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
What a joy it has been for the Handley family visiting churches here in Japan every weekend. So far, we’ve made it to four different congregations and connecting with Japanese pastors and A3 missionaries. You may have heard that next year A3 celebrates 50 years of ministry. And, many of you will know that it all started here in Japan. For most of our history, A3 was a Japan only ministry and even today, Japan take a pivotal role in all of what we do. Visiting our partners and churches in the Kanto region brings such a rich repository of stories for which to celebrate. This past weekend, we were with... 
Japan (MNN) — “How soon will some few years pass away, and then when the day is ended, and this life’s lease expired, what have men of the world’s glory, but dreams and thoughts? O happy soul forevermore, who can rightly compare this life with that long-lasting life to come, and can balance the weighty glory of the one with the light golden vanity of the other.” – Samuel Rutherford ... There are few things that unite a body of believers like the loss of a loved one. For the evangelical community in Japan, that came with the recent tragic deaths of Kathyrine and Jamison Pals and their three children. The family of five was killed in a highway accident in Colorado, mere dollars and weeks away from their move to Japan. Why Japan? What was it that touched the hearts of the Pals family to start working in a missions field on the other side of the world?...
Two months have passed since a series of devastating 6.4 to 7.3-magnitude earthquakes struck Kumamoto, Japan, with churches, pastors and volunteers facing the daunting task of trauma care for multitudes of displaced people. In a recent visit to the epicenter, A3 missionary John Houlette, along with Dr. Timothy Iwagami of Crash Japan and Shinji Ishizaka of the Salvation Army, met with Kyushu Christian Relief Center leaders Yoji Nakamura and Paul Yokota to assess the emotional care needs of survivors and care givers. They also provided pastoral care to two pastors. Kumamoto church leaders are resilient, but very tired. One pastor does not have permanent housing, so shuttles between living in a tent...
