ABOUT US | 教会について
About Us
Mitaka Evangelical Church began its ministry in May 1981 in the city of Mitaka.
The church started as a small house fellowship, gathering in members’ homes for worship.
In answer to many prayers for a church building, God graciously provided, and in 2007 the congregation moved to its present location.
We stand in the tradition of the Protestant faith that arose from the Reformation of the 16th century.
Together with all Christians, we confess the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Chalcedonian Creed.
We also hold to the faith expressed in the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort.
Our church is a member of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC).
Leadership
Rev. Ben Zedek Smith
Born in Tokyo in 1981, he is the second of three siblings. His father is from Ohio, and his mother is a Chinese-American who grew up in Japan. He was raised and educated in Japan through homeschooling, something quite rare at the time.
He received three years of pastoral training at Greyfriars Hall in Idaho, after which he returned to Japan and began serving as pastor of Mitaka Evangelical Church in 2014.
Since 2020, he has also served as Assistant Presiding Minister of the Huss Presbytery in the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), working with churches across Eastern Europe and Asia.
In addition to his pastoral ministry, he teaches English and literature at an international secondary school, where he especially enjoys teaching classes on debate, Shakespeare, and Dostoevsky.
In his free time, he enjoys singing sacred music—particularly the works of Bach—running Spartan obstacle races, and playing ultimate frisbee with friends.
Rev. Ralph Allan Smith
Born in 1949 in the state of Ohio, USA.
He graduated from Ohio State University in 1971 and from Grace Theological Seminary in 1978 with a Master of Divinity (M.Div.).
During his seminary years, he engaged in more than seven years of church planting and pastoral ministry in Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
In 1981, he came to Japan with his wife, Sylvia — a Chinese-American who was raised in Japan — to begin missionary and pastoral work.
Since then, he has continued church planting and pastoral ministry in the Mitaka area of Tokyo.
In 1988, under the vision of Mitaka Evangelical Church, he founded the Institute of Biblical Studies in Musashino City.
In 2007, the church moved to its current location, where he and his family now reside.
He and his wife raised their two sons and one daughter through homeschooling.
Both of his sons were ordained to the pastoral ministry in 2014.