Tonden Christ Church, situated on the outskirts of NW Sapporo, was started by OMF missionaries with the first worship service in 1980. In 1995 the church was able to call a Japanese pastor but after a period of difficulty he resigned in 2002. From summer 2004 OMF sent the Stevens family to lead the church and rebuild the work.
There are now about 20 (as well as children) attending Sunday worship and 2 mid-week cell groups. 4 people were baptized in 2007. The area of Tonden has a population of about 30,000 so there are great challenges for evangelism. However there is also an ongoing need to grow believers in spiritually strong, 'healthy' church, which is the basis for all outreach. While individual contact is emphasized as the prime way of witness an Alpha course was held last year. The church also runs English and Korean classes and a mothers and toddlers club.
The church is hoping to call a Japanese pastor by spring 2009.