Growing Fellowship
An update from Takanori Oba, Director of JOJC

The Joy of Japan Center (JOJC) launched Growing Fellowship last September as a continuing education program for graduates of Christ Bible Seminary. This gathering aims to help our graduates disciple one another and grow together.

People in ministry in Japan can often experience loneliness. There are few places where they can share about their struggles. Yet we do not want our graduates to walk alone, burdened by isolation and suffering. Our prayer is to foster a community that encourages one another and prays together.

When each person in Growing Fellowship is comforted through prayer for one another, they can continue in their journey of faith, while being ever-revitalized by the gospel. We pray that they would be agents of revitalization, in the churches they serve and for the people they encounter.

Thus far, Growing Fellowship has focused on themes such as biblical leadership, mentoring and coaching, communication, and hurts and healing. The most important aspect of biblical leadership is humility, and Growing Fellowship values remembering this truth at all times. We discussed what it looks like to serve others with humility in these various aspects of our ministry.

The Joy of Japan Center is committed to supporting Japanese pastors in the works of church planting and church revitalization.

This is crucial for CBI to fulfill our calling to take the gospel deeper and further throughout Japan!

In our actual ministries, we inevitably experience pain. Injustices can occur even within the church, sometimes unavoidably so. However, these hurts can be healed through sharing with friends who serve the Lord together. Growing Fellowship is a place where this healing can happen.

Moving forward, JOJC is praying about holding various seminars for church revitalization in addition to Growing Fellowship. Please continue to pray for the work of JOJC.

Ways to Pray

Deeper & Further Conference - Praise the Lord for 5 Japanese pastors who have agreed to speak at the conference. Please pray for the planning of breakout sessions and promotion - we are hoping to fill the hall with 600 participants!
Deeper & Further Building Renovation - Please pray that the planning for construction and design will progress smoothly. Pray especially for the Christian architect & designer who is working on preparing designs for the chapel.
Christ Bible Seminary - Please pray for our 3 graduates and 7 incoming students. We look forward to sharing more about our graduates next month.
Joy of Japan Center - Please pray for the ongoing Growing Fellowship meetings and for wisdom in planning additional seminars.
CBI Counseling - Please pray for the Lord’s leading as we make our plans for 2025.
CBI Press - Please continue to pray for Alexander, the new CBI Press Director, as he prepares for the closing of the 2024 fiscal year.
CBI Media - Please pray for God’s guidance and provision as we take our next steps in preparing a program for onboarding and developing new translators
Overall - We are so grateful to God for another year as we prepare to finish off the 2024 academic & fiscal year (end in March 2025). Please pray that God would continue to grant us wisdom, courage, and grace to steward this ministry of equipping Christians in Japan for the work of gospel ministry.

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