A New Theological Education Program From MBS and Grace City Church Tokyo: The Tokyo Cohort

Metro Baltimore Seminary (MBS) and Grace City Church Tokyo have partnered to launch the Tokyo Cohort, providing new access to theological education to equip the next generation of leaders serving churches in Japan.

The Tokyo Cohort began in November 2025. It is designed for students who are already serving in ministry, enabling them to learn alongside one another, grow with mentors, and receive both practical ministry training and theological formation.

Beginning in the summer of 2026, online courses taught by MBS faculty were added to the program. This marked the full launch of a course of study that combines theological and academic learning with practical training rooted in the day-to-day realities of church and ministry work.

The program is primarily intended for English speakers and yields a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree after three to four years of study.

What the Tokyo Cohort values is not studying theology only in a classroom. Rather, it seeks to connect deep theological study with serving real people, building up the church, and living out the gospel in the local community.

Tokyo is not only one of the world’s great metropolitan areas; it is also a place where many people live, work, and study, and where a wide variety of cultures and values intersect. To serve the church amid this urban reality requires both a deep understanding of Scripture and theology and the ability to understand contemporary society and culture and serve it with the gospel.

In Japan, population decline and the problem of aging pastors with few replacements are advancing, making the development of the next generation of church leaders increasingly important. In this context, the Tokyo Cohort hopes to become one model through which people can receive theological education while working and serving in their churches—and a place where the next generation of leaders who will serve churches in Japan can be formed.

MBS and Grace City Church Tokyo will work together to train those who will lead and serve the church in the years ahead, connecting theological education with the lived reality of ministry in the local church.