be interested in Tohoku, Japan, “devastated by a tsunami where they still need help and hope,” Yokoy said; “Tokyo, where 16 million people live; and Kyoto, for the best sightseeing of the old temples and the culture.”
___
This story appeared in Baptist Press.
Share with others
