Kazu & Amy

About Kazuaki Kato

Kazuaki Kato (frequently shortened to “Kaz” or “Kazu”) was born on March 25, 1976, graduated from Mountainside Christian Academy in upstate New York (‘94). He made an informed decision to trust in Christ as his Savior in 1992. After attending Word of Life Bible Institute (‘95) and the School of Youth Ministry and Evangelism (‘96), he transferred to Philadelphia College of Bible (currently Philadelphia Biblical University), where he received a Bachelor of Science in Biblical Studies (‘99). Shortly after he completed his advanced studies at Jerusalem University College in Jerusalem, Israel, he continued his education at Capital Bible Seminary in Washington D.C. metro area, where he earned master’s degrees in Divinity (‘03) and Theology (‘04). He served as a dean at Word of Life Bible Institute for the next five years, counseling and discipling young adults using the Bible. He also spent those years teaching biblical Greek, worldviews, and theology as an associate professor. In 2006, most joyously, he married Amy, a mission-minded soul-mate from Mobile, Alabama. Since 2004, Kazuaki has also been used by God as a frequent conference speaker for pastors and youth leaders across the nation, in Christian schools and local churches, and as a theological editor of Word of Life Bible Clubs material, among many other things.

Kazu was recently featured on PBU Today: Click to read the article.

About Amy Kato

Amy Kato was born on May 2, 1984, to Stanley and Lois Ketchum, in Mobile, AL. Although she grew up in a Christian home, it wasn’t until 1996 that she trusted in Jesus Christ as her Savior after examining her faith. She graduated from Faith Academy in Mobile, AL, in 2002. After high school, she attended Word of Life Bible Institute in Hudson, FL, then completed her program by attending the second year program in Schroon Lake, NY (’04) as God slowly moved her away from her home state in order to prepare her for a life committed to overseas missions. After completing her education at Word of Life Bible Institute, she continued to serve the Lord as an admissions intern at the school, showing hospitality as she gave campus tours. In 2004, she became involved in a Japanese ministry in Albany, NY, which God used to give her an increasing desire to love and serve Japanese people.  In 2005, she took a missions trip to Tokyo, Japan, through Word of Life’s Launch program, where she spent three months asking God to confirm her future direction. God used that trip to confirm that Japan was where she needed to be serving the Lord. After her life-changing trip, she and Kazu became engaged and were married the following year (’06). Now, she is excited as she and Kazu are traveling around the nation raising support for their ministry endeavors.