What would it look like if a group of people decided that the rest of their lives would be spent on one thing: making disciples in a specific city. What if they really didn’t set out to start a church in the traditional sense, though? No mailers. No media blitz. No fancy promotion.
That’s silly. No one would come.
They would have to go to the people, rather than expecting the people to come to them.
I think we might be on to something.
One more question: What does it look like when a church stays laser-focused on God’s mission in that city?
They would enter every sector of society.
They would serve the city.
They would spend a lot of time just being with people.
They would meet tangible needs.
They would be moved by compassion for the people of the city.
They would point people to Jesus with every breath.
Every step of the way, they would invite people into God’s Mission!
The way our vision & mission plays out for us practically is to move into the neighborhood, to start loving and helping people practically, cultivating relationships, and identifying people who might be interested in dropping their nets to follow Jesus.
This is less about starting a church and more about being the church!
That means we won’t start by buying/renting a building.
We don’t need any projectors, lights or soundboards.
We don’t need a marketing budget.
We need a place to live and a lot of stinking food.
So what is our mission?
If life is all about worshiping Jesus, most people are missing the purpose of life! Our mission is laid out in front of us. We received our Great Commission from Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20). We are supposed to be making disciples!
It couldn’t be any clearer! But so many of us have drifted from our mission. So many churches get distracted by other [good] opportunities.
What would it look like for a church to remain focused on their mission?What if a church could somehow keep discipleship at the center of our work? My friend and I have designed a process/strategy that will always bring us back to the primary mission; that is, God’s Mission in our neighborhood and in the world!
One last question: What would a church need to do to reach this city? Is there a plan for multiplication? What if we planted a church that plants churches? What if, rather than just growing, it was part of our plan from the beginning to send missionaries back into the city?
Our plan is just that! Our vision is to plant more churches in the city, making disciples and raising up leaders!
As we get started on this journey, our family will need help making this vision a reality! We know that God has called us to go, and we believe that God is raising up Kingdom-minded people who will send us! Would you pray about becoming a partner with us in this effort to plant a church in Columbus, Ohio?
Grand Avenue Baptist Church (Fort Smith, AR) has committed to be our sending church! We are so thankful for their investment in the Kingdom! They will be receiving all of the donations for a while, as we get started. If you’d like to help us get started, you can visit our page on their website at www.grandfamily.net/access. There is a PayPal link there where you can donate. It will go straight into their account and their amazing finance team will be handling all of our finances as we start (did I mention how thankful I am for them?!). Thank you so much for considering investing in this Kingdom work!