From Japan to Georgia: the Tsuchidas living a life of local ministry

The ministry work of Daisuke and Hiromu Tsuchida is the very definition of loving your neighbor and leading them to Christ. Even over a 30 minute zoom call, their genuine kindness and passion for their ministry was evident.

Daisuke Tsuchida works as a field staff for the Japanese Christian Fellowship Network (JCFN) in Alpharetta, Georgia and his wife, Hiromu, is involved in the community outreach aspect. Their journey did not begin in Georgia, though, or even the United States.

The Tsuchidas were both raised in Christian homes in Japan, a rare thing in a country where Christianity is a minority. Daisuke was working on staff at a university in Japan when he decided to study the Bible in the United States. He had no skill in English at the time, but was determined to learn and was supported by those around him.

“My wife and my mom encouraged me to start studying English,” he said. “At first, it was a big suffering for me, but I enjoyed the time at Bible college.”

The family moved to Columbia, South Carolina, and Daisuke attended Columbia International University where he focused on studying English and the Bible at the same time.

He said that many people thought he was crazy for quitting his job in Japan and letting go of the stability of life that they had there. But he mentioned one interaction with a student that framed his perspective. 

“If I were not in the U.S., I would not have had the opportunity to hear the gospel,” the student said.

Daisuke said this statement summed up a big reason why he felt called to release his grip on stability and follow the Lord’s calling to move to the United States.

Hirmou explained that in Japan, less than 1% of the population is Christian. Once Japanese are outside of Japan, they are surrounded by many Christians and churches. This is drastically different from the culture of Japan, where religion is often a taboo topic.

Hiromu said, “They wonder ‘Why do people give freely?’ The people at the church serve without expecting any return from them. So that's a great opportunity, a great field, for us to be able to explain the gospel through the Americans. Through the American churches and the American Christian culture. Because they become more interested and are ready to listen to it.”

A main aspect of their ministry in Alpharetta is connecting with Japanese in the local area. The couple explained that many Japanese come to the United States for business reasons, and the Tsuchidas’ goal is to connect with these people and bring them into the community of believers. 

“We usually work with Americans,” said Hiromu. “That's our biggest strategy in our ministries, because a lot of Japanese people want to learn English, and they want to be friends with Americans.”

One aspect of their community outreach is Bible studies, both individual and group studies. Daisuke said they called the group studies “Bible chats.” The “chats” typically take place at a café, where they invite one or two American believers and two or three Japanese non-believers, and discuss the gospel and any questions the non-believers may have.

The Tsuchidas also host events at their church, Hope Church Union Hill, during the week.

Hiromu said that many of the mothers have a lot of free time during the day, so the events they host provide an opportunity for her to connect with them.

“Several volunteers, ladies, from the church, will come to fellowship with the Japanese ladies who want to come for fellowship,” she said. “And every time we share a Bible verse and some words of encouragement at the end.”

In addition to the local ministry, JCFN hosts conferences. The most known conference is the Equipper Conference. It is designed to equip Japanese believers as leaders and servants in the church, as well as to encourage Japanese returnees to stand firm in faith even after going back to Japan where there are few Christians or churches.  

As a field staff, Daisuke holds meetings with young leaders who will be serving at the conference. They begin this preparation one year prior to the conference, recruiting people who have almost no experience leading programs and teaching them about leadership. Daisuke said he is there to encourage and train them as they learn about new roles and go through challenges. 

The Tsuchida’s goal, through the conference and their local ministry, is to equip and encourage leaders to be always available for the work of ministry with confidence in Christ. 

“Our biggest focus is to send Japanese people who accept, or are even in the middle of seeking Jesus, to Japan, to connect to a key person [missionary] and to churches and to support them to start their faith life in Japan,” said Daisuke.

Daisuke shared a story of a time they were encouraged by someone’s faith story from the United States to Japan.

He said that there was a woman who accepted Jesus during her time in the United States. She had found a solid Christian community and flourished in the atmosphere of Bible studies and fellowship with American believers. 

When the time came for her to return to Japan, she was sad to go. She was worried that she would not find the same level of Christian community that she had in America.

When she moved back to Japan, though, there was a missionary there who encouraged her to pursue her faith and a Christian community. The Tsuchidas connected her with an international church in Japan and she began meeting with the pastor and his wife.

She is now a member of the church and hosts Bible studies for Japanese people.

“That was a big moment where I felt like, ‘Oh, this is God's grace’ and it was a big encouragement for us,” said Daisuke.

Photos courtesy of the Tsuchidas