Duane & Maddy Young

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light."
Isaiah 9:2

We're relocating to Makuhari in Chiba, Japan, to plant assist in planting New City Church Makuhari. It's a long road, but we're planning to be there for the rest of our lives if the Lord wills it, and we'd love for you to come alongisde us.

Our Mission

Our mission is to shine Christ's light in a spiritually dark country.

Our Vision

We desire to see a healthy, international church in Chiba, Japan that serves its local community lovingly, equips its people biblically, and sends out its members faithfully to multiply and reach all of Japan with the Gospel.

Partner With Us

Long-term gospel work in Japan takes a team, and financial partnership is one of the most meaningful ways to join ours. If you'd like to support our family and this work, please consider monthly or annual giving. You can do this through IBMGlobal by clicking the link below.

Partner with us financially

Want the fuller picture?
Read who we are or learn about the need in Japan.

About Us

We're Duane and Maddy Young. We've been married for over ten years, and our family is preparing for the next chapter of our lives together in Chiba, Japan. We both hold MBA degrees, and for years our path looked like a fairly conventional one. Working, maintaining our home, and raising Nora. We were living the American dream by worldly standards. But over time, God has redirected our plans toward long-term, on-the-ground gospel work in Japan.

Duane

My desire is to see people come to know Jesus and grow as His disciples. At Gospel Hope Church, our sending church, I completed a pastoral internship, led the missionary team, preached, taught the men and teenagers, and led a long-term weekly discipleship group in my home. That season convinced me that the gospel spreads most naturally through community. As we move to Chiba, Japan, to help New City Church Makuhari I long to share the gospel with neighbors who have never heard it, disciple new believers through everyday life together, and faithfully show God’s love as we build a church that multiplies.

Maddy

My passion is to see families, especially women, come to know Jesus and walk with Him daily. At Gospel Hope Church, our sending church, I taught children and women from the Bible. I also discipled women one-on-one in my home and led Bible studies. I love showing others how our personal God gets personal with us, entering into our brokenness and drawing us nearer to Him. My prayer is to build genuine relationships with the mothers and women in our neighborhood to point them to the hope we have in Christ.

Nora

Our daughter is coming along for the adventure of a lifetime. Nora loves Minecraft, cats, and claw machines. She is looking forward to learning Japanese and making new friends in Japan.

Our plan centers on life-on-life community: living, working, and building relationships alongside our neighbors in Makuhari rather than at arm's length — walking through language school, culture, and everyday life together with the people we hope to serve.

We are partnered in planting New City Church Makuhari. The church's website is listed below:

New City Church Makuhari

The Need in Japan

<2%

of Japan's population identifies as Christian, a number that has stayed roughly flat for decades, even as the country's overall population has grown.

Japan is home to over 120 million people, and the vast majority have never had a meaningful conversation about the Gospel. It's not a country without religion as Buddhism and Shinto shape daily life deeply. Christian faith remains rare enough that most people have never known a Christian personally.

Chiba Prefecture, and Makuhari in particular, is a dense, growing urban area just outside Tokyo that is full of young families, students, and professionals, and is largely unreached by any local church. That's the gap New City Church Makuhari is working to close: not through a single event or campaign, but through years of showing up, learning the language, and building real relationships.

This is why we're asking people to partner with us for the long haul. If that's something you'd like to be part of, we'd love to have you sign-up for our newsletter.