Mission Alive

The Church in a Skeptical Society

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Over the last year and a half, I have slowly read through a book written by Charles Taylor called A Secular Age. This book is regarded as Taylor’s magnum opus. What Taylor does is tell the story of how secularism gradually developed over the last four hundred years and how secularism works in the Western world today.

Secularism works through what Taylor calls a  “social-imaginary,” which has to do with the way people “collectively imagine” their existence (A Secular Age, p. 146). This is different from what we think of as a worldview in that the social-imaginary is not a carefully constructed set of beliefs but more like assumed beliefs, some of which operate below the surface of awareness. In our society, the social-imaginary includes the loss of transcendence in the lives of people (A Secular Age, p 294). The loss of transcendence means that people can easily live life without any awareness of God at work in their lives.

Let’s briefly move on from Charles Taylor and consider another aspect of the macro culture in North America. In the year 2022, we are living in a post-truth society. According to Lee McIntyre, this post-truth reality means our society is one in which all kinds of people are trying to make us believe in ideas whether there’s good evidence or not (Post-Truth, p. 13). 

In his book, McIntyre mentions the Tobacco Industry as an example. For years cigarette manufacturers colluded to fabricate research in support of the claim that smoking cigarettes were not hazardous to health. The Tobacco Industry engaged in this disinformation campaign even though they knew there was conclusive research showing that in all likelihood the tar in cigarettes caused cancer. 

Over time, this spreading of disinformation and spinning of facts has helped create a culture where truth seems relative. Although we are now to the point where truth no longer matters as much as feelings (Post-Truth, p. 116). As a result, people may now add adjectives to the word truth and in doing so, seemingly claim whatever they choose to believe as truth whether it is true or not. For example, a part of our vernacular now includes phrases like “my truth” and “alternative facts” as a way of justifying a claim. Of course, what this accomplishes is making our own opinions, perceptions, etc… become a totalizing reality, even if it is self-deception.

This is why what we do as Christians, and not just what we say, matters more than ever. If we’re going to claim that the good news of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God is true, which I hope we do, then our claim has to be seen in what we do and how we live. Hence, the title of this message series on Philippians, Living Christ.

I’ll come back to the matter of what we do as Christians but I want to bring Charles Taylor back into the mix for a moment. The secular age we live in means belief and unbelief are in contest with each other. Almost everyone has some doubts about what they profess in terms of religion and spiritual life. For the most part, believers profess faith but have questions that raise doubts about such faith. Likewise, unbelievers profess agnosticism (perhaps even soft atheism) but have questions that cast doubt on their unbelief.

Taylor mentions the aesthetic awareness of beauty, the awareness of a need for ethics and morality, and the awareness of the creative capacity that humans possess as reasons why there are questions that cast doubt on unbelief. The awareness of beauty, morality, and human capacity evokes a wonder that cannot be explained by a secular framework of unbelief (A Secular Age, p. 596). In other words, beauty, morality, and creativity raise questions that cannot be answered in a life in which there is no God. Furthermore, as Taylor explains “there must be some way in which this life looks good, whole, proper, really being lived as it should” (A Secular Age, p. 600). Therefore, even in our day where moral relativism flourishes, people know that there is a right and wrong way to live… a good and bad. 

If Taylor is correct, as I believe, then the fact is that even in a secular society, there are many skeptics who still have questions. Such skeptics may have reasons for doubting belief but even with their pervasive secularism they also have questions about whether there is more to life than just what can be observed in a science lab. I contend that this opens space for the church. Knowing that people still have a sense of right and wrong and wonder where that comes from opens space for the church to point to the existence and redemptive work of God. This opening is based on the way we live life, particularly by practicing what Paul describes as true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, and commendable (cf. Phil 4:8-9).

Although the church’s understanding of what is true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, and commendable, is going to differ from the way other people understand, surely there are places where there is similar understanding. These are the spaces where God is out in front of the church, already working in the community. For example, believers and unbelievers alike agree that racism, poverty, and human trafficking are unjust realities. So when a local church works to address one or more of these matters, there is a portal for demonstrating what the kingdom of God is like. In doing so, this can become an opportunity to build relationships within the community and perhaps share the story of Jesus as an explanation for why the church would care enough to do something about racism, poverty, and human trafficking.

I’m sharing this with you because we are well beyond the days of leading with “The Bible says…” In fact, in a secular age where truth is now relative, our words matter not without actions that coherently express what we hope to proclaim with our words. At the end of the day, there isn’t any guaranteed outcome except the promise of hope that exists in the crucified, resurrected, and exalted Jesus Christ. Yet the way we bear witness to that hope is by our good works.

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” – Jesus, Matthew 5:16 (NRSV)

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K. Rex Butts, D.Min, serves as the lead minister/pastor with the Newark Church of Christ in Newark, DE, and is the author of Gospel Portraits: Reading Scripture as Participants in the Mission of God. Rex holds a Doctor of Ministry in Contextual Theology from Northern Seminary in Lisle, IL, and a Master of Divinity from Harding School of Theology in Memphis, TN. He is married to Laura and together they have three children.

Church Renewal Begins With Us

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Having posted two previous articles about the decline among the Churches of Christ and the need for planting new churches and campus ministries, I would like to share some more thoughts about church renewal.* As the title suggests, church renewal begins with us.

By us, I mean the people who are the church. That should be rather obvious but I’m not sure if it is. Having served in ministry as a minister for the last twenty-two years, I’ve heard and engaged in many conversations about church renewal. Numerous books, articles, blogs, and podcasts have been published, with many of them addressing the issue of church renewal as it relates to the challenges of leadership and conflict, spiritual formation and the mission of God, as well as even evangelism and reaching the next generation. Such conversations are necessary and generally helpful. However, all the methods, strategies, and theories won’t make a difference unless the people who constitute the church are being transformed by God through the Spirit in the way of Christ.

This is why it’s so important to remember that church renewal is Christian renewal. Our local churches are us. We are the church. Yes, we organize ourselves in a manner so that we may function as a church community. And yes, sometimes the way we organize becomes a hindrance to our participation in the mission of God. However, before we can tackle the organizational and theological challenges present in church renewal, we have to ask if we are being renewed by the Spirit in our faith as followers of Jesus.

Some years ago I went through a series of seminars with Mission Alive that focused on church renewal. Very appropriately, the first seminar dealt with our own personal faith. That’s because, as Mission Alive states, “The first ministry of any spiritual leader is to his or her own soul. Your leadership board, group, team or committee cannot lead others into a deeper, more vibrant relationship with God if they are running on empty” (Mission Alive, Renew).

To speak of church renewal as Christian renewal, we must talk about the practices or disciplines that open us to the Spirit’s work of cultivating an ever-deepening faith among us. Just as the proper disciplines of diet and exercise correlate to good physical health, so does proper discipline correlate to a fit faith as followers of Jesus. We are not talking about earning our salvation in any sense. We are simply talking about participating in the activities that will allow us to live as healthy followers of Jesus, exhibiting a courageous and convicting faith that is fueled by the Spirit of God at work in and among us. There are plenty of books written on spiritual disciplines such as reading and meditating on scripture, prayer, fasting, solitude, self-examination, etc… Two recommendations include the now classic book by Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline Ruth Haley Barton, Sacred Rhythms.

I’ll confess that I am neither naturally inclined to physical fitness nor to faith fitness. I’m always a few pounds overweight and I’m still struggling to live as a faithful follower of Jesus. So I have to be intentional about watching my diet and getting exercise, which typically involves walking (having a 125-pound Saint Bernard dog helps). Walking also opens space for me to reflect and become aware of both the ways I see God working and the ways I am struggling in my faith. That open space is where I become intentional about praying, which can still be a struggle. I also have downloaded on my iPhone several apps for reading the Bible as a discipline, not for sermon and Bible class preparation but simply so that I might hear God speak through his word in anticipation of seeing as God sees and joining in his work as a follower of Jesus.

I’m neither an expert on physical health nor an expert on church renewal and maintaining a fit faith. However, one key reason church renewal doesn’t come without Christian renewal is we now live in a time where churches are increasingly made up of Christian consumers. Such Christian consumerism means participating in a local church depends on whether that church provides desired goods. The consumer mindset is not one of how can a Christian serve with their church to participate in the mission of God but instead seeks to be served by the church. Such consumerism, which is antithetical to following Jesus and a hindrance to church renewal, seems especially prevalent among younger adults and students (Kinnaman and Matlock, Faith For Exiles, 27-28).

While consumerism is certainly bred and reinforced by American culture, it is also learned from inauthentic Christianity encountered in church. We must resist the consumer impulses ourselves by attending to our own faith, engaging in the exercises that allow us to maintain a fit faith — a faith that follows Jesus rather than consuming religious goods. Ultimately, the goal of church renewal is participation in the mission of God but that goal begins by attending to our own faith as people committed to following Jesus. Such faith is the authentic Christianity that breaks through consumerism, embodying the gospel and igniting church renewal.

* This article is a revision of a previous article titled “Church Renewal is Christian Renewal” that I wrote for Wineskins 23 (March 2020).

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K. Rex Butts, D.Min, serves as the lead minister/pastor with the Newark Church of Christ in Newark, DE, and is the author of Gospel Portraits: Reading Scripture as Participants in the Mission of God. Rex holds a Doctor of Ministry in Contextual Theology from Northern Seminary in Lisle, IL, and a Master of Divinity from Harding School of Theology in Memphis, TN. He is married to Laura and together they have three children.

Creation and Embodied Discovery in Genesis 1-3

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While the Imago Dei is not a prominent biblical theme, it shows up right at the beginning of scripture in Genesis 1-2 and so, understandably, becomes vital in Christian history to how we understand God and ourselves. Stanley J. Grenz explains how there have been two primary ways of understanding the Imago Dei in the west, structural and relational, with the former taking the increasingly prominent view in western Christian history (The Social God and the Relational Self, p. 142). The structural view also tends to identify certain attributes or capabilities, particularly “reason” or “will” as what make humans in the image of God. 

Although it makes sense that the church fathers would primarily focus on the qualities of “reason” and “will” given the influence of Greek philosophy in their day, this conception of what it means for humans to be in the image of God is not what we have in view in Genesis 1:26-27. In the ancient Near East, “an image was believed to contain the essence of that which it represented” (Walton, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, p. 8). Generally, it was either the king or an idol who was supposed to have the image of God. However, in Genesis 1:26-27 we have people in general, both male and female, bearing the image of God, which would have been radically egalitarian in that day.

In the first creation account, we have a man as the pinnacle of God’s work (Gen. 1:27). Each of these aspects of our biblical origin story shows a communal, bodily, and even environmental understanding of the relationship between humans and the Creator. We start with humans reflecting the divine image, an image depicted in the plural that reflects not just the relationships that take place within God’s Triune self, but the relationships between God and other spiritual beings. 

In Genesis 1:26 we see God creating in community, probably in the author’s mind including what might be called the divine council, heavenly host, or even other Elohim (cf. Ps 82:1, LEB). While the author might not have had the Trinity in mind when saying “us,” including the Trinity in our exegesis of the passage would not conflict with the meaning of the text even though it might be anachronistic. The point that God identifies himself in the community is made either way by the “us” passages in Genesis. The author of Genesis saw fit to represent God’s identity in the plural in various places (Genesis 1:26, 3:24, 11:7, 18:20-21 cf. 19:13), which seems to indicate that God’s identity is to be portrayed as not alone but in relationship to others. Possibly the poetic parallelism of “them” in vs. 27 is also meant to reflect “us” of 1:26 in referring to the divine community. In this way, the human plurality would also mean a reflection of both divine plurality and unity.  In other words, God’s identity is social and relational, and no individual by him or herself represents the image of God.  

While the first creation story has already established humanity as the pinnacle of creation, in the second creation account man is made first after “the heavens and the earth.” Not even the plants have come up before man is created. The first task man is given is to work and take care of the earth (2:15). The adam (earthling) is formed from the adamah (ground), showing his intimate connection with the land and environment. The isha (woman) is formed from the ish (man) to show her intimate and harmonious connection to the man (Note: ish and isha are in other places in the Old Testament is translated as husband and wife). 

Everything is depicted as being in a harmonious relationship, with emphasis on humans and animals, humans and the earth, and male and female. However, in Genesis 3, the result of their disobedience is to disrupt these harmonious relationships. It would be a misreading to see the results of the fall and the “curses” as the way things were meant to be or even should be today. Instead, the curses are distortions of what God intended for humankind.  

God helps man learn through interaction with his environment, giving him tasks to do like caring for the earth, and the fieldwork of naming the animals. What is conspicuously missing from the account of Adam and Eve is that God directly teaches man anything. On the contrary, in allowing Adam to name the animals, God—knowing that Adam needed a female counterpart—allowed Adam to learn through experiment. As the first human, he would know very little at this point, being like an infant. He may not even have known that he is actually different than the rest of the animals, or that he is not simply an animal himself. 

God could have easily told Adam that he was different or needed a female counterpart. However, God let Adam learn through a “failed” experiment so he would know in his gut that he would need a partner different than what any other animal would be able to offer.  So God is not operating not from a “bobble-head” premise, in which people primarily learn through head-knowledge, but from James K.A. Smith’s premise that “We are what we love, and our love is shaped, primed, and aimed by liturgical practices that take hold of our gut and aim our heart to certain ends” (Desiring the Kingdom, p. 40). God treats Adam not primarily as a cognitive creature, but as an embodied learner, a “liturgical animal”, so to speak, who learns through a process of experimental habit and practice over time to be “a certain kind of person” (Desiring the Kingdom, pp. 24-25). This is how God gains ground in His relationship with Adam and helps Adam learn.

The way God interacts with Adam and helps him learn is through bodily experiments.  In the same way, ministers should not shy away from uncharted territory where people try different things until they find out what works for them or their ministry in life. Such tests and experiments should be encouraged even if they may lead to “failure.” Allowing such “failure” means entrusting people and helping them along in the process, even if the process does not necessarily “succeed” in the way we might measure success.  God allowed Adam to know what the way forward was because God allowed Adam, who bears the image of God, to walk through the process in an embodied way.  This would have built trust between Adam and God because God was not simply dictating to Adam what he should or should not do but allowed him to go through his own process of embodied discovery.

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Jonathan Lichtenwalter has written and edited for the website evidenceforchristianity.org, articles for renew.org and his website jonwalt.com,  He has studied under John Oakes, Ph.D. (creator of the website evidenceforchristianity.org), and is currently getting a Master’s in Missional leadership from Rochester University. He is passionate about missional theology, apologetics, and biblical studies. He loves to use his writing and studies to build up the faith of others, to help disciples grow deeper in their understanding of scripture, and to share the truth of the gospel with others.

Back to Africa

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By Gailyn Van Rheenen

It was a transformative trip – for churches among the Kipsigis of southwest Kenya, for national leaders meeting at the Nairobi Great Commission School – and for me personally.  We all felt God’s presence!

The purpose of my trip was to give encouragement; greet families (especially those of loved ones who are ill or have spouses who have passed away); visit as many churches (or clusters of churches) as I was able; and to teach 3-day courses at two Bible schools. I returned from this 2½ week trip tired but empowered.

When we left the Kipsigis area of Kenya, where we ministered for thirteen years, there were 100 churches. Today there are 450! This growth has not simply been numerical. These churches have also grown spiritually – using disciple-making and mission to form new communities and growing existing ones.

Kenya sitting

High points of the trip were visiting elders who helped start the churches, praying over leaders who were seriously ill, and greeting and giving condolences and memories to the families of leaders who had passed away.  A special joy was sharing time with Matayo Matwek, a leader now 101 years of age, weak in body, but strong in spirit and testimony.  Once upon a time he cast vision and encouraged Christians in his home area.  He partnered with other leaders to build a mighty movement of God in his home area. We shared time with Mary, the widow of David Sambu, who was Chairman of the “Committee” (Board) of Siriat Bible School and prayed for her extended family.  I miss David, my African mentor and confidant! Another good friend, Daniel, once worked for me tending my yard and garden and later became the sub-chief in his area.  He now is very sick with cancer. I joined with others praying over him and giving finances to pay medical expenses and help his family.

I thoroughly enjoyed teaching two 3-day seminars, one in the Kipsigis language at the Siriat Bible School in what I call my “home area” of Kenya, and another in English at the Nairobi Great Commission School for major Kenyan leaders in the Mission Textcapital city. In each seminar I applied sections of the 2nd edition of Missions: Biblical Foundations and Contemporary Strategies to their contexts. I began each section with a teaching time, a time of discussion as a group, followed by discussion and/or prayer in small groups and pairs. The favorite teaching was a parable on “spiritual awakening”—how crawling caterpillars are transformed to become flying butterflies able to both draw nectar and spread pollen.  The most important teaching was “how do people of the kingdom of God make decisions.”  Attentive listening! Laughter! Confession! Dialogue! Prayers! Worship! Transformation!

Kenya churchI visited as many of the churches as I could in the short time that I had.  The churches in Konoin are vibrant for the Lord, focused on evangelism, highly respected by the local community, and are growing locally and in other areas where they send evangelists. They give generously to build facilities for their church gatherings and other events but also meet from house to house.  A local Christian named Jonathan builds these facilities.

Throughout the trip I experienced African hospitality. I stayed in a small two-room house with an outside latrine and shower area on the homestead of my good friends Philip and Irene Chebose. Irene cooked most of my meals, indigenously African and deliciously prepared.  They took care of my every need, even warming up the water for my morning sponge bath.  It was a joy sharing life with this family!  Their son Wycliffe is growing as a preacher and another son Nicholas is learning African sign language so that the Kipgsigis-speaking congregation can connect with the deaf congregation, which also meets in their building—much like the deaf ministry at the Willis Church in Abilene, where I was once served as an elder.

Kenya DavidThroughout the trip I walked and ministered with David Tonui, Principal of the Nairobi Great Commission School, my son in the faith who once lived with us while completing his Masters in Christian Ministry at ACU. I praise God for how David and I worked synergistically during joint presentations, knowing instinctively how and when to speak and when to remain quiet. It was also a joy to share many meals and trips with both David and his wife Eunice.  They illustrate both great hospitality and partnership in the mission of God. They are a rural/urban family—one home in the big city of Nairobi close to the Nairobi Great Commission School where two of their children work and study and another in a village near Siriat Bible School in southwestern Kenya, where the two younger children have been in school.

In many ways I became part of both the Chebose and Tonui families during my stay in Africa—eating, living, and sharing in close proximity.

I was called many years ago to be a missionary in Africa and served there for 14 years. I am energized by being there for a short time! My goal is return every two years to visit the churches and in the process both learn and teach. After each trip I feel that I have received more than I have given.

Our prayer and goal is to continue to grow and develop a similar (though culturally different) church planting and renewal movement in North America through Mission Alive.

Reflections on September 4, 2014

 

Listening to God—From Theology to Practice

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Theology is like the rudder of a boatIn Mission Alive we move from Theology to Practice. Theology is listening to God and seeking to do the will of God. It is like the rudder of a boat—setting direction. I can remember how our children, when they were small, loved pedal-boats and always wanted to “drive”. At times they were so intent on pedaling–making the boat move–that the rudder was held in an extreme position, and we went in circles. Realizing their mistake, but still intent on pedaling, they would move the rudder from one extreme to the other so that we zig-zagged across the lake. Without the foundation of theology, church leaders and church planters tend to zig-zag from fad to fad, from one theological perspective and related philosophies of ministry to another. Theology helps center us so that we turn the rudder according to the will of God. It forms and guides the mission of God. Then, paradoxically, our practices of mission begin to inform and shape our theology–a movement from Theology to Practice and then from Practice to Theology.

Cultivate Personal Discipleship

In Mission Alive the first step in training is a two-day, interactive lab called CULTIVATE: Personal Discipleship. The theme is that “what God will do through us he must first do within us.” We would say that the two most important questions are: “What is God saying?” and “What does he desire that we do about it?” In these labs and through coaching and equipping huddles life transformation is sparked for both church planting and renewal.

In Mission Alive we believe in both church renewal and church planting. The impulses of growth, learning, and transformation are similar yet different. These impulses spiritually form searchers to become disciples of Jesus who then go on mission within growing vibrant communities—that meet publicly for teaching, inspiration, and testimony and in smaller groups in neighborhoods and relational networks for mission and community. Discipling-making leads to missions resulting in the development of community. We believe that “the future of the Western Church is . . . a powerful return to Jesus’ heart for making disciples, and multiplying them into missionary leaders” (Jon Tyson, Forward of “Multiplying Missional Leaders”).

There are two types of leaders: those who listen primarily to human voices to guide them forward and those who listen to God’s voice. Mission Alive aims to equip leaders to listen to God’s voice in both church planting and renewal.

The Art of Church Planting

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The art of church planting is like three intertwined rings, like Olympic circles, each related to the others. The first circle, disciple-making, is guiding people to become more like Jesus.one ringThe second is mission, summarized by Jesus’ statement: “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” The words “follow me” designate discipleship, and “I will make you fishers of men” is descriptive of mission.

two rings

The third, community formation, is the result–the outcome–of disciple-making and mission.

three rings

 

Community is inherent in disciple-making and mission. It becomes the arena of nurture, of spiritual maturation.Thus, the art of church planting is learning to make disciples on mission with God, which results in new communities of faith.Disciple-making, mission, community-all three are counter-intuitive to North American society. Our tendency is to emphasize champions over disciples, participation without mission, and attendance with little community.

Mission Training

The process of Mission Training integrates disciple-making, mission, and community through experiential learning processes for the sake of both church renewal and church planting.

Click here to download a Mission Training brochure.

Gailyn Van Rheenen

Mission Alive

Meet our first Network Coordinator

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A recent update  shared our excitement about the kickoff of the first Mission Training Equipping Lab called Cultivate. There’s another reason we’re excited about it, too. This Mission Training Cohort signifies the beginning of a new Mission Alive network! Mission Alive’s vision is to equip leaders to plant and renew hundreds of churches all over North America, thereby catalyzing a movement of mission and discipleship. By God’s grace we’re seeing this begin to happen — from San Antonio, Texas, to Regina, Saskatchewan, and from Newberg, Oregon to Williamsburg, Virginia! We are pursuing this vision through the creation of regional networks – where leaders and churches in a particular geographical area connect and work together for planting and renewal. As a result, we’re thrilled to commission Fred Liggin as the Network Coordinator for Mission Alive’s new Mid-Atlantic Network! Continue reading →

Introducing Redland Hills Church planting!

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Redland Hills bannerPraise God for new beginnings!  On Monday, November 18, 2013 the Redland Hills Church in Wetumpka, AL held its first gathering.  After months of conversation, planning, and praying, our core families, along with others who have been interested in what we are doing, gathered for a night of worship and thanksgiving.  And we have much to be thankful for!  God has been walking with us and far ahead of us each step we have taken.  We are grateful for the partnership, advice, and coaching from Mission Alive to even get to this point.  We have been blessed with a great space in a neighborhood clubhouse, with even space for a kids program.  We’ll begin renting this space each Sunday beginning in January 2014.  And we’re so grateful for the many prayers and encouraging words that friends and supporters have shared.  It is humbling to begin a new work like this, but so rewarding to see it come to fruition.

Redland Hills square

Cultivating Personal Discipleship

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October 11-12 was a big weekend for Mission Alive! We launched the first Cohort of Mission Training, the new equipping process for church leaders we have been developing in the past year.

Thirty people in six teams came together to participate at the Williamsburg Christian Church building in Williamsburg, Virginia – three church planting teams and three renewal teams (from existing congregations).

Mission Training

Mission Training is designed to equip church planting and renewal leaders as missionaries in their particular contexts. They begin to envision how the churches they lead can make disciples, reach those who are searching for God, and embody God’s inbreaking kingdom in their communities.

Leaders experienced Cultivate: Personal Discipleship, the first Equipping Lab in the Mission Training process. Cultivate fleshes out our fundamental conviction that the most effective church leaders are devoted Christ-followers. The purpose of the Lab is to help leaders evaluate their own personal spiritual health, have an encounter with God, and identify spiritual rhythms they want to live out in the six months following the Lab. Throughout the weekend, leaders receive teaching input, engage in personal reflection and journaling, and interact with other leaders in Equipping Huddles.

Wes Gunn, team leader of the Redland Hills church planting in Montgomery, Alabama, enjoyed the personal formation and networking opportunities in Cultivate:

“I appreciated the focus on personal discipleship and the foundation that we must be shaped by Christ ourselves prior to being able to guide others.  A particular blessing to me was networking with other church planters and encouraging each other in our journeys.”

Jason Thornton, a team member from the Williamsburg Christian Church, was touched by the depth of community and spiritual intimacy in the Lab:

“The Mission Alive Lab reminded me of the importance of the ‘each otherness’ of walking with Christ. I found it refreshing to be in a Huddle and to share in a time of confession with other brothers in Christ. Having been in ministry, I have frequently felt like I was on an island in spiritual battle. From my brief time in the Mission Alive Lab, I feel like I had more true spiritual intimacy with brothers and sisters in Christ than I had experienced in most of my time in ministry.”

Cultivate is one of four Equipping Labs hosted every six months in the two-year Mission Training Process.

Mission Training diagram

Click here to download our Mission Training brochure.

We are excited and thankful to God for the opportunity to walk alongside kingdom leaders and equip them for the mission!

Charles Kiser

Director of Training

We are excited!

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Mission Training WilliamsburgFirst, we are excited about Mission Training.  Tod, Charles, and I were in Williamsburg, VA, this past weekend facilitating the first lab of our new equipping cycle.   Thirty-six participants (from three new/beginning church plants and three established churches) explored how to “Cultivate Personal Discipleship.” These participants were both growing as disciples themselves and learning to help others do the same.

new church plantersSecond, we are excited about new church planters–committed, talented, people of experience!!  For example, Wes Gunn recently announced to the Landmark Church in Montgomery, AL, that he was resigning to follow God’s call to plant a new church in the area where he lives.  Praise God for the words of encouragement and affirmation that Wes and Amanda and their core team received from their church family.  Please pray for Wes and Amanda Gunn (pictured), Tim and Diane Castro, Rob and Rivers Sellers, and Rob and Joy Williams as they begin to reach out into their community.  Read more about the Redland Hills Church at http://www.redlandhills.org/blog.  And we are thankful that this church planting is fully funded from the beginning.  Praise God with us!

Third, we are excited about the leaders who are growing to heightened spiritual vitality and understanding through our Equipping Communities, which we have been calling Huddles. Continue reading →