Yoshihisa & Ashley Nakamura
Our Story
Yoshihisa was born and raised in Himeji, Japan, in a pastor’s family.
At the age of fourteen, he began creating Flash animations, which led him to pursue a career as a TV director. After several years in broadcasting and startup companies, he felt a growing call to bridge faith and technology through creative work.
During high school, he began attending Oasis Chapel Rifu, his grandfather’s home church, where his faith deepened and his walk with Christ became personal.
Today, he continues to serve in the media and creative field as an external director for PBA Lifeline, a Christian TV program, and also contributes to projects such as The Listening Bible. Through these experiences, he seeks to bring light into the media, technology, and creative industries.
Ashley was born in Los Angeles to a Japanese missionary family.
She moved to Japan at the age of seven and spent her formative years there until returning to the U.S. for college and work in Atlanta, Georgia.
After several years in the States, she felt called back to Japan.
Yoshihisa and Ashley first met through the worship ministry Third Place Worship, and later got married.
They are now based in Tokyo, with their first born, and are grateful for this new season of life and ministry that God has opened before them.
Our Ministry
We serve in Oasis Chapel Tokyo, located in Harajuku, in connection with Oasis Chapel Rifu in Miyagi.
Our vision is to see people living in the city fix their hearts on heaven, finding hope and purpose in Christ even amidst the fast pace of urban life.
Alongside church ministry, Yoshihisa directs several creative and missional projects that connect faith, art, and technology.
Magnify Tokyo
A community of Christian artists in Japan dedicated to creating new worship music and gospel-centered creative expressions. Through songwriting, production, and visual storytelling, we hope to nurture a new worship culture in Japan.
CALM
A creative network of about 150 engineers, designers, artists, and leaders who gather to explore faith-driven innovation. Through hackathons, workshops, and collaborative projects, we seek to inspire new ways to live out faith in the digital era.
FaithTech Japan
A part of the global FaithTech movement that connects Christian technologists and innovators around the world.
Yoshihisa serves as Director of FaithTech Japan, helping people in the tech industry discover how their skills and vocation can serve God’s mission.
Through these ministries, we desire to build spaces where people can encounter Christ, grow in their gifts, and live out their calling with joy both inside and outside the church.
Give online here or if you prefer to give by check, make the check out to “JEMS” and write our name on the memo line. Mail the check to P.O. Box 86047, Los Angeles, CA 90086-0047.
If you have any questions please call the JEMS office at 213-613-0022 or email info@jems.org.