Jordan & Nitasha Christian — Tokyo, Japan

Some callings are confirmed in a moment. Jordan's came in 2011, on his first visit to Japan — a nation of 125 million people, one of the world's most developed, and one of its most spiritually unreached, with fewer than 1% of the population following Jesus. He left knowing that he was going back. Years of pastoral ministry, discipleship, and language study followed, and in 2017, when they travelled to Okinawa, God had confirmed the call to the Japanese in their hearts.

Together, they left Birmingham for Tokyo — where some 37 million people live, making it the largest city on earth — to become Elim UK’s only missionary couple planted in Japan.

Rooted in a local church community, Jordan serves across the life of the congregation — leading an English-speaking small group and developing the media team. Nitasha's ministry is very relational and quietly powerful: building the kind of deep, unhurried friendships that Japanese culture requires, and keeping their home as an open door for neighbours, seekers, and visitors from around the world.

But their gaze is fixed further ahead. Jordan and Nitasha are here for the long haul — to become a legitimate local presence, to inspire deep community, and ultimately see Jesus as the supreme joy in the hearts of the people of Japan. Their call is to see a gospel community take root in one of the most unreached cities on earth: a community where disciples make disciples, and the next generation encounters Jesus in the fullness of who he is.