Samuel Bowman Missions
About
Called to Serve the People of Japan
Samuel Bowman
"After much prayer and many conversations, I knew God was leading me to serve in Sendai."
My Story: How God Led Me to Japan
In 2022, I completed a Discipleship Training School (DTS) at the YWAM base in Singapore with a few months of outreach and ministry in Turkey and Poland, spending extended time supporting the Ukrainian war refugees and their families. I was not sure of my next step but I was open to future missionary work if God put it on my heart.
A year later, a good friend and his wife from Singapore attended a DTS in Sendai, Japan. After completing the program, they both reached out to me saying they thought being on staff at the YWAM Sendai base would be a great fit for me.
After much prayer and many conversations with family and friends, I was confident this was the next chapter of my life journey … to serve the people of Sendai as a YWAM staff member. In May 2024, I was invited to join the YWAM Sendai team after several interviews with a target start date in Summer 2025.
Vision & Preparation
With a call to minister to the people of Sendai, Japan as a staff member at the recently established YWAM base, I have created a budget, learned the Japanese alphabets, and spent much time in prayer. Being a YWAM staff member comes with a minimum 2-year commitment in a volunteer, non-paid role.
I have been working to save up to fifty percent of the total cost of the service. The main expenses are for rent, food, necessities, and language classes.
Since the base is so small, there is a big focus on expanding current ministries, creating new ones, and making more connections in the community. I will also help with leading DTS and other schools the base hosts.
“YWAM’s core purpose is to know God and make him known, meeting real needs with the love of Jesus.”
YWAM Sendai Ministry
YWAM Sendai is a small mission base started in 2018 working on pioneering new ministries in the area with a focus on non-local staff members learning the language and culture of Japan to better connect with a group of people with a rich history and culture. The base is currently staffed with 20 people.
YWAM’s core purpose is to know God and make him known, meeting real needs with the love of Jesus. Ministry at YWAM Sendai includes …
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Homeless Ministry: partnering with local churches and feeding the homeless
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Prayer and evangelism in Kokubuncho, Sendai’s entertainment and red-light district
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Park & Sports Ministry: Building relationships with locals through sports and outdoor activities
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Kokoro Kitchen: a small business established by the base serving Taiwanese food to build relationship with locals
Why Japan?
Japan is a beautiful, respectful, and spiritually rich culture—but it’s also one of the least gospel-reached nations in the world. Less than 1% of the population identifies as Christian, and many people follow traditions rooted in ancestor worship, Shinto, or Buddhism.
Sendai, the city where I’ll serve, is home to over one million people and sits in the heart of the Tohoku region in Northern Japan. It’s known as the City of Trees, but also as a place of deep pain and resilience—especially after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
God has put a burden on my heart to be a steady presence there. To learn the language. To build trust. To serve. And to share the love of Jesus with gentleness, humility, and truth.
