Kevin and Eri Cochrane
Kevin has been serving in Japan as a long-term missionary since 2013. Kevin began his time in Tokyo, where he lived for 4.5 years. During this time, he studied Japanese diligently for 2 years and did 2.5 years of youth ministry with a Christian organization called “Hi-BA”. After this, Kevin moved to Sendai where he lived from 2019 until 2025. While living in Sendai, he helped plant a new church alongside other missionary friends whom he became friends with in Tokyo. After the church had been planted, Kevin again felt God calling him into a new ministry and he moved to the city of Nagoya in 2025.
Eri grew up in Okinawa, Japan. She became a Christian at the age of 22 and worked as a preschool teacher at an International Christian school in Okinawa from 2017-2022. Following this, she joined YWAM from 2022-2025 and received training in discipleship, biblical theology and counseling. She lived in Hawaii and South Korea during this time. She also did outreach trips to Lebanon and various islands in Japan during her season of ministry with YWAM.
Kevin and Eri met in Sendai in the fall of 2025 through the help of mutual friends who introduced them to each other. They quickly became friends, started dating, and eventually got engaged at the beginning of 2026. Throughout their entire relationship, they sensed God leading and blessing their relationship. They were married on July 11th, 2026 in Nagoya.
Kevin and Eri are now serving as a missionary couple in the city of Nagoya, which is home to more than 2 million people. Similar to the rest of Japan, the percentage of Japanese Christians in Nagoya is about 1% or less of the entire city’s population. They are partnering with Community Church Nagoya, which is an international church that was started in the early 2020’s. Together, Kevin and Eri are focused on activities such as evangelism, worship leading, preaching/teaching, online ministry and making disciples in Japan and beyond.
During the COVID pandemic, Kevin started a YouTube channel to help reach Japanese people for Christ and encourage Japanese believers. He has been slowly uploading new videos over the years. Together, Kevin and Eri plan to continue uploading new videos in order to reach more people for Christ and encourage Japanese believers.
https://www.youtube.com/c/hopeforjapan316
Japan is currently known as the “land of the rising sun.” Kevin and Eri’s prayer and belief is that one day soon, Japan will be reached with the gospel and become known as the “land of the risen Son, Jesus Christ.”
