Speakers

Plenary Speakers
Tsuyoshi Uchikoshi		He is from Sapporo, one of the top 3 popular cities to live in throughout Japan. He began attending Azusa Pacific University in 1994 and even though his grades weren’t so great, he spent an extremely fun time as an international student and evangelized. While he was there, he met Katsuya Iida (currently the senior pastor of J-House) and they began Funky Friday Night together. This expanded to Azusa Pacific University two years later. After graduating in 1998, he became the pastor of his home church, Airin Chapel Christian Church. He holds Next Generation Ministry’s “MEBIG” seminars in over 30 places inside and outside of Japan. He is also a consultant for Next Generation Ministry’s training, development, and growth and also holds dating seminars for young adults. He has a family of 6, with 3 daughters and 1 son. He really likes playing hard, and eating food so good that it’s emotionally moving. He especially likes pizza from VPN (Vera Pizza Naporitana), a restaurant approved and licensed by Naples (and also snake stew from Taiwan: it’s delicious). Additionally, he likes laughing, deer-hunting, basketball, playing with nerf guns, slacklining, bouldering, drinking specialty coffee, licking olive oil, drawing on the faces of people who are asleep, and he still has many other interests and hobbies, but his favorite is his wife. Oh, how wonderful this life given to us by God is! http://facebook.com/tom.uchikoshi (Please send me a message along with the friend request) ◎ What’s your favorite color? Orange ◎ What’s your favorite breakfast item? Natto with okra, Chinese yam, grated daikon, kimchi, nametake mushrooms, and shiso leaves that’s stirred 200 times. ◎ What’s your favorite Bible verse? Romans 12:1, Ephesians 2:10 ◎ What did you want to be when you were younger? I wanted to be the kind of adult that could eat one whole pickled radish rather than just a few slices. ◎ What do you do to relieve stress? Do something really active ◎ If you were given a day that you wouldn’t die no matter what you did, what would you want to test out? I would ask my friend who is an expert deer hunter to shoot at me while I run through the mountains trying to dodge his bullets all day. ◎ What you’re excited about for EC (your expectations)? I wasn’t able to attend while I was studying abroad in the US so I am really looking forward to it. I also want to eat at In’n’Out Burger. ◎ A message for EC participants: Let’s have fun together. Let’s fall in love with the awesomeness of Jesus.
Kazuhiko Yamazaki-Ransom		Born in 1970 in Osaka and grew up in Kanagawa, Kazuhiko became confused about the meaning of his life his second year of college, but met Jesus and was baptized. He earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Science from the University of Tokyo. He dedicated to full-time ministry as a doctoral student. He married his American wife in 1999. In 2000, he and his family moved to the United States and he studied at Bethel Seminary (St. Paul, MN), and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (suburbs of Chicago, IL). He earned his Ph.D through his study of the New Testament. After returning to Japan in 2006, he began teaching at Revival Biblical Seminary, and is now its principal, as well as the chairman of Japan Evangelical Theological Society in the Chubu area. He has written The Victory of the God of Peace (Praise Press), The Roman Empire in Luke’s Narrative (T&T Clark) and others. He updates his blog Through a Glass (1co1312.wordpress.com) regularly. He currently lives in Shinshiro, Aichi with his wife and three teenage daughters. ◎ What’s your favorite color? I don’t have a particular color in mind, but maybe black, brown and orange. ◎ What’s your favorite breakfast item? Lao Gan Ma Chilli With Soya. Natto for Japanese food, and bacon with maple syrup for Western food. ◎ What’s your favorite Bible verse? I have a lot, but I especially like Revelation chapters 4 and 5. In terms of specific verses, I like Romans 8:38-39 and 2 Corinthians 4:7. I also like Ecclesiastes 1:2. ◎ What did you want to be when you were younger? When I was in elementary school, I wanted to be an astronomer. Before that, it was something that’s now considered... illegal? Dangerous? So it’s a secret. ◎ What do you do to relieve stress? I have a lot of answers for this one, and it depends on the situation, but... I drink coffee and/or tea (I especially like Chinese tea), listen to music (everything from Gregorian chant to heavy metal), play guitar (alone, because playing in front of people is stressful), read poetry and/or novels (I like to read fiction instead of realism when I’m tired), take a nature walk, look at the sky (I especially like watching the sunset and moon), and sharpen pencils (with a knife, of course) etc. ◎ If you were given a day that you wouldn’t die no matter what you did, what would you want to test out? I would spend a day without reading any books. ◎ What you’re excited about for EC (your expectations)? I was extremely blessed from attending Global Returnees Conference 15. I expect even greater blessings from EC. ◎ Your thoughts on ministry for Japanese people abroad: There are many Japanese people that meet Christ for the first time when they are abroad. I believe serving to lead these people to salvation, building them up, and sending them out is such a precious thing. ◎ A message for EC participants: I’m looking forward to meeting you all!
Men's/Women's Plenary Session Speakers
Go Kaneda		Born in 1966 in Australia, Go moved to Canada at the age of 10 and lived there for two years due to his father’s job. After he returned to Japan and looked to connect with English speakers, he met a Canadian missionary and eventually came to know the Lord. After graduating from university, he spent 8 years as a businessman before earning his M.Div from Briercrest Seminary in 2000. Since 2002, he has planted and is pastoring Lynnwood Japanese Family Church north of Seattle. (www.ljfamily.org) He loves to sing. As a student, he formed a band at church and sang for Living Praise of Word of Life Press Ministries. He loves to laugh. Though lately his kids make fun of his “dad jokes.” He loves Jesus and the Bible! Speaking so that the Bible is practical and easy to understand for others is what he lives for. His family consists of a beautiful wife, 4 sons (ages 24, 21, 15, and 14), two dachshunds, and 4 chickens. ◎What’s your favorite color? Black, white, blue, yellow... I haven’t really thought much about it... ◎What’s your favorite breakfast item? I usually don’t eat breakfast, but I really like breakfast sausage. ◎What’s your favorite Bible verse? Romans 8:28, Hebrews 12:2, and many others. ◎What did you want to be when you were younger? A pilot... but I was afraid of hijacks. A professional baseball player... but I wasn’t that good so I couldn’t. I was a pretty realistic child... ◎What do you do to relieve stress? Go on a date with my wife, or play free online games. ◎If you were given a day that you wouldn’t die no matter what you did, what would you want to test out? This means that I not only die but don’t get hurt either right? Maybe skydiving, paragliding, spacewalking, or flying a fighter jet. ◎What you’re excited about for EC (your expectations)? I’m really excited about God’s incredible works! I’m also thankful that He will use me for those works! I hope I can take home a little bit of youth from everyone. ◎A message for EC participants: Let’s immerse ourselves in the love of Jesus and have a blast! ◎Your thoughts on ministry for Japanese people abroad: There are people that come to church in America even though it would be unimaginable in Japan (because they want Japanese food). This is a wonderful opportunity God has given to us, right? The fact that these opportunities are being used so that many people can meet Jesus... it’s truly a miracle of God!
Mariam Kaneda		Born February, 1968 in Tehran, Iran to a Japanese father and Assyrian mother. She lived in Iran for 16 years and speaks Japanese, English, Farsi, and Assyrian. She’s a mother of 4 sons, ages 25, 21, 15, and 14. Her husband is the pastor of Lynnwood Japanese Family Church. She met Jesus when she studied abroad in Australia at the age of 19. Two weeks later, she returned to Japan but fell back into the same lifestyle. However, God did not let her go and brought her back in a wonderful way. She is often called “spontaneous” or “free person.” During the bubble period she worked at a bank, then as a patissier, and then as an educator before she arrived where she is now. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, going to the beach, baking, and drinking good coffee. Her hobby is brushing her teeth. ◎What’s your favorite color? White ◎What’s your favorite breakfast item? A full Japanese meal like dinner. ◎What’s your favorite Bible verse? Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10) ◎What did you want to be when you were younger? Wrapper (a person who wraps presents) ◎What do you do to relieve stress? Jogging, going to the gym, baking, spending time with my husband. ◎If you were given a day that you wouldn’t die no matter what you did, what would you want to test out? I would like to try going into the cage of a lion or tiger at a zoo and play with them, or take a walk in a safari park. ◎What you’re excited about for EC (your expectations)? I sincerely hope all participants will be able to grasp God’s love on the Cross and take it back to where they have been placed. ◎A message for EC participants: I am looking forward to participating in EC16 and getting to know everyone. ◎Your thoughts on ministry for Japanese people abroad: I am very thankful for the opportunity to be involved in this ministry because I myself was saved as an international student. I hope many people will come to know Jesus and also hope to be used by the Lord to expand His Kingdom.