Get to Know the Bridges Family

Ministry Description

Learn more about the ministry in Japan.

About JD

My testimony is one of God's faithfulness in my unfaithfulness, and in my times of losing focus. I grew up in a Christ following family. I was blessed in the way that I wasn't just brought up in church, I was brought up in Christ. I was made fully aware from a young age that my family's relationship with Christ, my church attendance, or my own personal "righteousness" did anything to bring me into a relationship with God. When I was 6 on the verge of 7 I put my faith alone in Jesus and He not only freed me from my sins, but also from my dead works, so I can actually serve Him. Shortly after I put my faith in Christ my family moved to Las Vegas as church planters. In that time my father served as head pastor at NorthStar Baptist Church and in that time I felt God begin to call me into ministry. Despite the knowledge of this calling I ignored it due to a successful sports career and I wanted to prove all the church members who expected me to be a pastor because my father was wrong. Once I graduated high school in 2019 I moved to St Louis for college intending to major in sports medicine, but after years of running, halfway through my first semester I repented of my sin of running away from my calling. I then started to take steps to pursue the call into ministry. My high school sweet heart moved to St Louis and we got married. Kira had a great passion for missions that God had also been developing in me during college. We both felt like God was calling us to Asia and after more prayer and time we felt Japan was the place God was pulling us to. Despite a clear call into missions and my still calling into ministry, the business and worry of providing for our family took over. I began to social climb in my career. We still were active and I led a Sunday school class at our church, but it wasn't where God was calling us to be. I was eventually asked to submit my resume for a youth pastor position at a small church and after much wrestling and prayer we knew that was where God wanted us to be. We also realized that the path we were on we would miss out on getting to serve God in a whole new way. At our new church Kira and I both grew in Christ and the call into missions remained prominent in our lives. God used a conference the leadership team attended to spur me into preparing to go on mission and find what organization we would get to work with. My head pastor happened to know of an organization called Word of Life who we got in contact with and the rest fell into place with God's perfect timing.

Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. James 4:13-17

Contact Information

jdbridges01@gmail.com

Address:
JD Bridges
Word of Life Japan
PO Box 600
Schroon Lake, NY 12870