Christ Bible Institute
Christ Bible Institute (CBI) is not just one single thing. It consists of several different ministries. These ministries have different purposes, but they work together to advance the overall vision of CBI. That vision is to see the gospel of the glory of Christ cherished and proclaimed throughout Japan. CBI advances this vision by equipping Christians in Japan for gospel ministry.
Christ Bible Institute is a mere ten-minute walk from the largest train station in the world (as measured in floorspace), which is located in the center of Japan’s third-largest city, Nagoya. The CBI building, renovated in 2025, is home to CBI, to two churches, and used by other Christian organizations from around Japan.
Following are the major component ministries of Christ Bible Institute.
Christ Bible Seminary
The first—and the central—component of CBI is Christ Bible Seminary (CBS). Because of CBS’s importance and because of the similarity in names, CBI and CBS are often confused. Christ Bible Seminary is a graduate-level divinity school preparing young Japanese for ministry as pastors, church planters, counselors, youth workers, missionaries, teachers, etc. The seminary is grounded in Reformed theology but welcomes students from all sorts of evangelical backgrounds and denomination.
While most students are Japanese and most courses are taught in Japanese, we accept limited numbers of qualified students from other countries if they can do coursework in Japanese and have a commitment to Japan.
Christ Bible Seminary is an associate member of the Asia Theological Association and is working toward accreditation with that body. It offers five programs: MDiv, MA, BTh, Diploma, and Certificate. These programs can be completed in one to four years of full-time study.
At Christ Bible Seminary we strive for a balance among heart, head, and hands. Every student takes grace-based spiritual formation courses in order to lay a sturdy foundation of repentance, humility, gratitude, and love. Courses are academically rigorous because we want our graduates to know the Bible, the original languages, and the lessons of Church history in order to be able to articulate the faith and to correct error. Finally we want our graduates to have a kingdom-size vision of what God is doing in the world and to develop the skills needed to answer His calling for them.
Joy of Japan Center
Japan has a great need for new churches. For every Protestant church, there are over 15,000 Japanese people. Entire cities, towns, and villages have no church at all. Furthermore, some of the most effective evangelism takes place as churches are being planted. Yet many in pastors, churches, and denominations lack a vision for church planting.
In addition, many pastors feel discouraged and overwhelmed. They face many demands with few resources and little help. They feel great responsibility toward the people in their congregations and feel they must shoulder all the responsibilities of ministry themselves. They are expected know everything, manage everything, never tire, never fail, and get by on a pittance.
That is why we started the Joy of Japan Center for Church Planting and Revitalization. As its name implies, JOJC equips and encourages those who are planting new churches and those who seek to revitalize existing churches.
JOJC is involved in teaching Christ Bible Seminary courses in church planting and gospel renewal in and guiding students enrolled in the MDiv program in church planting and revitalization.
Outside of CBS, JOJC coaches church planters and brings together pastors for ongoing instruction and mutual support.
CBI Counseling
It used to be that talking with a counselor was something shameful. Japanese were not supposed to show that sort of weakness. But times have changed, and Japanese today recognize that there are a host of societal and personal problems, and they need help.
Some years ago, at a local meeting of pastors preparing for a national conference on evangelism, one of the pastors got honest. “I don’t care about evangelism,” he admitted. “What I need to understand is how to counsel people. That’s what I’m expected to do, and I was never trained for that.” This is not an uncommon lament.
CBI Counseling grew out of the counseling courses offered at Christ Bible Seminary. In addition to those courses, CBI Counseling runs a popular lay-training program to help Christians help one another. It also makes resources available to help those involved in counseling others.
CBI Press
There is a vast dearth of good Christian books in Japan. Japan has enterprising Christian publishers, but print runs are small, and stocks run out quickly. And what proves popular is not always what is most needful or beneficial.
CBI began publishing books under the CBI Press name when Desiring God Ministries gave us permission to translate and publish some of its popular works. Since then we have developed a more professional translation process, started a new non-profit organization that allows us to sell the books we publish, focused on books that we believe are spiritually strategic, and published works by our own faculty and team members.
CBI Media
CBI’s newest division of ministry was recently spun off from CBI Press. CBI Media produces and publishes articles, devotionals, prayer guides, videos, and other resources on the CBI website and shares them through social media. It also promotes CBI publications, conferences, training events, and CBS courses. This means that people far from a church can discover and benefit from good Christian teaching.
Like CBI Press, CBI Media draws on the expertise of Christ Bible Seminary, the Joy of Japan Center, and CBI Counseling. It all works together!