Ken & Debby Milhous have been missionaries with Converge since 1994. Ken is the son of retired missionaries and grew up in Japan, becoming fluent in the language. Debby spent a year in Kenya as an exchange student during her high school years, gaining valuable cross-cultural experience. Ken and Debby met at Bethel University and were married in 1986. They moved to Massachusetts in 1991 to study at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where Ken received his M.Div. and Debby graduated with a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy.
Since 1995, the Lord has used their cross-cultural experiences through the ministry of Boston Japanese Christian Church (BJCC), a Japanese language mission outpost they established, reaching out to Japanese students, researchers, and their families who are temporarily in the greater Boston area. Many Japanese have come through the ministry, and for some, it was their very first time in a Christian church. Seeds of the Gospel were planted, many came to faith, and believers grew as disciples. Almost all returned to Japan after their time in Boston, becoming “returnees,” and Ken & Debby continued to minister to them, following up with them, and connecting them to churches in Japan.
Ken has also been spending part of his time serving in leadership with Reaching Japanese for Christ (RJC) since 2009. RJC is a networking and equipping organization for Japanese outreach.

After 30 years in Boston, the Lord is unexpectedly calling Ken and Debby out of BJCC to be redeployed to Tokyo, Japan. They will continue working with the Japan Initiative Team, which they have been part of since it began. The experience and skills developed over the last 30 years will be utilized to support what God is doing in Japan, alongside the growing team.
The following will be Ken and Debby’s primary areas of focus in Japan:
• Discipling Japanese returnees, helping them develop a relationship with Jesus, and encouraging them to live out their faith as transformational leaders within Japanese churches and society, so that they can build healthy, meaningful relationships in a culture where relational connections are often lacking.
• Partnering with the Initiative Leader to support the rapidly growing team of missionaries in Japan, Debby and Ken will provide care, encouragement, and support for continued personal growth and foster a healthy team environment, enabling each team member to thrive as a transformational leader and serve effectively for the long term.
• Working with Japanese leaders and ministry partners to bring the networking emphasis of RJC to the Japanese context, enabling Japanese churches and ministries in Japan to work together, enhancing each other’s ministries for greater Kingdom impact.