Sully Notes 12 | Launching Missional Communities: A Field Guide Part 3 of 3

Sully Notes 12: Books in 25 minutes or less

Sully Notes are meant to provide you with direct quotes from some books I've read in the last year, so you can get a taste of the overall theme of the book and then begin to chew on what your life might look like if you applied what you read. 

3DM Missional Community Trilogy Sully Notes

• Sully Notes 10 | Family on Mission Part 1 of 3
• Sully Notes 11 | Leading Missional Communities Part 1 of 3

And here are the previous Notes for the current series to complete the 3DM Missional Community Trilogy: 

• Sully Notes 12 | Launching Missional Communities Part 1 of 3
• Sully Notes 12 | Launching Missional Communities Part 2 of 3

Launching Missional Communities | Sully Notes 12: Part 3 of 3

MC Life: So you've started Missional Community. What do you do now that you're on the front lines?

Recap | What is a Missional Community?

"A Missional Community is a group of fifteen to forty people who have united, in the name of Jesus, around a common service and witness to a particular context. Friends, family, neighbors and colleagues are invited to come and be a part of this extended family of relationships. Together, they follow Jesus as His disciples, even if not every person may yet describe him/herself as a Christian (although the leaders will happily do so). There is no test in order to come; simply a desire to discover more about God, whatever someone's journey has been up to that point. MCs aim to offer a grace-filled, non-judgmental welcome in the name of the Father. This is balanced by the belief that it is only as we submit our whole lives to Christ that we can experience forgiveness, transformation and real purpose in life. Within MCs, people seek to share their lives with one another day-to-day, so that this overflows into their formal meetings, rather than being solely expressed there. The relationships in MCs have to blend into 'normal life', or else they become yet another thing to clog up our schedules. Structures, such as formal meetings, do not create life, but they can be helpful in sustaining it. The Lord told the Israelites to build a tabernacle that was flexible and easy to move, so that it could go easily with them on their journey. Missional Communities take the same view towards their structures, with the function being more important than the form. The group balances its energies between an UPward movement towards God, an INward movement towards the MC as a place of identity and an OUTward movement to represent Christ to their mission context. When they gather, they express this in creative ways that are appropriate to their context. There will be great diversity between groups in how this looks, with a variety of faces and voices being given room to step forward and contribute what they can. The only rule is that they do not try to do a miniature version of a Sunday church service. MCs recognize that their measure of success will, above all, be the stories of lives transformed, of the wider community being impacted and reached for Christ, of people being drawn closer to their Heavenly Father. Such change happens in community rather than in isolation, since every aspect occurs with the love, challenge and impetus of others, as everyone tries to live with one another as Jesus would. In short, they are a community on a mission.

... an MC:

1) Has its own distinct vision for mission; for example, by age group, neighborhood, network, or some other specific area of common interest

2) Has a name – key to building identity and belonging

3) Is a community of up to forty adults who meet regularly

4) Is led by members of the church family, preferably with a leadership team

5) Seeks to identify emerging leaders

6) Is committed to forming new small groups from within its membership that share its distinct vision for mission

7) Has a heart to see the MC multiply

8) Is accountable to the sending church and its ordained leadership

9) Remains part of the gathered church

10) Is lightweight/inexpensive/not bound by building or maintenance." – pgs. 124-125

Hypothetical Monthly MC Calendar  

"Here is how the monthly rhythm of an MC might look. These are only the more organized or formal gatherings, whereas the best Missional Communities will be seeing lots of informal interaction happening throughout the week (including with their People of Peace). This calendar would work well earlier in the life of an MC, since it gives the most priority to time as a whole community, which is key to long-term growth and health.

Week 1 – Sunday: Sabbath Celebration (UP/IN) / Tuesday: MC Family Meal including time for DNAs (IN)

Week 2 – Sunday: Sabbath Celebration (UP/IN) / Wednesday: MC Leadership DNA (IN) / Saturday: Mission Service Day (OUT) 

Week 3 – Sunday: Sabbath Celebration (UP/IN) / Tuesday: Community Meal (IN/OUT) / Throughout Week: DNA Groups 

Week 4 – Sunday: Missional Sabbath Time with People of Peace (OUT) / Tuesday: MC Prayer Night (IN) / Friday: BBQ Night with People of Peace (OUT)" – pg. 126

The UP, IN, OUT Health Check | Is Your Missional Community Balanced?

"This is a simple tool to use with MCs that are established, in order to help leaders to honestly review their areas of strength and weakness. For each sentence, give your Missional Community a score from 0-10 in response to the extent to which you agree with the statement.

UP

• Group members make regular time to retreat, reflect and pray
• Together you have found a way of praying regularly
• People in the group feel close to God at the moment
• Your group worships God in numerous creative ways
• You hear God's voice when you gather and put into practice what He is saying
• As a group, you observe both regular and occasional Spiritual Disciplines
• Together you find relevant ways to learn from and be shaped by Scripture

IN

• Everyone has someone in their life who knows everything about them 
  – there is nothing being carried alone in darkness
• Within the group, both marriage and singleness are supported with a healthy and balanced perspective
• People are comfortable both giving and receiving mentoring
• People feel that they belong to a group who together form an authentic expression of church
• The group is characterized by regular and gracious hospitality
• You all feel loved emotionally and supported practically by the MC – it's not just going to meetings
• People regularly discuss with each other how they are seeking to be better followers of Jesus
• Overall, people feel surrounded by meaningful community

OUT

• Your group has a clear missional focus towards which you devote time and energy
• Your community spends time with lots of friends and contacts who are not in church
• In the last month, your group has found ways to lovingly demonstrate the power of the Kingdom to people who are not Christians
• Your group has seen people with whom you are in contact start to follow God in the last year
• Members are involved in lots of activities beyond church life
• The place where many MC members spend most of their time (at work, study, play, etc.) is predominately in relationships with non-Christians
• As a group, you are excited about your involvement in serving the wider missional context." – pg. 127  

Leading MC Leaders

"Your role as leaders is critical to the process of birthing a new Missional Community! If you are to lead an MC, then you need to have really clearly settled in your heart what your missional vision is that you will call others to follow. This means that right now you should be really seeking the Lord to see if you are able to be leading a Missional Community and, if so, what specific mission He is speaking to you about. Do not try to make this decision by discussion and consensus in your group – that will be a disaster! Either you will have loads of different visions (all worthy, but you lose focus because you can't do multiple visions all at one time) or, in the group where no one really knows what to say, it will be very discouraging both to you and to the members. As leaders, you are called and commissioned to lead; so, if you are not clear yet, then get on your knees, and ask God to show you what the mission vision is to be during this next season!" – pg. 131 

"'What is the main thing, after prayer and God's initiative, that makes an MC stand or fall?' Easy answer. Mission Vision. ... Who exactly do you want to reach? Who do you want to see saved? ... You need to be able to specifically say who your community will have at the center of its mission. Remember, vision is always set by the leaders of the MC and not by committee. One of the core functions of leadership is to paint a picture of a better future and call people to join them in moving towards that Kingdom goal. As you explain the goals of you mission vision, you may find that some people will say to you, 'I'm busy with work/life, etc. ... Isn't it enough to do Missional Community values and personally live a missional life?' The response is that 2000 years of church history shows us that there is a group size, roughly equating to the extended family that has repeatedly been the key drive for growing the church. This 'extended family' interaction is built into the regular rhythm of life. It is the mid-sized Missional Community that has been the most successful in growing the church across time and cultures. For example:

• Christians meeting in a home in Corinth in 50 A.D.
• A monastic community led by Celtic missionaries in the 6th century
• Local congregations gathering around the teachings of the Reformers in 1540s Europe
• Local chapels formed by communities impacted by the Wesleyan revival of the 1740s
• Groups of the new Pentecostal believers in Latin America in the late 20th century
• Gatherings of persecuted Christians in the underground church of China today." – pgs. 131-132

1st Example of Specific Missional Vision

"Beth's group is a women-only MC, since that is what she felt the Lord was calling her to build. Naturally, they have sought to do mission activities related to women, but the breakthrough for a sustained approach came when Beth began connecting with a ministry that fights human trafficking. The city where she lives is located at the intersection of two major highways and is a significant hub for this horrendous problem. A local non-profit runs houses of refuge for women who escape or are rescued by the police, but this is very resource-intensive as the women arrive traumatized and with few possessions. Beth, who loves parties, wanted to find a creative way both to fundraise and also to draw women together in positive relationships. So she founded WRATH – Women Rallying Against Traffic in Humans. Her idea was to host great parties for women, where as part of the evening everyone brings a certain thing that the rescue house needs (whether it's shoes or toiletries or food or whatever). As part of the evening, there is a short presentation, and then people are invited to host their own WRATH parties with their own circle of friends. Beth's aim is for her and the MC to educate, equip and empower women to do this, so that they can build an ever-widening network of women, most of whom are successful and prosperous but together can support some of the most vulnerable and abused women in society." – pg. 132 

2nd Example of Specific Missional Vision 

"Our Missional Community, which is in a working class part of town, was trying to work out who our people of peace might be. Not wanting to wait endlessly, we decided to start being a presence in our wider neighborhood and just see what happened. We began by all meeting in the local part for a big picnic, intentionally bringing too much food so that we had plenty to share. We ended up attracting a bunch of local kids who were hanging out in the park, some of whom in turn went to fetch their families. Various conversations later and members of the MC were starting to connect with some of those households and build relationships with them, including being invited into their homes. As Christmas approached, we felt led by God as a Missional Community to adopt five of the poorer households, helping to provide Christmas food and simple gifts for the children. Spiritual conversations inevitably followed, with long-term relationships and high credibility being established in the area." – pg. 134

"Naming Missional Communities – Leaders always get to name their MC because it is an important part of defining its future identity. Not everyone may want to name his/her MC, but lead them to do this. Whether leaders choose something serious, fun or Biblical, they should always be aware of the people whom they are trying to reach and also what God is saying about his plans for that Missional Community. Some group names are prophetic and speak to the vision and intent with which the group was birthed. Here are just a few examples, with a brief description of their mission focus:

• Ethnos: reaching international students (Ethnos being the Greek word in the New Testament for 'the nations')
• Chosen: helping women to live out their true identity in Christ
• The Family Van: reaching young families in a particular neighborhood (the joke being that you need to drive a minivan to be accepted into the group!)
• Legacy: reaching teens and their families, to build a Kingdom legacy in them
• Soul Mates: focusing on married couples who want to improve their marriage and singles preparing for marriage
• Miracles in Motion: reaching their neighborhood through service projects for the needy." – pg. 135

Case Study | St. Thomas' Philadelphia, Sheffield, UK: The Seven Core Values of Missional Communities

1) Vision-led Community: Each community is founded on a God-given vision or a common purpose that unites the group. This provides a focus for the life of each group and its rhythms and activities. These range from reaching out to the city using the creative arts, serving a local neighborhood, welcoming international students, sharing a passion for the outdoors, supporting individual members in their workplace, working with the homeless, to ... anything!

2) Balanced Community: In each group, we give time to growing our relationship with God and all that he would want to do and say to us (UP); to creating open, honest community with each other and those within the body of Christ (IN); to reaching out with love in mission to our city and the places where God has put us (OUT). These are the three basic dimensions of the life of each group.

3) Adventure: We believe that community grows best when people are joined or bonded together in a common focus or task beyond themselves. We want our communities to be places in which people are encouraged to step out in their faith, to take risks and to learn from their experiences together.

4) Community Core Values: Each community shares some common core values with the whole church, and each community also has its own distinct values that shape its identity more specifically. They could be things like a focus on releasing the prophetic, a passion for welcome and hospitality, creativity, or intergenerational involvement.

5) Freedom in Style and Structure: Each group is different! And the way in which members express their community life together will look different. We strongly value diversity across the whole church, so we don't have a set program or pattern that we ask communities to follow. Instead, we want to release a mixture of vision, style and structure, allowing each community to shape the way in which its members meet in a way that best fits their vision and call, based around the value of balanced community.

6) Making Disciples and Raising Up Leaders: Missional Communities are places in which we expect people to grow in their relationship with God. We want to grow a church that is full of disciples and learners, people who increasingly look to God for everything that they need, and learn to put his ways into practice. We want to see new people becoming disciples and joining communities in which they will be supported and inspired in their faith. Communities create an environment that gives opportunities and encouragement for members to realize their God-given potential. This can include growing in spiritual gifts and disciplines, skills and abilities and leadership. 

 7) Open Community and Kingdom Expectation: We believe that God wants to extend his Kingdom here in our city! We want our communities to be hospitable, open and welcoming to new people, and to be places that are expectant that God will move and do amazing things amongst his people and in our city." – pgs. 135-136 

Part 1 | UP Dimension of MCs

"We see that Jesus teaches that religious knowledge alone is not our goal (Matthew 7:21-23). Rather, we are judged by God on whether we live the life and walk the talk as we go about our everyday existence (e.g. James 1:22). Put another way, do we love God more as a result of what we are learning? ... Jesus (and Paul) repeatedly sent out disciples to share the works and words of the Kingdom, often in a wildly under-equipped state. When the disciples returned with the inevitable pressing questions, they were far more open to training and input. The best educational methods teach us the same thing: when people are aware that they are ill-equipped for some practical area of their life (whether it be interpreting their bank statement, relating to their spouse, or praying for someone), they will listen eagerly and learn deeply. MC teaching needs to be helping people live their lives better, particularly as they seek to be effective as missionaries in the world. In Missional Community, we would encourage leaders to respond to the key question that they learn in Leadership DNAs (i.e. Huddles): What is Jesus saying to you (both individually and as a group), and what are you going to do in response? ... The point is that you allow God to set the agenda for learning, working out the most effective and creative ways for people to learn and respond. To clarify, this is not to denigrate in any way the classic spiritual disciplines. If God speaks to a group about growing in holiness, its members might well find spending several months in Leviticus to be of great benefit, along with days at the beginning and end set aside for prayer and fasting. This is not an anti-intellectual call; but it challenges the idolatry of study for the sole goal of increasing knowledge, of a puffed-up pride in academic standards and 'deep' teaching." – pgs. 137-138

" ... teaching is an important function in Missional Communities, but it is a teaching that is grounded, applied and incarnated. It is decided upon in response to what God is saying, either to the leader personally or to the group, with the goal being to see growth in Christ-likeness and effectiveness in mission. Great teachers who never reach the lost are probably not so great after all. Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch comment, 'Some critics of the missional church ask, 'Where is the Bible taught? How do people learn doctrine?' We recognize these as valid questions. But we believe such learning takes place more effectively when the Christian faith community is involved in action mission ... like Jesus' first followers discovered, learning occurs when we need to draw on information because a situation demands it.' The other balancing component is the role of celebrations in teaching. Elsewhere, we wrote about the values for the different sizes of gathering, and put preaching as one of the three core values for celebrations. Our experience is that a celebration-size gathering justifies preaching input from people who have been able to set aside the time required to come up with high quality biblical preaching that changes lives. Whatever your church's rhythm of meeting at celebration size, outstanding preaching should be a key component of those gatherings." – pg. 138

" ...  we tell our leaders that all we want them to do is breathe ... 

1) Inhale: you can't give to those you lead unless you are yourself receiving from the Lord (Psalm 23, 'He anoints my head with oil ... '). Make sure that you are meeting with God daily and giving him a chance to speak to you. It is out of this that you will have fresh bread to break open and share with those whom he has asked you to lead.

2) Exhale: give freely what you have received from the Lord, but remember that you are not the provider. Do not take upon yourself responsibilities that belong to God alone (Psalm 23, 'My cup overflows ... ').

3) Repeat: be faithful and accountable to one another and, most of all, to the Lord (Psalm 23, 'The Lord is my Shepherd ... ')

... we are to lead those who follow us by inviting them to walk alongside us and imitate our lives. Thus Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 4:16, 'Therefore I urge you to imitate me.' This is not meant to be an impossible bar but rather an encouragement to our Missional Community leaders to see that who they are, far more than what they know, is what will most influence others. We are not giving people the perfect example, just a living one. A key function of the main leaders of the church is to encourage and speak faith into the hearts of our leaders who are out on the front line; to keep affirming that they have heard from God, that the dream on their heart for reaching the lost is a great one, and that they do have the capacity to lead their group into that context and see people won for Christ." – pgs. 138-139

"Missional Communities work much better when people within them are gathering throughout the week, in smaller and larger settings. It might be as small as two people meeting for coffee, through a couple of households sharing a meal, to a party for a bunch of people and their friends, to a big gathering in the local park to play flag football or exercise the children on the playground or to enjoy a picnic together. However it takes place, MCs stand or fall on both the number and the strength of the relationships within the community, and then inviting people to join in on the fun. ... It is hard to over-emphasize this: People need time together if they are going to commit together to serve and go. The key missional dynamic is that we are not doing mission individually, but as part of a wider group. As this is such a counter-cultural mindset, we have to do all that we can to give MCs the best chance of success. By creating dynamic community, we have a much stronger platform to call the more reluctant to out with us – people who, in spite of their hesitancy, might be highly effective once they do eventually go in mission. This is how we expand the circle of mission well beyond the most gifted and pioneering, starting to create a broader church culture that is committed to missional living." – pgs. 144-145   

The Worship Curve:

Stage 1 | Exaltation: The worshippers praise God. God receives praise from his people and welcomes them.

Remembering what God's done:

• Thanksgiving: each person says briefly something for which they're thankful since the last time
• Remembering: writing personal Psalms based on things that God has done followed by 'his love endures forever' 

Stage 2 | Reflection: The worshippers confess their sins. God forgives their sins.

Recalling who God is: 

• History: reciting a creed together 
• Praise: singing a song about God's character 
• Communion: including bread and wine along with prayers of confession beforehand and prayers of assurance afterward 

Stage 3 | Adoration: The worshippers draw near to God. God pours out his Spirit.

Tuning into God's presence a closer time with him:

• Listening: silently reflecting on what the Father says to his children and waiting to hear from him
• Repenting: writing sins down on paper and putting them through a paper shredder
• Reading: looking at Scriptures about God's forgiveness for his children
• Praying: following prompts by the Holy Spirit to pray for specific intercession, healing, etc. 

Stage 4 | Consummation: The worshippers receive and express the gifts of the Spirit and the blessing of God's presence. God reveals himself in word and deed.

• Responding: singing about how we feel about God and he feels toward us
• Studying: looking at a specific passage to ask God what he is saying through his Word and determining how to respond 

Stage 5 | Commission: The worshippers go out into the world, empowered by the Spirit. God commissions his people.

• Summarizing: discussing time together and highlighting
• Focusing: breaking into smaller groups to share actions and agree to be accountable to do before next meeting time
• Challenging: sending out with final prayer ... " – pgs. 148, 150 

Worshipping with Children: "Having children worship with you is a beautiful part of a Missional Community. ... We asked some MC leaders for their best ideas ...

• Just worship like normal
• Children can be given paper and crayons to draw what they are sensing in worship
• Worship together with a child leading
• Let kids pray over the MC and lay hands on the adults
• Ask kids how you can pray for them
• Reading a story from The Jesus Storybook Bible or Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing" – pg. 149

How to Pray with Children

• Pray conversationally; talk to God without using big words
• Pray short, one- or two-sentence prayers
• Give the children prayer 'targets'; example: '(Name), will you pray for our city?'
• Assure them that God is listening
• Pray about whatever they ask; if they get the impression that something is insignificant, we are teaching them that God doesn't really care
• Have the children lay hands on each other and pray for each other" – pg. 151

Spiritual Warfare

"As we have watched and helped many churches embrace Missional Communities, we have observed significant levels of spiritual warfare that occur as a result. This comes in many forms – congregational conflict with a small but vocal and well organized group of opponents to missional living, relational stress on staff teams, marriage pressures, sickness, doubt and fear leading some to give up, oppression and depression, even physical threat. The enemy clearly hates anything that releases missional life or greater power in the body of the church, so we should not be surprised that this occurs; neither should you be surprised when this happens in your context. We stand against the evil one and is utterly opposed to the purposes of God. The name satan means 'adversary' or 'one who resists,' and that tells us everything about the battle that we are in. The term devil means 'slanderer,' so he lies, attacks and distorts the truth, especially the truth of our relationship with God. He tries to prevent the Kingdom of God from advancing and people from having a deeper covenant relationship with our heavenly Father, since both of those are things that he fears deeply. However, he is nothing like God. He is neither omniscient, omnipotent nor omnipresent, which means that his resources are way fewer than our Heavenly Father's. Furthermore, we are on the winning side. So while it can be incredibly hard and challenging in the immediate, we are not without hope, since Jesus is the undisputable victor. Through what Jesus achieved on the cross, the power of satan is broken, and he only has a short time left before that defeat is completely driven home. 'But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ' (1 Corinthians 15:57). So really, whether you like it or not, you are engaged in spiritual warfare. Jesus said in Matthew 11:12, 'From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.' Our tendency is to think of spiritual warfare primarily as the enemy attacking us, but it is we who are to be the aggressors. Developing a church with MCs counts as an act of warfare, so do not be surprised if the enemy pushes back hard. This is why prayer is so important so that the mighty weapon of prayer can be deployed, and you will not be unaware of the enemy's schemes." – pgs. 153-154 

Part 2 | IN Dimension of MCs

1) When Adults and Children are Together

Positives

• Other adults love your children with you, children learn to love other adults
• Children keep adults young
• Laughter
• Adults learn from children, children learn from other adults
• Children see adults respond to God
• Children experience community and the fullness of church life

Negatives

• Chaotic, messy, noisy
• Hard to focus
• Distractions for moms, especially
• Limited depth in sharing

2) When Adults and Children are Separate (with Children Being Entertained)

Positives

• Adults can connect
• Sanity
• More depth
• Good break from the kids, especially if you've been together all day

Negatives

• Children don't witness community
• At what age do you start and stop the separation?
• Lose a person from the group for childcare, or cost of babysitting
• Lack of space

3) When Adults and Children are Separate (with Children Being Equipped/Taught)

Positives

• All have training (meat and milk)
• Parents have a break
• Adults can engage more easily
• People without children enjoy it more
• Deeper level of discussion
• Children learn more

Negatives

• Children don't witness how the Holy Spirit is working with other adults
• Adults don't hear children's hearts
• Have to equip childcare leaders
• Need space for two separate groups
• Do children need to be taught of the whole time? Can they just have fun sometimes?

One Church's Regulations for Working with Children in Missional Communities

• No adult is to be left alone with another person's child at any time. Always have at least one other person present with you.
• Another adult may never take a child to the bathroom alone; they must have another adult or another child of the same sex with them. Allow children as much privacy as possible. Assist younger children only when absolutely necessary, leaving the door ajar as an extra precaution. Children over three years old may be sent to the bathroom alone, but workers should monitor this situation closely.
• Volunteers working with children are required to have considered us their church home for at least six months and be a regular member of their MC.
• Children must have appropriate supervision at all times. If you go to the bathroom, always make sure that there is another worker who can supervise the children while you are gone.
• Children should not wander around the house during the meeting.
• Children are to be released only to their parents or the guardian who brought them.
• All volunteers should have the full trust of all core parents and the community's leadership team.
• Any injuries or accidents should be reported promptly to the parents and treated under their supervision.
• Be careful in your use of touch. Although we encourage hugging, avoid any contact or situation that could be considered questionable. God's children are of extreme importance to Him. Steer clear of anything that could create even the slightest appearance of evil. Any questionable volunteer behavior should be reported to the MC leader and parents when it occurs.
• Above all, love every child as a currently active and viable member of the Kingdom of God." – pgs. 159-160

IN Example of Children Growing Up in MC:

"Children have been part of the DNA of our group since we started. There were children in the group out of which we multiplied, and we've always had children with us since then. Our reason for having our children there was to have them grow up with a love for genuine community. We wanted them to feel so comfortable in MCs that they would naturally seek them out when they got older and were on their own. ... We recently had the opportunity to celebrate a new Missional Community. It was meeting at a local university, and we realized that five of our MCs children were there, all meeting together and beginning their own group. We realized that this was an answer to our prayers and a confirmation of our Missional Community vision to pass a legacy of faith on to our children (our group's name is Legacy). Children have been a part of our outreach efforts as well. A new member recently shared that one of the teenage girls in our group made a huge impact on her daughter. The mom said that when they had left after their first visit, the daughter informed her mother that, 'They had found their Missional Community home!' One of the regular teens, Suzie, had made our visitor so welcome that she wanted to belong. ... " – pg. 160

*See Launching Missional Communities: A Field Guide for MCs in relation to Youth, College, Seniors and Empty-Nesters

More Ideas for the IN-ward Dimension of Your MC

• Hang out together in general
• Time to use words of encouragement
• Family meals/eating together
• Discussion time where all ages can answer
• When you eat together, have older children help adults with childcare
• Park time
• Take dinners to families with newborns
• Play together – movie nights, card nights, game nights, basketball, hiking, camping, etc." – pg. 175

IN Example of Being Transformed by Scripture and Openness in MC

"The most impacting encounter I have had with the core value of IN was during a season our whole church was studying the Sermon on the Mount. After each Sunday sermon, our MC would dialogue about the talk and respond to the passage during our community gathering. One girl in our community felt led to read Matthew 5:4. She said that she felt like God wanted us to camp out on Jesus' words for a while and so she asked, 'What is each of you mourning today?' Immediately, it was as if our collective community had the weight of expectation and self-composure lifted. Each person shared the heaviness of their heart. One shared the recent loss of a loved one. Another felt as though the dreams and ambition he once knew had been stolen by his circumstance. Together, we wept. Our community had an enormous breakthrough as we genuinely and openly shared our lives together that night. More importantly, as we gathered for prayer, the Great Comforter met us, individually and corporately, in a living room." – pg. 175

Part 3 | OUT Dimension of MCs

How to Gather People Around a Specific Mission Focus

"It is about calling together people to a greater vision beyond themselves, where they can both belong and meaningfully serve their King. ... we tell people that we find that in any MC three types of people follow the mission vision:

1) Those who hear the vision and genuinely share it, even if they hadn't known that was their heart before they heard it and/or they didn't have language to express it.

2) Those who want to serve that vision. It might not be their personal call, but they are very happy to serve to make this vision come about, because they can see it as a worthy and compelling cause.

3) Those who want to serve the MC leaders as people. They're not all that bothered about what they do, as they are more interested in supporting the leaders, learning from and building community with them." – pgs. 176-177  

OUT Example of How a Habitat for Humanity Built a Mission Vision for an MC

"Over the past couple of years, we've been connected to a 'Habitat for Humanity' neighborhood near to where we live. We began by supporting one of our Missional Community members, Kelsey, as she began the year-long application process to have a home built by Habitat. In an answer to our prayers, she was approved and we were then able to help her to complete volunteer hours towards her own home, which also included working on Habitat sites all over the city. Move-in day was a great day, as our whole Missional Community helped her to move out of her old apartment and into her brand new house! Now that she is settled in her new home and is part of this unique community, which is mainly comprised of single-mother households, we were able to put on a 'VBS' program in the neighborhood park this past summer. We were able to connect with many families in the neighborhood and look forward to doing more outreach. It's been exciting to see how our simple prayers for God to provide a nice home for Kelsey opened up a whole mission field to our Missional Community!" – pg. 177

OUT First Attempt Example for an MC

"Our first OUT was to organize a trash pick-up around where we live, and we invited our Neighborhood Association to join us. When the day came around, only five people showed up, including my wife and me plus one other leader from our group. Needless to say, we were a little discouraged by the turnout, but our neighbors were happy with our desire to invest in the locality, and the next week one of them showed up at our house with a thank you note and homemade bread! It also caught the attention of the major landlord in the area, leading us to have had tons of favor since then. The Neighborhood Association has begun to outsource a lot of neighborhood projects to our Missional Community. As they have shown more trust in us, it has encouraged our MC members to be more dedicated to doing OUT. For us as a Missional Community, it went to show how faith the size of a mustard seed can be used by God to accomplish more than we can often imagine." – pg. 178

Neighborhood Mission Ideas

"How about neighborhood clean-up days, mowing peoples' lawns for free, prayer walks, or monthly block parties to have community with your neighbors? How about organizing evenings that are purely social? One pioneering couple started men's poker nights to complement the neighborhood women's evenings. Is there a school near your area? Adopt it, and volunteer to help with cleanup and repairs. Sow into the lives of the staff there. What local facilities are there that you like to use? This could be businesses, shops, services, parks, public transport, etc. Be intentional about being fully present when you are there, seeing if the Lord brings People of Peace across your path. If someone identifies a Person of Peace, as a group you can work together to build relationship and reinforce that initial relationship. Do you all frequent a local restaurant? Have MC meetings there, and build friendships with the owner and the staff. Invest in their lives. Tip well!" – pg. 178

Network Mission Ideas

"What about social or business networks? Do several of you work in the same field? Start a businesspersons' breakfast and invite your other co-workers or people with whom you do business. ... have excellent speakers who will genuinely equip them with skills or motivation for the workplace (and life in general). Add value to their lives, in the name of Christ, and see who responds. Are you a stay-at-home mom? Organize a moms' play day, inviting others whom you and your friends know. ... Perhaps you could occasionally have a moms' evening out together and do something more glamorous that is NOT child-focused! Don't forget that increasingly there are stay-at-home dads; how might they be included as well? Maybe you have a heart for a specific people group, like the inner city poor or local refugees. Join with an existing organization and volunteer there. See what relationships start to form. Alternatively, if you can see a clear unmet need, recruit a team to start to make a tangible difference. Do you have a particular hobby or interest? Start being properly involved and build relationships. Maybe you like playing basketball, Frisbee golf, or indoor soccer. If so, grab a couple of friends, who in turn invite their friends and colleagues, and form a team. Be intentional about hanging out with people before and after games and practices." – pg. 179

Ideas for the OUT-ward Dimension

• Have a dinner with people from your MC and have each couple bring People of Peace
• Prayer walk your neighborhood
• Identify a Person of Peace from school or work and have the MC pray for that person
• Picnic at the park and invite other families
• Kids help make a meal for a neighbor and deliver it
• Homeless packs and sack lunches to put in car and give away when passing by homeless at street corners
• Ask everyone, 'What would Jesus want you to do tomorrow to share his live?'
• Ask the Holy Spirit to lead and then follow" – pg. 180

OUT | Mission Does Not Need to Be Sophisticated for an MC

"The leader of an MC had a close non-Christian friend who was clearly a Person of Peace, but she hadn't yet found a natural way to connect her with the members of her Missional Community. Her dog's 13th birthday proved to be the solution. The friend, who had a Jewish background, suggested that the appropriate thing to do would be to throw a party to celebrate a doggy coming of age – and that it should be called a Barkmitzphah! So the MC leader started inviting lots of friends from work and from the Missional Community. Everyone had a great evening, and there were lots of relationships formed between two groups of people who wouldn't normally mix, but once they did, found that they had lots in common. This paved the way for lots of ongoing connectivity in the months that followed." – pg. 181

OUT | Allowing God to Direct the Group as It Develops

"A Missional Community can be a place of significant growth for each individual if s/he fully invests herself/himself in it. It truly becomes a family where everyone is known beyond just the generics of what they do, especially when they are known and loved in their ugliest times. Really all anyone wants and needs is to be known to the core through the messy, ugly, beautiful times of our lives. And it doesn't have to be complicated. Some of the sweetest times in our group have been Sunday afternoon lunches and small worship sessions with an acoustic guitar. One of the most important aspects of a Missional Community is spending time in prayer for both each other and the people to whom you are ministering." – pg. 184

OUT | Leaving a Large MC to Start a New One

"It was intimidating to come from a large Missional Community and begin our own. We started with only three people, and God showed us a scripture to encourage us, 'Do not despise the day of small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin' (Zephaniah 4:8). This made it easier to just be obedient and not worry about how big we were supposed to be. As time has gone by, we have grown into a full-sized MC, which has been truly faith-building to watch happen around us." – pg. 187

Finishing Well – When a Missional Community Comes to an End  

"As a Missional Community develops, it will see people join, commit more deeply and, over time, some of those will emerge into leadership in their own right. This will result in new groups being birthed out of the MC, even to the extent that on occasion, so many new groups are born that the original group effectively comes to an end. Other times, the leaders of the group themselves receive a completely fresh assignment from God – perhaps to form a different MC, or to serve him in some other way – and no one else in the group wants to step into leadership. Sometimes the leaders are forced to step back, such as when a new job in a different city forces a move, or when a life change happens, and a season of resting from active leadership is where God is leading. Whatever the causes and circumstances, it is important for the group to finish well. The members need open, clear and timely communication. If a leader is planning to end, a two to three month warning is appropriate, so that people have time to adjust and think about where they might go next. If there is a possibility of others having the opportunity to step into leadership, then there needs to be a clear process set out, including time for due consideration to take place. The group should be encouraged to go out with a bang; maybe a concluding missional activity and certainly a party for the group members to thank God and celebrate all that has happened in their midst. This is important because a group coming to an end should not be characterized as a failure." – pg. 191 

Case Study | Norman Community Church

It took four years to fully launch and establish Norman Community Church (NCC). For each year, we can look back and see the major developments for each of the three sizes of gathering (Missional Community, Sabbath Celebration, DNA).

NCC YEAR 1

NCC Year 1: Missional Communities

• Began casting the vision for a network of Missional Communities.
• Concentrated on developing a vision and understanding of 'being the church;' gained courage that it really is who we are that shapes how to be the church.
• Aware of the frustration some people felt at losing their 'consumer' relationship with church.
• Started with three MCs

NCC Year 1: Celebrations: Started with three celebrations a month and one Missional Community Sunday per month

NCC Year 1 Goals in 1st 6 Months:

• Have at least one mid-sized community off the ground.
• Start an MC with a couple or a leader as an apprentice, who would lead the next MC when we multiplied; talk about multiplication from the outset.
• Teaching about the biblical value of MCs in our worship services.
• Beginning to steward the paradigm shift from a receiving mode of church life to a 'giving' mode.

NCC Year 1 Goals in 2nd 6 Months:

• Begin to diligently pray for an apprentice who would be the next leader of the MC when we multiplied; begin to include apprentice in more visible leadership.
• Attempt to lead from behind the scenes as much as possible; don't lead worship, do all the teaching, bring the food, do the announcements, schedule administrative stuff, etc.
• Teach UP / IN / OUT to help give the whole community a simple yet comprehensive picture of a balanced Christian life.
• Encourage other emerging leaders to share in communicating the vision whenever possible. 

NCC YEAR 2

NCC Year 2: Missional Communities: Inviting specific people to start praying and thinking about leading an MC; continue to soak the culture with vision for MCs in the midst of having two.

NCC Year 2: Celebrations: Meeting twice per month in MCs and twice per month in gathered Sabbath celebrations 

NCC Year 2 Goals: Realize that until someone is in an MC for a while the vision alone only (at best) intrigues most people; no one really gets it by just explaining it to them.

NCC YEAR 3

NCC Year 3: Missional Communities: Enthusiasm grows; MCs multiply to four

NCC Year 3: Celebrations: Three MC meetings and one Sabbath celebration per month 

NCC Year 3: DNAs: Transition people from small groups to gender-specific groups of about three to five people, who meet bi-weekly to help facilitate the process of listening and responding to Jesus in their lives.

NCC Year 3 Goals: Spending more time with MC leaders and less time with any random issue or person who came up; expect pastoral issues to reach the lead pastor only after they have been addressed at the DNA and MC / MC Leader levels first

NCC YEAR 4

NCC Year 4: Missional Communities: Five MCs (after one ended), each with a clear missional focus

1) Mercy MC: We are building a community that brings the heart of Jesus to the poor and needy of Norman

2) Neighborhood MC: We exist to equip spiritual mothers and fathers for mission.

3) Greek MC: We exist to reach those who do not know Jesus in the Greek System, equip those who do, and send out disciples

4) International MC: We are building a community with international students, glorifying God by loving the lost into the fold of Christ and discipling them to do the same.

5) Campus MC: We invite college students into deeper friendship with God through community and equip them in hearing and responding to the voice of Jesus. 

NCC Year 4: Celebrations: Building community-wide vision, teaching, growing an awareness of being a part of something bigger, giving a sense about what is happening with other MCs, and enabling corporate prayer. 

NCC Year 4: DNAs: The synergy of DNAs and MCs formed a very powerful expectation of growth, and nearly everyone involved could point to specific areas of growth in their lives over the year.

FINAL REFLECTIONS

Being the leader means modeling change first: If you're the leader, then you go first. You show that you are walking the talk and living the life. That, if you think about it, may be the very definition of leadership.

The wet cement principle: A common pattern can happen with leaders, which is the tendency to wait a while before introducing any difficult or uncomfortable ideas or practices into MCs. Things like evangelism, multiplication, and accountability can be put off to develop a sense of 'community' first. Almost without fail, however, once the group's expectations are set and certain grooves begin to develop for what is normal, the leader is unable to implement the ideas avoided initially. ... the only way to change them is with a jackhammer once expectations quickly dry and harden.

Make evangelism a do-or-die issue: The temptation is to settle for just giving the already converted a new spot to hang out. ... make evangelism a foundational obedience issue again. If needs be, stand in front of the whole church and personally repent for your participation in the lack of commitment to the unsaved. ... It really isn't that much of a stretch to ask ourselves, 'If people are not coming to Jesus in our community, what are we really doing?'

Use just one funnel: The structures of the church are a funnel that we then pour the life of the community through. ... when you use the three-tiered structure for church life, Sabbath celebration is the meeting where everyone comes together, MCs are the mid-sized groups where we build community that goes on mission, while DNAs are the cell level of church life that focuses very purposefully on discipleship accountability. To allow healthy growth, we need to create room for a wide variety of God-given dreams to grow to full maturity, while being very clear that we have one main route, or funnel, that we express this through.

TODAY: NCC has more than 450 people involved in the community and twelve MCs.

Next Notes:

• Special Sully Notes | 13 Marks of a Faithful Missional Church – Mark 1 of 13
• Sully Notes 13 | Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times: Being Calm and Courageous No Matter What Part 1 of 3 

– Sully
 

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