I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio and studied Chemical Engineering at Purdue University in Indiana. As a student I attended the Urbana ’96 student missions conference and was challenged to see more fully God’s heart for the world. After graduating and working as an engineer in Milwaukee for a year, I left to serve short-term with a church in Japan from 1999-2001.

Back in the States I soon met and married my lovely wife Sarah, and moved to Atlanta to serve in a multi-ethnic ministry role. We eventually returned to Japan as a family from 2006 – 2019. We served in outreach ministry to college students for several years and then spent the bulk of our time supporting Japanese Pastor Seima Aoyagi in planting Grace Harbor Church in the Tokyo Waterfront. A significant family health issue brought us from Tokyo to live in Northern Colorado. We are blessed to still work full-time with our global mission organization (Mission to the World) to support ongoing church planting in Japan in a variety of ways – on both sides of the Pacific.

Sarah and I have 5 kids (Olivia, Annabella, Calvin, Gideon, and Sophie) ranging from college age down to elementary. They are God’s great gift to us! I enjoy life with my family, listening to music, playing guitar and piano, using Japanese when I have a chance, and taking online classes from Covenant Seminary.

Email: jon@thetownchurch.org