One of our diocesan goals is that every congregation would have at least one missional community. So how do you get started? Robert Logan in his book, The Missional Journey, describes a clear path to forming missional communities. He puts all of the steps into four basic phases:
So, if you are looking for some help to get started, here is what one of the most strategic church planting leaders in the world lays out for us.
Get Ready
1. Engage the culture around you by building relationships and living incarnationally. In order to be a community on mission you need to have a clear sense of the needs, dreams, fears, joys of the people you want to reach with the love of Jesus. You also need to have relationships with these folks.
2. Pray for faith conversations. As you listen and ask questions of the people you are getting to know, you want to be learning about their spiritual journey. The goal is to come alongside people and cooperate with what God is already doing in their lives.
3. Look for the person of peace in a community. Every community has someone who is able to connect with others. Sometimes that person has a public, formal leadership role (Mayor, for example). Often the person of peace is an informal leader. Along with their ability to connect widely to a community of people, the person of peace is also open to the message of Jesus. Lydia is good example of this kind of person (see Acts 16:13-15).
4. Understand the triple focus of a missional community: sacrificial serving, authentic relationships and spiritual transformation.
Get Going
1. Start gathering together with people interested in being part of the missional community (regardless of numbers). Through prayer, worship, support and encouragement, you can begin to build authentic relationships and see spiritual transformation.
2. Start a missional (outwardly focused) ministry of some kind. What group of people need to know Jesus? What need in your community do you feel called to address through prayer and action?
3. Remind each other of God's involvement in your lives and ministries. Henry Blackaby, in Experiencing God, talks about finding what God is doing and joining Him there. God is always already present in people's lives before we arrive.
4. Create groups-within-a-group. As your missional community moves beyond 7 or 8 people you will want to create groups of 4-7 within the larger group for more personal sharing and personal support.
5. Make disciples. We are all on a life-long journey of spiritual growth. Help new Christians learn what it is like to follow Jesus.
Stay With It
1. Find the balance between challenge and encouragement. Missional communities are called beyond comfortable boundaries. So we need to be pushing each other to move beyond what is easy. We also need to celebrate what we see God doing.
2. Provide coaching and peer gatherings. We all need intentional conversations that help us reflect on what is going on in our lives.
3. Help people discover and develop their spiritual gifts.
4. Encourage life-long learning.
Keep Growing
1. Develop new leaders by identifying apprentices.
2. Celebrate what God has done and is doing.
3. Look for new opportunities to form missional communities among different people or with a different community focus.
This is a lot to assimilate. But, I encourage you to get Logan's book, The Missonal Journey, and read it with others. If you want to get more from Robert Logan, check out his website: www.loganleadership.com.
With you in the partnership of the Gospel,
Jim Hobby
- Get Ready
- Get Going
- Stay With It
- Keep Growing
So, if you are looking for some help to get started, here is what one of the most strategic church planting leaders in the world lays out for us.
Get Ready
1. Engage the culture around you by building relationships and living incarnationally. In order to be a community on mission you need to have a clear sense of the needs, dreams, fears, joys of the people you want to reach with the love of Jesus. You also need to have relationships with these folks.
2. Pray for faith conversations. As you listen and ask questions of the people you are getting to know, you want to be learning about their spiritual journey. The goal is to come alongside people and cooperate with what God is already doing in their lives.
3. Look for the person of peace in a community. Every community has someone who is able to connect with others. Sometimes that person has a public, formal leadership role (Mayor, for example). Often the person of peace is an informal leader. Along with their ability to connect widely to a community of people, the person of peace is also open to the message of Jesus. Lydia is good example of this kind of person (see Acts 16:13-15).
4. Understand the triple focus of a missional community: sacrificial serving, authentic relationships and spiritual transformation.
Get Going
1. Start gathering together with people interested in being part of the missional community (regardless of numbers). Through prayer, worship, support and encouragement, you can begin to build authentic relationships and see spiritual transformation.
2. Start a missional (outwardly focused) ministry of some kind. What group of people need to know Jesus? What need in your community do you feel called to address through prayer and action?
3. Remind each other of God's involvement in your lives and ministries. Henry Blackaby, in Experiencing God, talks about finding what God is doing and joining Him there. God is always already present in people's lives before we arrive.
4. Create groups-within-a-group. As your missional community moves beyond 7 or 8 people you will want to create groups of 4-7 within the larger group for more personal sharing and personal support.
5. Make disciples. We are all on a life-long journey of spiritual growth. Help new Christians learn what it is like to follow Jesus.
Stay With It
1. Find the balance between challenge and encouragement. Missional communities are called beyond comfortable boundaries. So we need to be pushing each other to move beyond what is easy. We also need to celebrate what we see God doing.
2. Provide coaching and peer gatherings. We all need intentional conversations that help us reflect on what is going on in our lives.
3. Help people discover and develop their spiritual gifts.
4. Encourage life-long learning.
Keep Growing
1. Develop new leaders by identifying apprentices.
2. Celebrate what God has done and is doing.
3. Look for new opportunities to form missional communities among different people or with a different community focus.
This is a lot to assimilate. But, I encourage you to get Logan's book, The Missonal Journey, and read it with others. If you want to get more from Robert Logan, check out his website: www.loganleadership.com.
With you in the partnership of the Gospel,
Jim Hobby
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