Zachary Turley was installed on November 5 as vicar to serve the mission in Japan with The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Office of International Mission (OIM). His installation took place at the chapel in the OIM regional headquarters in Chiayi, Taiwan.
Turley officially deployed with OIM in June of 2025 to begin his two year international vicarage. His vicarage supervisor will be LCMS missionary and theological educator, Rev. Dr. Dan Jastram, who has served in Japan for over nine years. Jastram works with a group of Japanese pastors seeking to establish a connection with the LCMS based on the same confession.
During and after his undergraduate studies in university, Turley initially made connections with friends and then with pastors and missionaries living and serving in Japan. Through these conversations, he learned of the shortage of church workers in this field. He arranged a visit to Japan in 2022 and was hosted by Pastor Manabu Wakabayashi, independent Lutheran pastor and Master’s of Divinity (M.Div.) graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana (CTSFW).
After attending a Prayerfully Consider Visit to CTSFW in early 2023, Turley enrolled to pursue a M.Div. degree. With a sincere desire to serve the people of Japan, Turley reached out during that first year to Rev. Dr. Mark Rabe, Director of Recruitment for OIM. Two years later, Turley returned to Asia to begin his international vicarage. Following his installation in November, he flew to Japan and has since moved to the city of Niigata, in the north of Honshu island. In addition to language study, Turley divides his time assisting in the ministry alongside Wakabayashi in Niigata and working with Jastram at worship sites in Tokyo, Yokosuka, Numata, and Osaka. Jastram regularly visits several homes in the Gunma and Osaka provinces in order to lead the Divine Service and administer Holy Communion. These locations at times even include Japanese inns, meeting rooms rented by the hour, and worship spaces shared by other Japanese Lutheran congregations. Following his two year commitment in Japan, Turley will return to Ft. Wayne to complete his last year of studies.
