Jon and Maki Robison

WHO WE ARE:

Jon and Maki both grew up as pastors’ kids, one in Southern California, the other in Tokyo. We have been serving as missionaries in Japan since 2008. Over the years we have assisted Japanese pastors at churches and helped complete a church plant project in northern Japan and we are currently serving at a local church plant in West Tokyo. We also work on creative outreach solutions unique to the Japanese church, as detailed below.

WHAT WE DO:

1. Church Planting and local outreach

As we seek to bring God’s light to the community, we are working with a team of missionaries on a church plant in the next town over from ours. This church plant is staffed by missionaries, but within the Japanese Keisen Christ Church network, great partners for church multiplication! Jon is on the pastoral team and preaches monthly, and Maki helps coordinating special events and enjoys meaningful conversations with ladies and children.

Since our children go to local Japanese schools and belong to local sports clubs, most of our local friends are non-Christians. We also are members of a local gardening club where we grow vegetables together with local people. Maki volunteers as our daughter’s preschool’s parents event coordinator and school district patrolling volunteer coordinator. Our house is a place for children and mothers to come and hang out.

We are glad to share our lives together with local families and hope to nurture friendships with them long-term to see as many as possible finally come to Jesus. (In 2024, Maki was asked by her local friends to start a Bible Study group. The group is a mix of Non-Christians and Christians!)

2. Student Ministry

Camp ministry is a great outreach in Japan as many Japanese have been saved at camp, where people feel free from the pressures of society. We’re involved in Joy Bible Camp at Okutama Bible Chalet where Elementary and Middle School students play, eat, sing and listen to the gospel for 2 weeks in the Summer.

3. Japanese Christianity

JCATS – Japanese Contextual and Theological Studies was launched in 2022. It is a media ministry that Jon is working on which seeks to introduce Japanese expressions of the gospel and Christianity to those wanting to reach Japanese people. By introducing Japanese expressions of the gospel and focusing on the felt needs of Japanese people, we hope to equip missionaries to share the gospel in a more natural way for Japanese hearts and minds.

JEMA (Japanese Evangelical Missionary Association) is a networking and equipping group with around 1000 members (most of the evangelical missionaries in Japan are JEMA members). Jon is a Leadership Team member of JEMA (since 2024) and he will be working on a new project to help missionaries network for more effective ministry across Japan.

4. Online Ministry

Maki has a vision to create an online community for Japanese Christians to share their daily lives and devotional thoughts. She is also serving as a counselor for an online suicide prevention program.

NEXT PHASE:

Our time in Kodaira has been a huge blessing! Now we feel God is calling us to lean into our neighborhood outreach. With our desire to continue our local relationships long-term, we want to build a home where our friends can come freely, and see us as ‘lifers’ in Kodaira. We are calling this project Makiba House, Makiba is Japanese for pasture (found in Psalm 23:2), and we want our home to be a place where our friends and neighbors can be nourished by God’s word. 

Recent data collected by Tokyo Christian University suggests that there are three times as many Japanese that call themselves Christians as there are protestant church attendees. Makiba House, our planned home plus meeting space, will be a place for people to come and explore Christianity in a setting where they feel safe. We see it as a stepping-stone toward the full Christian life. This will allow us to hold Bible studies, hangouts, seasonal events, even English conversation classes that friends have repeatedly asked for.

This will be a big, 2-3 year fundraising and building project. We are praying for God’s lead and provision. Your prayerful consideration of a donation for this project is appreciated!

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If you have any questions please call the JEMS office at 213-613-0022 or email us.