Taeko Nakayama

Taeko, like many Japanese people, was born into a nominally Buddhist family. There were no Christians in her town until the arrival of a Liebenzell missionary in 1960. When Taeko was 18 years old she and her friends had the opportunity to visit a tiny church. Three years later she had a strong desire to visit the church again and from that day on her heart was captivated by Christ and a desire to know more about Him. In spite of her parent’s opposition, she kept her faith, and after high school planned to go to a Bible training school and serve Him. She was greatly disappointed when her parents forced her to work for their business. She realized that God had closed all the doors for her plan, yet her longing to serve the Lord never disappeared.

In God’s timing, He guided her in 1979 to go to Bible School in the United States. Two years later, God fulfilled her desire to serve Him by unexpectedly opening the door for her to reach Japanese business people and their families who had settled in New York City. Since 1981, fifteen years after receiving His call, Taeko has been ministering to both saved and unsaved Japanese men, women, and children.

In 2002, Taeko returned to Japan after many years absence when her father had a heart attack. While visiting him, she reconnected with her Christian friends and other Christians. She was shocked to discover that they had not grown spiritually and she had a great burden for them. Since that time, she has visited Japan every year to teach Inductive Bible Studies to the Japanese Christians. Her burden increased as she saw more needs for teaching. For the past several years, she has split her time between teaching in the USA and Japan, traveling twice a year to Japan. Taeko is always seeking opportunities to teach Inductive Bible Studies to help the spiritually hungry study the Word of God wherever God opens a door. Over time, she has seen her student’s spiritual eyes opened as they enjoy their in-depth study of the truths found in God’s Word.

In 2017, Taeko inherited her father’s house in Japan and has dedicated it for use as a Christian Training Center. Desiring to expand her ministry, she is currently seeking God and asking for Him to supply individuals with a similar vision who will be able to aid her in making the training center a reality.