Reimagine at Tokyo Union Church

Discerning God’s Calling for TUC Together

Reimagine is a church-wide effort to better discern and align TUC's mission, identity, and future space. This is a collaborative process of discernment which helps Council hear from the congregation and prepare for decisions with clarity.

No building decision has been made. As Council weighs whether TUC may need to move, rebuild, or choose another path, we are listening broadly and naming what must be preserved, adapted, or released.

Reimagine updates

Updates

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The plan

A path of listening, story, and discernment.

From May 2026 through February 2027, Council and the Discernment Team are gathering input from the congregation and from people who know Tokyo's international community. The work begins with a survey, then continues through focus groups, storytelling, community listening, and synthesis.

Members can expect a process that moves from broad participation to deeper listening, then toward a Discernment Report that helps Council consider TUC's next faithful step with clarity rather than anxiety. A consultant with AE Sloan Leadership is helping advise the process, TUC Council makes the final decisions.

  1. May-Sep 2026

    Survey and foundation

    Broad input from the church begins the process and shapes future conversations. The survey is open through Aug 31.

  2. Oct-Dec 2026

    Focus groups and storytelling

    Deeper conversations across the TUC community provide insights across generations and backgrounds.

  3. Jan-Feb 2027

    Synthesis

    Various themes from the process are gathered into a Discernment Report and shared with Council.

From the journey

Personal Stories

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Hands typing on a laptop during the community survey phase

May-Sep 2026

Survey and foundation

The first phase invites everyone into the conversation: church visitors, friends of TUC, alumni, associate members, members, and staff. The survey asks what we value about TUC, what must be preserved, what may need to adapt, and what future we can imagine together.

What to expect

Council and the Discernment Team will use responses and themes from the survey to understand the congregation's hopes, concerns, and shared convictions and to prepare for more focused conversations.

How to participate

  • Complete the survey and encourage others to participate.
  • Pray for honest listening and a spirit of patience across the church.
  • Reflect on what TUC uniquely offers in Tokyo, and what should be preserved, adapted, or released.
Tokyo Union Church members gathered in conversation

Oct-Dec 2026

Focus groups and storytelling

The second phase moves from broad input into deeper listening. Focus groups, storytelling sessions, and community conversations will hear from people across generations, cultural backgrounds, languages, ministry areas, and different lengths of connection with TUC.

What to expect

These conversations will explore concerns, hopes, mission, location, and the stories that reveal who TUC has been. Listening beyond the congregation will also help identify needs, gaps, and opportunities in Tokyo's international community.

How to participate

  • Watch for invitations to focus groups or storytelling sessions.
  • Come ready to listen as well as speak, especially across differences.
  • Share stories that reveal TUC's identity, ministry, and connection to Tokyo's international community.
Tokyo Union Church cross and roof against the Tokyo skyline

Jan-Feb 2027

Synthesis

The final phase brings the threads together. The Discernment Team and the consultant will interpret the themes from the survey, focus groups, stories, and community conversations and gather what we have heard into a Discernment Report.

What to expect

The report will organize themes around who TUC is, where TUC is, and who TUC is called to become. It will support Council's discernment; it will not replace Council's responsibility to make decisions for the church's next faithful season.

How to participate

  • Pray for wisdom as themes are gathered and weighed.
  • Follow public updates as appropriate summaries are shared.
  • Hold the process with care, trusting that faithful decisions require time, honesty, and shared clarity.