The Parkers and Japan
James and Cherilyn have partnered with The Navigators, a college-campus ministry dedicated to sharing the gospel and discipleship. The Parkers plan on moving to Japan to minister to Japanese college students. Japan is considered an "unreached people group"; this means that less than 1% of their total population identifies as Bible-believing Christians. With a population of 126.5 million people, there are too many who are lost. Even though Japan is a first-world country, their thriving economy means nothing in regards to their present spiritual darkness. After three years of waiting, the Parkers were finally able to move to Japan on April 10th, 2022!
How You Can Support the Parkers:
Current Prayer Requests:
Please pray for smooth transitioning to life in a new country, and for easy language learning!
Biography: The Parkers
"I (Cherilyn) grew up going to Bay Life with my family (the Hensleys). I was really involved in the youth group, and went on my first mission trip to Costa Rica in the 11th grade. Bay Life is a big part in my story of following Jesus, and when I went to college, I became involved with The Navigators, a campus ministry at the University of South Florida. The Navigators helped both James and I (he was involved with them at the University of Florida in Gainesville) own our faith during the difficult college years. As a result, we came on staff with The Navigators to minister to and impact college students, which we do through Life on Life Discipleship and leading Bible studies on campus. We have done this for a number of years in multiple places, including UF, USF, and UVA.
During this time, God had started to put the nations on our hearts, particularly through leading short-term summer missions trips overseas, including a trip to Japan in 2018. Shortly after that, we felt that God was asking us to move to Sendai, Japan, to minister to Japanese college students. Japan has a huge need for the Gospel; only about 1% of the population have put their faith in Jesus Christ. It is the second largest unreached people group in the world.
Our ministry to college students is called BEST Club, which stands for Bible, English, Sports, and Travel. Through this club, we get to build deep friendships with students and share the love of Jesus through reading the Bible and living life alongside them."