Background
Eriko grew up in Miyagi, Japan and came to Christ in high school. John was born Upland, CA and saved while attending college in Tokyo. John was called into full-time ministry while interpreting a message from English into Japanese as a short-term missionary in 1979. John and Eriko were married in 1981 and have four adult children and two grandchildren. The Houlettes were appointed with A3 in July 2013.
Ministry Experience
Prior to joining A3/SIM, the Houlettes served faithfully for thirty years in Japan with WorldVenture. They planted Nishitama Baptist Church in Tachikawa, Saikyo Hope Chapel in Toda and Denen Grace Chapel in Kawasaki where many became Christ followers. Two of the churches have national pastors and are planting daughter churches. John and Eriko invested in field leadership and collaborated to develop a church planting strategy with the Japanese national church.
Since 2011, John has been the director of Three Stream Ministries (TSM) providing clergy care and disaster response chaplaincy training for the church in Japan. After Japan’s triple disaster, he spearheaded WorldVenture’s disaster relief strategy and along with Eriko worked closely with A3 to provide Oasis Retreats for pastors. Eriko has served on the board of directors of the Christian Academy in Japan and at Wheelchairs of Hope.
Education
John graduated from The Middlebury Institute of International Studies, PacRim Christian University and Fuller Seminary. He completed his Doctor of Ministry degree at Bethel Seminary in Congregational and Family Care in 2015. Eriko is a graduate of the Sendai Baptist Seminary and Wellesley College. She completed a master’s degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Human Development and Psychology in 2014.
Current and Future Ministry
The Houlettes partner with Hokushin Calvary Church in Fukushima city, assisting the church in leader development and church planting. John provides clergy care and leadership training in Japan and Greater Asia.
Eriko works as an educational resource consultant through Japanese language teaching and child safety training.
Vision
My vision is to see vibrant communities of servant leaders in Japan and Greater Asia empowering their peers to be whole, holy and missional.
View our prayer letters: https://www.ministryupdates.org/houlette
ARTICLES RELATED TO JOHN & ERIKO
In late April, we attended an interactive calligraphy show by Kana Ikemoto, a professional calligrapher and friend whose husband is doing research at Harvard. The theme was cherry blossoms and dragons. Conflicting themes? Perhaps, but not really. Cherry blossoms are gorgeous, delicate, pastel petals that beautify the world for roughly two weeks each year. We anticipate their arrival as the coming of spring, and fete their annual debut with parties, walks and photo ops as we revel in their breathtaking but fleeting charm. Their beauty is timeless but their visit is not; 340 hours give or take a few. They are harbingers of hope, warmth and...
