FAQ

Please see our Statement of Faith here.

TBC is a church of small groups. We believe the real Christian maturity occurs in Purpose Driven Small Groups where members put into action the 5 purposes given in the Bible by Jesus Christ. These 5 purposes are fellowship, discipleship, ministry, evangelism, and worship. It is our desire that spiritual seekers become transformed believers of Jesus Christ who model Purpose Driven lives and motivate others to do the same.

A host is the person who is willing to offer him/herself to assist the members lead a purpose driven life. A host generally (but not necessarily) provides the place to study together, food/snacks, and may press the buttons on the VCR. The host will also facilitate a rotation for members to oragnize group discussions.

Taking vacations are not a problem, but may interrupt the group if youare the host. Just let your group know! We encourage you to have someoneelse host the group in your absence.

Anyone can host a small group as long as they fit the requirements. Please see “Do I need any special requirements to be a small group host? ” for details.

TBC is a church of small groups. Realistically, if you are not in a small group, you are losing an important connection to our church and your Christian life. Of course, you can be a member of TBC and not in a small group, but it is our desire that you will grow spiritually by being part of one.

Not at all! If you have the desire to be a host of a small group, then the important thing is that you will continue to grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will guide you with your leadership as you continue to pray to the Lord. The small group curriculum is the Biblical expert teaching.

We ask that the host be a TBC member that has committed to completing class 210 and classes 201-401. The host should not be struggling with any moral issues; drugs, alcohol, cohabitation, or have any marital struggles (divorce in process,separation etc.) and must accept the Bible as their authority of belief.

A small group should start with at least 3 people, but there is no top limit as long as there is one group facilitator for about every 10 people.

Materials can be found at TBC’s Resource Center and also at the Welcome Table.

This is up to you. Small group meetings can be held at your home, at a restaurant, or even in public places. If the group is meeting at a person’s residence who is not a member of TBC, we ask that the host has fulfilled the Host Requirements. Please take note of any rules and regulations of any public place you meet at. Due to space limitations,TBC cannot offer rooms for any group meetings.

Our resource center has plenty of other materials that are highly recommended. We ask that you do not use materials outside of our resource center as these are not approved materials. If you have any questions, please contact Pastor Takeshi.

No. It is not required. Most groups have been defined either English speaking or other. If you have any questions about particular group, please contact us and we can let you know a group’s language before you visit.

Although food may encourage fellowship and better concentration, it is not a requirement during the meetings.

What is the Purpose Driven Health Assessment? The Purpose Driven Health Assessment is a tool that will help you to measure the progress of yourspiritual health. It can usually be found at the back of your booklet. We encourage you to do it as a group, and hope that you will keep it handy. Everyone needs to see a doctor for a check up, and similar to your spiritual health as well. Our spiritual health needs to be assessed and managed so that we can mature like Jesus Christ. If we are not balancing all five purposes in our life, then our spiritual health will suffer. It is not made to score your spiritual health, but rather help anyone pinpoint their weaknesses and to work them into balance. The process of balancing the five purposes in our lives takes time and reflection. First, we need to evaluate where we are. Once we have a picture of where we are we then need to determine where weneed to grow by focusing on one or more of the purpose areas. Once we’ve targeted a specific growth area, we need a plan. By answering the questions under each purpose, the user will see where their strengths are and identify where they need to focus more of their attention for growth. Another aspect of the tool is the ability to get valuable feedback from a few people that know us best, such as a spouse, a small group member, or amentor, by having them complete the same assessment on us. We don’t always see ourselves as others do. The valuable, godly relationships in our lives can pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses that we may not identify in ourselves.

If your questions cannot be answered here or in the back of the book, then please come to one of our training seminars like class 210 or contact Pastor Takeshi at takeshi at tokyobaptist.org.