College Minor Chosen “on a Whim” Leads Zeke to Japan

Zeke felt God nudging him toward ministry ever since high school, but becoming a pastor just never felt like a good fit to him. “I really had no idea what I was going to do,” he says, “I thought I would just probably take some type of regular ministry position.” So, with that in mind, he went to Grace College, majored in Biblical studies, and trusted God to direct his path from there. 

Missions wasn’t even on his radar at first. “I had never really thought of doing missions, but I had to add a minor, so I added intercultural studies,” he says. “It was kind of on a whim—it wasn't really for a particular reason.” Little did he know that God would use those classes to direct his future. 

As he heard people talk about reaching the unreached, God gripped Zeke’s heart. “It just sort of really grabbed me and made me think ‘This is something that feels right for me to do,’” he says. That growing sense led him to consider Japan, a place he had already come to appreciate through its culture and films. 

The more he learned, the more it stayed with him. “Japan is the second most unreached people group for the gospel, which surprised me because Japan's not particularly hostile towards it like some other places are,” Zeke says, “and yet it's almost at the very bottom of the list of reached people.” 

Right around the time that Zeke was considering Japan, Encompass missionary Joan came to share in one of his cross-cultural classes. Zeke says, “I thought it was interesting coincidence that I was thinking about Japan specifically and then somebody who was a missionary to Japan is in class.” That moment gave him the clarity he needed. 

Now Zeke is about to go to Japan with Encompass this summer for a three-week internship. He will travel to three different cities to observe and participate in Encompass’s local ministries. Zeke and his teammates will participate in a book club used for outreach, engage with local churches, and see how one ministry uses extreme sports to share the gospel.  

“Pray that God would work in me, that it would be sanctifying, and that it would allow me to learn more about how I can better serve God's kingdom,” says Zeke. Thanks for praying for Zeke and consider supporting him as he discovers God’s calling for his life.