Articles for tag: Missional Communities

April 5, 2018

Christian Standard

A Day with Jesus: What He Teaches Us About Discipleship

By Ryan Rasmussen As a pastor of a large church, I often question whether we’re discipling our people effectively. Though large churches have more resources and staff than small churches, they are often no better equipped to help people take steps forward with Jesus. The truth is, churches of every size seem to struggle with knowing whether their discipleship processes are effective. This might be the case because, well, it’s all a bit confusing. Multiple discipleship models are available: house churches, Sunday school, small groups, missional communities, and many others. Discipleship in its many forms has been the subject of

October 4, 2016

Mark A. Taylor

How Do Groups Lead to Impact?

By Mark A. Taylor Frankly, I can”t imagine why everyone isn”t talking about the strategy outlined by Bobby Harrington and Alex Absalom in their book Discipleship That Fits, and I don”t understand why more churches aren”t trying to implement it. Maybe I”m just out of the loop. I”m not a megachurch pastor. I have no role on a church staff of any size. Maybe more congregations than I know have tapped into the genius of implementing something more nuanced than the large group/small group approach promoted by so many. It seems certain to me the book”s analysis deserves a close look.

July 28, 2015

Christian Standard

Todd Wilson’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Todd Wilson, director of Exponential. ________ Multiplication, new philanthropy, personal calling: Bob Buford, cofounder, the Leadership Network Multiplication: Dave Ferguson, founding and lead pastor, Community Christian Church, Naperville, Illinois Discipleship: Dr. Robert Coleman, Distinguished Senior Professor of Discipleship and Evangelism at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary Multiplication: Ralph Moore, founding and senior pastor, Hope Chapel Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawaii Missional: Alan Hirsch,

July 17, 2015

Christian Standard

Mel McGowan’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Mel McGowan, president of Visioneering Studios, Irvine, California. ________ Eric O. Jacobsen: He has been one of the best theologians of space and an “interpreter” of our contemporary cities and communities through his advocacy of “New Urbanism,” which describes the maturing of the American suburban dream into a denser, more diverse, polycentric, postmodern reality. Dave Gibbons: David is my Jedi kung

May 11, 2015

Christian Standard

Measure Up

By Dave Ferguson Church leaders are being more creative than ever before in measuring ministry and stats that are significant for accomplishing the mission. Here is a long list of just some of the stats that are now being incorporated into churches” scoreboards. These came from dozens of churches just like yours who are trying to figure out how to make sure they are winning: “¢ The number of people who attend a worship service “¢ The number of people who are in a small group “¢ The number of people who are serving both within the church and outside

June 16, 2013

Michael C. Mack

What Is a Small Group?

By Michael C. Mack The question keeps popping up. At conferences, in Internet discussion groups, whenever small group leaders get together, the question is asked, discussed, and sometimes even argued. You”d think we”d know the answer by now. A small group minister asked, “What exactly is a small group? There is a crucial advantage to having groups that are highly intentional about spiritual growth, external ministry, and living missionally””that is, reproducing both disciples and groups. At the same time, many people in the church are not ready to be part of such a group. Some people are just looking to

June 9, 2013

Christian Standard

Our Missional Experiment

By Greg Hubbard It was shared life with a purpose. We laughed together. We cried together. We prayed together. We ate together. When somebody around us had a need, we spontaneously served them together. Meaningful spiritual conversations were frequent. We caught a glimpse of kingdom life as we had rarely experienced it before. In the early 2000s, a church known as Apex came to experience all of this in Las Vegas, Nevada. Quite a journey had brought us to that place. Apex began as an outreach of Canyon Ridge Christian Church as a means to reach young adults. At first

May 30, 2013

Christian Standard

Where Missional Is Moving

By Matt Smay Missionaries””they were the devout adventurers who traveled the world helping people from other cultures learn about God. As a boy I admired their pictures posted on the bulletin board of our church lobby, and followed the strings that connected their faces to pins on a map that identified their mission fields. I was impressed. I grew up in church. It was a small, traditional, suburban congregation in Southern California started in the 1940s that ministered to a sprawling city. Like many in the postwar industrial boom, my paternal grandparents relocated with their four young kids from middle

April 23, 2012

Christian Standard

The Missional Model: “˜Go and Make Disciples”

By Greg Nettle It all boils down to “how well we are doing at making disciples.” After 23 years at the leadership helm of RiverTree Christian Church, I have to take at least some responsibility for the quality of disciples we are producing. Now, don”t get me wrong, I know it is God who brings about the sanctification process and that we, as humans, certainly continue to have the freedom to make good or bad choices. However, surrounding my 20-year anniversary as leader of RiverTree, I spent a lot of time praying and reflecting. And I didn”t like what was

January 22, 2012

Christian Standard

Power Planting

Brent Storms became president of Orchard Group in 2009 and CEO this past July. Greg Nettle joined the Stadia team as president just a few months ago. These two young leaders recently sat down with us for a candid conversation about the future of church planting and the future of the church.   Brent, what is Orchard Group”s niche and overall mission? STORMS: Our mission is to plant growing and reproducing churches in New York, the Northeast, and beyond, which often means strategic urban settings. We began in the New York metro area and in the last 20 years we”ve

October 5, 2011

Christian Standard

RiverTree Providing Tools for Missional Movement

By Jennifer Taylor A number of factors began to converge, and Greg Nettle, senior pastor at RiverTree Christian Church (Massillon, OH), thought God might be up to something. There were partnerships with Stadia (Irvine, CA) and Compassion International; the launch of 18 churches and counting with Kingdom Synergy Partnership, a church planting network; the addition of Alex Absalom, coauthor of Launching Missional Communities, to the RiverTree staff; the launch of Love Canton, an urban church plant; and the transition of RiverTree from megachurch to missional movement. “It started to become clear that God was moving,” Nettle says. The RiverTree team

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