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Newsletter #26 – 15-06-2026
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Dear family and friends,
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We hope you are doing well. We sincerely apologize for not having given any sign of life for the past six months! The last few months have been very eventful for us and have brought major changes that will likely come as a surprise to many of you. Because there were so many things to process and take care of, we unfortunately only managed to keep our German newsletter subscribers and supporters somewhat up to date. But now we also want to put out an English newsletter to bring our international friends into the loop as well and communicate openly and clearly about what lies ahead for us.
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In December 2025, it became clear that our understanding of various theological topics—which we had been seriously pondering over the past seven years in our personal Bible study and prayer—differed significantly from that of OMF Germany and its partners. After several conversations and thorough consideration, OMF Germany therefore decided on January 29, on relatively short notice, to part ways with us.
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This means that we did not return to Japan in March with OMF as planned. Instead, we will continue to live in Germany for the time being.
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How do we feel about this?
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We are, of course, sad that our time with OMF has come to an end so unexpectedly quickly. We have formed many close and precious friendships both within OMF Germany and on the Japan field, and we would have loved to continue working together with OMF in God’s harvest in Japan. This decision was not an easy one for the leadership of OMF Germany either, and we are parting on friendly terms and with mutual respect (see below a few words from our German Mission Director).
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Although a lot is changing for us right now and there are still some things we need to sort out, we continue to feel that God is clearly guiding us. We are convinced that our calling is still to Japan. However, we also feel that we should use the time we are now spending in Germany—until a new path to Japan opens up—to write down our theological convictions as they have taken shape over the past seven years. This is something God has been laying on our hearts for quite some time, and we see them as highly relevant to the proclamation of the Gospel in Japan and reaching the hearts of the Japanese people.
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They revolve around questions regarding Jesus’ death on the cross, the nature of sin, and salvation in general. And not least, our involuntary departure from OMF shows that these are not trivial or secondary issues. Therefore, we also feel obligated to explain to you, our dear friends and partners, exactly what our understanding of these matters is. Since these explanations would go beyond the scope of a newsletter, we have decided to upload a detailed account of our spiritual journey over the past seven years to our website. The English translation is still in progress, but we will let you know as soon as we have uploaded it as well. You will find it at this link:
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We can imagine that some of you are surprised and perhaps even disappointed—especially if you’ve only just started following us during this home assignment. How we would have loved to have returned to Japan as planned and continued our work there just as we have done over the past two and a half years in Kitami. These new developments certainly sound unreal and crazy, but let’s be honest—what part of our journey so far in God’s mission hasn’t been unreal and crazy?
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What happens next, practically speaking?
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After our employment with OMF ended on March 31, we strongly felt from the Lord that instead of looking for a new job, we should continue to work full-time in God’s kingdom and continue to nurture the discipleship relationships in Germany that we have built up during our home assignment (more about that see below).
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Above all, we will use this time to write a book about the things that God has shown us from the Bible over the past seven years. Since this looks like it’s going to be a big project, we’ll try to upload individual chapters to our website—partly because we’d love to hear your thoughts and comments as we write. Everything we write will be public and free, because we received it for free as well. After this season, God willing and as He leads, we will return to Japan.
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Some notes on partnership and support
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We will continue to send out newsletters to keep you updated on the latest news and our experiences with Jesus. Since the focus of our ministry will be shifting for the next few years before we return to Japan, we invite you to reconsider whether and in what way you would like to continue supporting us. Please feel free to let us know about your decision via the contact form on our website:
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It is also ok to just unsubscribe from this newsletter (button at the end of this email). Please take your time to decide, and please also consider for yourself whether you can continue to support our work from a theological perspective. If you have any questions, we’d be happy to set up a Zoom call.
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We thank all our supporters who have been so faithful and generous in supporting us during our time with OMF, making the blessed time we were able to spend with Jesus in Japan possible in the first place. As of April 1, it is no longer possible to donate to us through OMF, because OMF can no longer pass funds on to us now that our employment relationship has ended. If our work is still close to your heart and you would like to continue supporting us privately, you can find all the relevant information on our website:
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However, we would still be very grateful if you would continue to pray for Japan, for us and for the people with whom God has connected us.
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A few words from OMF Germany
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“We at OMF would like to thank Karolina and Julian for their passionate commitment over the past years to God’s kingdom and the Japanese people. They have served in Japan with great dedication and self-sacrifice. Thank you to all of you who have supported them on this journey through prayer and donations. It is also difficult for us to see this partnership come to an end in late March. However, after careful consideration, we have come to the conclusion that Karolina and Julian’s convictions are not aligned with those of OMF Germany and our partners (OMF Japan, the sending church, and partner churches in Japan). We can only confirm that this decision was made with respect and friendship, and we wish them God’s continued blessing.”
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Armin Messer,
Mission Director of OMF Germany
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God’s kingdom in Bayreuth
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In February and March, we embarked on another 40-day fast because we wanted to fully focus on God again as we entered this new phase of life and to keep our ears open to His guidance on how we should go about the work in His kingdom in Germany. In addition, we were very busy settling into life in Germany and taking care of all the bureaucratic and financial matters that come with this change.
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Regarding the work in God’s kingdom, we had our hands quite full already over the past three months. We had regular meetings with various Christians in Bayreuth and the surrounding area for counselling, fellowship, and prayer. One day in April, we were asked three times in a single day by different people, independently of one another, to start a home group. And so, we met for the first time on May 1 in a larger gathering to read the Bible together, share each other’s thoughts, and pray for one another and for Bayreuth. On that day, people from a wide variety of backgrounds came together: former Catholics, those with a background in New Age and occultism, or those from Protestant, independent church, or YMCA backgrounds. This was a great joy for us, because we had long desired that the people we had previously known only individually would come together and get to know one another. For we are only church when we are together. Jesus has given each of his followers a gift, which they are to use within the community of believers for the growth and blessing of all.
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We kicked off our first meeting in proper Japanese style with a jiko-shokai—a round of introductions—to break the ice and help everyone get to know one another. What in Japan actually happens very quickly—since it’s done at almost every meeting, because there’s almost always someone there who doesn’t know everyone yet—quickly turned into everyone sharing their testimony and journey with Jesus in great detail, which was very encouraging for everyone and took up a good part of the evening.
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Since the end of our time with OMF, we’ve understandably lost a certain portion of our financial support. However, we’d like to share with you how God provided us with a small income, right on time, starting in April.
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When we moved out of our house in 2018 after God had called us into missions to begin our studies at Bible school, we decided to keep the house for the time being and rent it out so we could continue making our mortgage payments. Since the entire rent went toward the mortgage, however, we had almost no income from it. Over time, we realized that renting out an entire house from abroad was very cumbersome, and the likelihood was increasing that major repairs or replacements would be needed. Therefore, we decided to sell the house at the start of our home assignment in 2025. The pleasant surprise was that the value of the house had doubled since we bought it. So, after we paid off the rest of the loan, we still had enough money left over to buy a condo in Bayreuth. The friend who had sold us this apartment continued to live there with his family during our home assignment, and we charged him only a small rent. But just in time when our home assignment and also our time with OMF came to an end in February, he moved into a larger apartment. We then nicely furnished the apartment and began renting it out as a vacation rental starting in April.
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In May, there was a fire in Bayreuth, and we came into contact with the affected family, who were urgently looking for a furnished apartment for themselves and one for their grandmother, who had been living on the upper floor of their house. A special lease was drawn up in no time, and now the grandmother is living in our fully furnished vacation apartment—at a substantial rent covered by insurance until the fire damage is repaired—which is not expected to happen before Christmas. In this way, God has helped this family while also providing us with a steady income for a while. Thank God!
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This letter is already quite long, but we still want to tell you about our current adventures in Japan. You’re probably wondering what we’re doing in Japan right now. Since we still had our belongings stored in the OMF Japan warehouse in Sapporo and some other things needed to be taken care of, we arranged with OMF to fly back to Hokkaido one more time, clear out the warehouse, and say a proper goodbye to the missionaries on the field. The flight was on May 7, and we signed the aforementioned lease exactly one day before—so not a day too soon!
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Once we arrived in Japan, we immediately got to work unpacking and going through all our household goods that had remained in Japan to see what we still wanted to keep. But since most of it was more practical than sentimental, only a few boxes remained which we either shipped back to Germany or left them in Japan with friends who had offered to store some of our belongings for a few years. Everything else—especially the furniture and dishes—we offered to the other missionaries. Since most OMF missionaries in Japan start out in Sapporo, where the OMF language school is located, almost all of our belongings quickly found new homes. In the end, we only had to take a very small portion to the thrift store or the waste-to-energy plant.
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God’s kingdom on Hokkaido
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While we were busy winding down our life in Japan, we also had many meetings with missionaries and friends in Sapporo and Otaru, and were able to officially say goodbye to the field at the OMF prayer meeting on May 28. In all of this, OMF Japan, too, showed us a great deal of support, and everything went very kindly and cordially.
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On May 29, thank God, we were able to wrap up all our business and are now starting the second part of our trip to Japan until June 29, which we will spend more or less living out of suitcases. We plan to visit friends throughout Hokkaido, from Kitami to Lake Toya, to have fellowship with them in the Spirit, see how their walk with Jesus is going, hear about all that has been happening, and continue working for God’s kingdom on Hokkaido—as Jesus leads us.
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This time also started with something very special! We’ve told you time and again about our mission trips with other Japan missionaries in Osaka, Kyushu, and Shikoku. Now three of them came up to visit us in the far north, and we spent a week together on a Hokkaido Mission from June 1 to June 8. This mission was exceptionally blessed and guided by God. We’ll tell you all about it in our next letter.
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A poster designed by one of our fellow missionaries for the Hokkaido Mission.
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The start of our Hokkaido mission in Ōdori Park in Sapporo, in front of the Sapporo Tower.
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Please pray especially for Hokkaido and its people during this time, that God’s Spirit may move freely here, destroy the works of the enemy, and reach people’s hearts for healing and reconciliation.
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Pray that the remaining time we will spend on Hokkaido will also bear much fruit for the kingdom of God, and that He will show us how to proceed from there in Germany.
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Thank you so much for your faithful companionship on our journey with Jesus, for your prayers for Japan and for us, and for your faithful support! We are eager to see what God has in store for us next and how He will use us.
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Julian und Karolina Tenzler are on a mission with Jesus for Japan.
They help Japanese Christians reach their own communities and personal networks with God's Good News. In doing so, they encourage them to trust in God, to follow Jesus decisively, and to live in vibrant fellowship with one another.
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Donation Account
Account holder: Julian Tenzler
IBAN: DE35 1203 0000 1016 8996 82
BIC: BYLADEM1001 (Deutsche Kreditbank)
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Julian & Karolina Tenzler
Albert-Einstein-Ring 28
95448 Bayreuth
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