Meet Billy and Sunni Champion, IM Missionaries to Japan
We are Billy and Sunni Champion. We are two Alabamians who met at Welch College in 2013 and got married in 2015. Sunni studied missions, Billy majored in pastoral ministry and then completed his Master’s in theology and ministry. Before God led us to Japan, Billy was the youth pastor at Loyal Chapel Free Will Baptist Church in Columbia, Tennessee (2015-18), the associate pastor at First Free Will Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia (2018-20), and the pastor at Philadelphia Free Will Baptist Church in Folkston, Georgia (2020-24). We have three children: Jude, Isaac, and Sophia.
Fun fact: All of our kids were born on Friday, the 26th (all different months).
Why Japan?
Sunni first went to Japan in 2014 as a summer intern for ten weeks with Heath and Joni Hubbard. God used that time to instill in her heart a deep love for the Japanese people and a sense of their need for Christ. Since then, ministry in Japan has been a consistent conversation topic. At first, we did not know what that might look like or when it might happen, but God did. In His good providence, God has opened a door for us to minister to the Japanese people in the greater Tokyo area.
24 unreached people groups in Japan
How you can pray for the Champions
- Pray for us as we travel and raise our support.
- Pray for our family as we adjust to living life in a new culture.
- Pray that we will have open eyes to see opportunities to meet new people.
- Pray for the Japanese to have open hearts and for us to be bold in sharing God’s truth.
You can partner with the Champions to reach people in Japan with the Gospel. Contact them to invite them to your church to share their heart for the Japanese people. Pray for them as they raise funds and prayer support.