Japan Mission At-A-Glance
On this page, you will find a wealth of information about our family and our work, along with information on how you can partner with us. Thank you for considering this work!
About Our Work
Our family works with the Matsudo Church of Christ in Chiba Prefecture. Matsudo is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, and boasts a population of 500,000 itself, but at least 2 Million people live within 30 minutes of the church building. Only 1% or less of Japan is Christian, so there is much work to do here! The Matsudo church has existed for 60 years, and has been growing steadily in the last few. We have gone from just 8 members when we came in 2020, to 27 members now. We are excited for the growth, and are praying for more to come, to the glory of God and his Kingdom!
Our Vision For Japan
We’re told in scripture that the nations of earth will bring their “glory and honor” into God’s holy city (Rev. 21:22-27), and it is our heart’s desire to see many Japanese people taking part in that promise. We have a vision of following Christ’s Great Commission, making disciples and helping them grow in their walk with God. We envision the Matsudo church filled with dedicated disciples using their individual gifts to serve each other and to have an impact for the cause of Christ in the community. We envision bringing our own talents to the local work and the broader kingdom work across the country. Our vision is to do all of this using both tried-and-true methods, while also using modern tools and our unique gifts to serve the kingdom in Japan.
Frequently Asked Questions
We are the Taylor family: Leslie, Sara, Cambria, Madeline, and Boston. Leslie and Sara have been married for 18 years. Like Priscilla and Aquila, Leslie and Sara work together as missionaries in the service of God’s kingdom, combining our gifts to serve the Lord. Our children are also an important part of our work, and are such a gift in everything we do in Japan. You can read more about our family here: About The Taylors
Short answer: a long, interconnected series of events! Long answer: Leslie lived in Japan as a kid, and was even baptized here. Towards the end of his college undergraduate years, he began looking into how to go back to Japan for mission work. This produced some connections which, 5 years later, ultimately led to our family working as vocational missionaries in Okayama Prefecture in 2010-2011. After that first year, we decided we wanted to come back as full time missionaries, which led us to our first work in Matsudo from 2012-2017. After a few years back in the states, we felt God calling us back to Matsudo to continue the work, and returned in 2020.
We don’t have a set timetable, but we are committed to helping the Matsudo Church of Christ be in a stable position moving forward for years to come. We have currently been here for about 5 years.
Our primary focus is on serving the Matsudo church, helping the members grow as disciples of Jesus, and helping the church grow into a mature body, rooted and grounded in love, capable of continuing the Kingdom work on their own. We also work to build connections and rapport in the community so that the name of Jesus is known and honored within it, and so that more may enter his Kingdom. Additionally, we are currently helping the church through the process of renovating the building, which is quite old and (literally) falling apart. We serve beyond this both locally and nationally as much as possible. Find our more about our mission plans by clicking on the following link: Our Mission.
The Matsudo Church of Christ is an international body of Jesus-followers in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture. Our congregation is a Japanese church, but we are made up of members from many nationalities, including China, Lithuania, Philippines, and Korea (aside from Japan and America, of course). Our Sunday services are held bilingually in both Japanese and English each Sunday.
Our sponsoring church is the La Grange Church of Christ in La Grange, Texas. We are grateful to be partnered with this wonderful congregation!
We believe the core elements of the Christian faith which comprise the gospel (i.e. the things of first importance in 1 Cor. 15:3-8) are non-negotiable, as our connection to Christ hinges on our fidelity to these. (Gal. 1:9). It is important that we stand firm on the truth of God’s word, and call sin for what it is (Eph. 4:17-25), always in love. However, on peripheral doctrines where honest questions exist, we believe it is important to extend grace and to “bear with one another” in love. We do not wish to take part in divisive quarrels which lead to discord and strife within God’s church (2 Tim. 2:14ff). We must be actively seeking to grow in knowledge of God’s truth (2 Pet. 1:5), but this is an exercise best done together with fellow believers, as we seek to grow and mature together (Eph. 2:19-22). Our full statement of faith can be found on this page: Statement of Faith.
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Ready to partner with us? In order to join our mission, please fill out the form below. This information will be sent directly to us, and forwarded immediately to our sponsoring church. Thank you so much! We are excited to partner with you and to get to work, producing fruit that is credited to you for your partnership (Phil. 4:17).