Fergusons to Join Yamanashi Team!
October 2024
In the spring of 2026, Will and Emma Ferguson are set to join Kenji’s team in Yamanashi, where they’ll share the hope of Jesus with the people of Japan—a country that is less than 1% Christian. This is a huge answer to prayer, as they will be Kenji’s first teammates! Looking back, we can see how God has been preparing the Fergusons for this opportunity by aligning their skills, experiences, and passions to perfectly fit this ministry.
Emma’s connection to Japan began years ago through her time at Northstar, a ministry that used outdoor adventures to build relationships and point people to Jesus. As someone who had grown up in a Charis Alliance church, she had been on a number of mission trips before, but about Japan Emma said, “I felt this pull in my heart that I need to go back.” That pull only grew as she learned how prevalent depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues are in Japan. “I struggled with those things myself, but I always had Jesus to fall back on. The Japanese don’t have that,” she says. After Northstar closed during COVID, Emma kept wishing she could find something similar, though she didn’t yet know how. Now that she’s joining Kenji’s team, it’s clear that God had this path laid out all along.
Will had always been drawn to support global missions, since he had grown up in a family that frequently hosted missionaries. On a mission trip to Venezuela, he found himself wondering, “Why did I get my minor in Japanese instead of a useful language like Spanish?” Little did he know that God was weaving everything together for His purposes. “Things kind of fell into place,” he reflects. “This is what Jesus has asked us to do, and this is the opportunity He's laid out for us. Our skills, experiences, and even our childhood backgrounds all seem to point in this direction.” Will jokes that God used Pokemon to help lead him to Japan, as he remembers excitedly recording the anime on VHS as a child.
Emma also has an appreciation for anime, which was a commonality the couple bonded over while dating. And they also used to rock climb early in their marriage before having their two children, Liam and Soren.
They’re excited for all the outreach opportunities they’ll have over the course of their six-year assignment. Not only will they be helping Kenji with the rock-climbing outreach, but they’ll also be able to offer English immersion and maybe even help a local church develop a youth program. (Yes, God has even equipped them with experience as youth leaders too!) Will says, “We’re just excited to meet the needs of the community, build relationships, and disciple people while hopefully getting them plugged into a church.”
The need in Japan is great, and the Fergusons are ready. “It’s not that Japan has heard about Jesus and rejected Him—it’s that many people there haven’t had the chance to hear about Him at all,” Emma says. “And we want to be the ones to tell them.” Together, they hope not only to grow their own ministry support team, but also to inspire others to consider missions in Japan.
After their recent vision trip, the Fergusons saw how their family could thrive in Japan. Their youngest son, Liam, now asks, “When are we going back to Japan?”
It’s so clear that God has called them to Japan, and He has been preparing them every step of the way. Now the only thing they still need is a team of partners. Would you consider teaming up with them as they join God in reaching Japan? Your support—whether through prayer or financial giving—is an investment that is sure to change lives with the hope of Jesus.
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