About TBC

Every church needs a mission - a clear, focused reason to be and to do. That mission will change over time, unless the church hardens in place, for the Lord of the Church always has new assignments for His people. In a church that's alive, yesterday's vision keeps giving way to today's reality and tomorrow's dream.

During the 70-plus years since TBC's founding in 1939, the Lord has pointed us in various directions, all of them exciting. We have been a "foreign missions church," and then a "teaching church," a "worshiping church," and a "fellowship church."

But something unique has happened in the recent years of our growth. Many of the new attenders God is bringing to TBC are "seekers" or new believers. In late 2003, therefore, we reconsidered our calling. And a new vision for TBC took shape before us - a clear, distinct, focused picture of what God is uniquely calling us to be and to do in the next decade. We exist for this reason: To Lead People to Life in Christ.

Life is the key word in that mission statement. It's a great word on which to hang a mission statement. For this life ("Zoe" in the Greek), says the beloved disciple John, is what Christ came into the world to give us (John 10:10). And "Leading People to Life in Christ" is the reason why he wrote his gospel (John 20:31).

For us, as for John, it has two prongs:

  • We aim to lead seekers to eternal life, which Christ gives to all who believe (John 3:16).
  • We aim to lead believers to a full and rich life, which He gives to all who follow Him. (John 10:10).

Where are you, in relation to this "Zoe" - this "life of heaven" that Christ brought to earth for us? Are you seeking it? You can know with confidence that you possess eternal life - and are as sure of heaven as if you were there already - simply by believing in the Lord Jesus who died on the cross to save you from your sins and death. "Truly, truly, I say to you: He who hears my word and believes on Him who sent me, has everlasting life, and will not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." (John 4:24).

Have you believed on Jesus for salvation, but lack that "full and rich" life that others seem to have? Then you need to follow Christ, and Topeka Bible Church will help you do that. Starting with the Welcome Class, we'll help you find the pathway to a rich life as you follow your Lord and Savior. The path is slightly different for everyone. That's why we offer numerous kinds of growth opportunities - all kinds of classes, accountability groups and Bible studies, ministries for men and women, young and old, singles and married, students and businessmen and women. 

There's nothing like the joy of life in Christ. And we exist to lead people to that life.

TBC's PRIORITIES: TBC Life
Our mission statement - "Leading People to Life in Christ" - points us in the right direction. But knowing your mission isn't enough. It needs specifics. That's what Priorities are for. They flesh out the details of how the mission will be accomplished. TBC's Four Priorities can be remembered easily, for they make up the phrase TBC Life:

T is for Teaching - TEACHING THE WORD
B is for Building - BUILDING THE BODY
C is for Celebrating - CELEBRATING THE LORD
Life is for Living It in Topeka and around the world.


TEACHING THE WORD
We are not called a Bible Church by accident. We love to take people to God's Word where they can meet God and learn His will. Did you ever stop to think that everything we know about Jesus Christ or the Church or God's will, we know from the Word of God? 

Our teaching of the Word is two-pronged:

  • Relevant - We are boldly committed to speaking to folks where they are. The Word of God is as relevant, vibrant and potent as it was 2000 years ago. We are determined, therefore, to avoid clichés and tell "the old, old story" in a new way that will penetrate layers of pain and prejudice. Today's issues and practical applications are our thing.
  • Biblical - We are firmly committed to treating the Bible with integrity. That means we make an honest effort to submit our thought to the Bible rather than to subject the Bible to our thought. We practice expository preaching based on diligent study and sound interpretation.

It is easy to be relevant if you do not care about being biblical, and easy to be biblical if you do not care about being relevant. We refuse to sacrifice one for the other. We do not always succeed, but we aim for both. 

Teaching/learning opportunities include: Sunday morning Sermons, Sunday School classes, Men's, Women's and couples Bible studies.

BUILDING THE BODY
TBC seeks to build believers into fully devoted disciples of Jesus Christ. Our discipleship building efforts are focused in two directions at the same time:
 

  • COMMUNITY GROUPS - Americans live and work in a society that sows self-sufficiency and reaps solitude. Believers cannot grow strong in isolation; the way to grow is to do life together. TBC is a "high-touch" church for a "high-tech" culture. Not only is that "touch" visible on Sunday morning, but it's seen throughout the week as TBCers get together one-to-one or in Community Groups for fun, fellowship and study.

The opportunities for Community Group participation are; our new Life Interest Groups (LIG's), traditional couples Community Groups, women's weekly Bible studies, men's accountability groups and studies.
 

  • INDIVIDUALS - TBC is deeply committed to building people rather than programs. Everyone's path of spiritual growth is different. One person's need is spiritual, another is social, while that of a third is financial. Therefore TBC is intentionally relational rather than organizational, need-directed rather than structure-driven, and flexible rather than rigid. We live in a world of multiple choices, and the size of TBC allows us to offer each person a broad choice of opportunities for studying, serving, and socializing.

Building opportunities include: Community Groups, Life Interest Groups, Sunday School classes, Men's and Women's Ministry, Youth programs, prayer groups.

CELEBRATING THE LORD
Our third priority is to be known in heaven and on earth as a worshiping church, a church that glorifies God through its celebration of Him. We want God to look down on TBC and say, "There's a church full of people whose greatest joy is exalting their Savior and Lord."

For us this priority is likewise two-pronged:
 

  • AUTHENTIC - True worship must be authentic worship, and we are committed to authenticity. We believe in being genuine with God. That's why we take Sunday morning worship seriously. We don't sing a couple of hymns, take an offering and preach. Instead, we thoughtfully invest at least 20-30 minutes in celebrating the Lord who loved us, saved us and carried us through the week.

While all churches talk about the Spirit, many show their fear of Him by imprisoning Him safely within familiar forms that are "decent and in order." We believe that authentic worship occurs where there is freedom and joy, and where believers are released to new levels of praise. This praise exalts the person of Christ, for the Spirit's role is to make the presence of Christ real, active and glorious to the Christian. As a result, the worship focuses not on man but on man's Savior. The Lord's Table which exalts Christ and is central to New Testament worship is also an important part of our celebration.
 

  • CONTEMPORARY - Topeka Bible Church is committed to living and worshiping in the "now." Because we have a rich spiritual past, our worship does not ignore the traditional hymns. We include psalms and hymns and spiritual songs - all three. But because we live and move in the present, our worship is designed to be fresh and contemporary. We are not afraid of drama, drums, or other musical instruments, when they are used to bring heartfelt worship to the Lord.

Celebrating opportunities include: Sunday Worship services, the Lord's Table, and special musical or seasonal programs.

LIFE is for Living - in Topeka and around the World!
Our fourth and final priority flows naturally from the first three: to reach out - to live the "TBC Life" in Topeka and around the world. We aim to impact our world in three ways: 
 

  • EVANGELISM - We are driven to reach lost people in our community because we believe there is a real Heaven and Hell and folks just like us will go to one place or the other for eternity! This motivates us to pursue a variety of evangelistic endeavors. We sponsor city-wide evangelistic outreaches, and lend our support and leadership to local evangelistic organizations such as Campus Life, Young Life, CBMC, and Christian Women's Club.

Our evangelism is both relational and confrontational. Most commonly the former, of course. While God uses all kinds of witnessing, we believe that evangelism is most naturally at home not in the sales department but in the relationships department. Most people who come to Christ today come in the context of a personal friendship. And yet we realize that some opportunities pass by only once, and so we do not shy away from confrontational evangelism. We occasionally print and hand out tracts, and support ministries like Jews for Jesus that do the same.

Our evangelism is both outside the building, and inside. Unbelievers live in the world, and believers are meant to reach them where they are, not simply "bring them in" to hear an invitation. On the other hand, seekers flood into TBC, and our services are designed to be "seeker friendly." We are constantly amazed at how many folks Christ is drawing to Himself here on the TBC campus, as well as through TBCers out in the work place and in their homes.

One of our most exciting recent evangelistic ventures is our Life Interest Groups. Dozens of groups have sprung up around personal hobbies -- from golfing to knitting, scrapbooking to dirtbiking. These groups intentionally enfold non-believing friends in a non-threatening way, and often break down the walls that keep folks from considering the claims of Christ.
 

  • MISSIONS - In a day when some large churches have turned away from traditional missionaries and mission agencies, we believe there is still gold in traditional missions. We back up that loyalty with nearly 25% of our budget; in the last decade, we have sent well over a million dollars to the cause of world evangelism. But we don't just send our money; we send our people as both lifetime and short-term missionaries -- dozens each year. In the past five years we have gotten excited about a children's ministry in the Philippines, led by our own missionary Cory Verge. Sending over teams of volunteers each year, we have built Camp Karis for children there on the island of Bohol.

God loves the whole world, and we can do no less. Close to home, we reach out to international students in Topeka and Wichita, to Indian tribes in the Southwest, and to the black community in Mendenhall, Mississippi. Across the sea, our outreach stretches from the plains of Brazil to the jungles of New Guinea, from the tribespeople of Kenya to the Muslims of Pakistan.
 

  • SOCIAL ACTION - Our priorities in social action are two: conscience and compassion. We believe that, following a biblical example, we are to be a conscience to our society. Therefore we are involved without apology in pro-family and pro-life activities here in the state capitol. We put shoe leather to our moral convictions. We circulate petitions, lobby for bills, encourage involvement in community and school activities, and pray for moral change. Our size automatically makes us one of the leading voices in the Christian community in our state. We take that responsibility seriously - to be a force for unity and integrity among the evangelical churches in Topeka and in Kansas.

Following Christ's example of compassion, we also work to relieve human suffering: to be a Good Samaritan to help our neighbors; to support the Crisis Pregnancy Outreach which we founded years ago; to support the Rescue Mission; to minister in the prisons and hospitals; to give funds and food and clothing to help the needy and alleviate poverty. We are favorably prejudiced toward any responsible involvement in our community and neighborhood.