Jessica Bryant
Jessica joined the Japan field in Tokyo in the spring of 2022. She had sensed the call to Japan since the age of 12, and had wanted to join the Alliance for just as long. Jessica graduated from Nyack college with a B.A. in Intercultural Studies with the hopes to engage in creative evangelism strategies and church planting. She is currently in her 2 years of language study and learning a lot about the people and culture. Jessica is looking forward to the many fun conversations and relationships that will blossom in the years to come and to see God’s work among the Japanese.
Julie Harris
Julie grew up in Japan as the daughter of missionaries and felt called to missions as a middle school student. After college and church ministry, she came back to Japan and served with the Alliance from 1978 until 1996. During those years, she saw people come to faith, new churches established and Christians growing in their faith. After more than twenty years of ministry back in the US, the door opened for her to return to Japan in October 2019 with Envision. She is grateful to come alongside pastors and missionaries to share God's love and see people come to faith in Christ.
Joseph and Venus Hui
Joseph and Venus were both born in Hong Kong and raised in New York. They met at Queens Herald Church in Flushing, NY and married in April 2019. They arrived in Sendai, Japan in September 2022 with their one-year-old son, Josiah. They are serving with marketplace ministries. Joseph works in the tech industry, and Venus is an attorney. They hope to partner with the rest of the Alliance team in Sendai to love and witness to the local community. The Huis enjoy hiking, traveling, and eating Japanese food.
David and Evangeline Kindervater
We have been in Japan with the Alliance since 1998 helping to plant churches in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Currently we are working with a team to plant a church in the Tokyo bay area. Evangelizing and making disciples here in Japan, we have the privilege of telling wonderful people about a wonderful Savior.
C&MA ProfileAlan and Jill Kropp
The Kropps have been with the Alliance in Japan since November 2008. They lead the Ishinomaki New LIFE Center and are involved in church planting. The Kropps have four children.
C&MA ProfileQuinn McGarvey
Quinn moved to Japan from North Carolina in November 2017. She is helping plant a church in Sendai. Quinn felt God calling her to Japan while working with Japanese international students in the United States. She loves hammocking, visiting cafes, and connecting with people over coffee or a meal. Quinn’s heart is for people to know that they are loved, valued, and treasured by God, and to help them discover their true identity in Christ.
C&MA ProfileBrad and Julie Nelson
Brad and Julie both graduated from Crown College with intercultural Studies degrees in 2005. They stayed in Minnesota to pay off student debt and ended up finding ministry jobs that they both loved in Minnesota. They have a passion for working with and mentoring children, young adults, and families. It wasn’t until 2020, that God renewed their call to missions, provided a way out of their debt, and opened the door to an opportunity to start an Envision Site in Sendai, Japan. They are excited to find and develop missional leaders through short term trips and ministry internships. They look forward to partnering with Christian ministries to spread the hope of Jesus in Japan. They have 3 children: Jaron, Clive, and Eleanor.
Don and Hazel Schaeffer
We both grew up in ministry homes. Don's dad pastored an Alliance church in Cleveland. His first interest in Japan came at age 10 when he heard Mabel Francis. Hazel grew up in the Philippines to Scottish parents. We first came to Japan in 1984. We have planted two churches and have been in leadership for 9 years. God has blessed us with 5 children who love the Lord and 13 grandchildren. Our heart is to see strong churches being planted and reaching out in their communities with the life-changing power of the gospel.
C&MA ProfileDon and Rachel Schaeffer
Don was born and raised in Japan as a C&MA missionary kid. Rachel was born and raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Don and Rachel met at Toccoa Falls College in Georgia and graduated with degrees in cross-cultural studies. They married in 2012 and spent their first two and a half years teaching English in Japan. Don and Rachel moved back to the States where Don served on staff from 2015-2019 at Plymouth Alliance Church in Wisconsin. They have three children, Donald, Elliot and Samuel. Their family enjoys hiking and camping. Don and Rachel equally enjoy drinking coffee and eating delicious food.
C&MA ProfileNicholaus and Katie Strob
Nicholaus and Katie moved to Tokyo in January of 2024. They are currently in language study and learning all they can about the culture and people of Japan. Katie originates from Ohio, Nicholaus, various southern states. They met and married at Toccoa Falls College and completed their ALME service in Iowa. They are deeply motivated to learn Japanese, to be effective communicators of the Gospel, and join the church planting endeavors in the Tokyo region. They have two children, Josiah and Lily, who are enthusiastic about life and sweet souls. The Strobs love adventuring, trying new foods, playing board games, and spending time with people.
Nghi and Jessica Tran
The Trans first came to Japan in 2008 as short-termers serving with OMF missionaries in Aomori. They came back to the States with the confirmation from God that they would go back to Japan as missionaries. Eight years later with 4 young children, they came back as C&MA missionaries. Nghi, originally from Vietnam, met Jessica, a Texas girl, when he was pursuing his graduate degree in Texas. By His grace, God has brought together these two people of different cultures to join Him in His heartbeat for the world.
C&MA ProfileStephen and Yire Woerner
We are church planters in Japan with the Christian and Missionary Alliance. We were both raised overseas and met in undergrad, where we discovered we both felt called to Japan. Upon finishing our seminary studies, Stephen was ordained, and we were appointed as full-time workers. We are currently starting a church in the city of Sendai, which is the hub of the Tohoku region. We have three boys and one girl.
C&MA Profile