Small Groups on Mission

Here's a great example of what it can look like for each group in your church to live out a mission focus within the community.


ServeRDU2013 Recap from Josh Sliffe on Vimeo.

Church Planting is the New Testament Plan

On Sunday in my message from Acts 19 on what happens when we plant churches, I closed with this strong quote from J.A. Meders on why church planting is the primary plan in the New Testament. A plan we should all care about and move forward with in good measure, in both our own life and the life of our church.

How did Paul help Corinth? He planted a church. The city of Thessalonica? Another church plant. Did Paul mix it up in Ephesus? Maybe a wrestling gym with a crucifixion theme? Of course not—he planted a church.
Planting Churches. Planting The Gospel.

The planting of gospel-centered churches, filled with gospel-centered people who live as grace-leaking, missional monsters as lights in the darkness, inviting the dead to come alive in Jesus Christ and to dwell in the Kingdom of God—that is the hope of your city and mine.

Our cities don’t need more shows. The movie theaters, stadiums, and Redboxes have that covered. Our cities don’t need the planting of services, but they need the missional going of Christians, our disciple-making, our witnessing—that’s church planting.

We have the power of God that makes demons shudder, that sets captives free, that can save a thief on the cross, that can comfort a prostitute, that can redeem a drunk, that can restore a religious hypocrite—that can fulfill all that we are looking for, made for—that power, that word, that name, that person is Jesus.

That is the number one missional strategy of the New Testament. Nothing has changed since Acts 28. We cannot improve upon what Dr. Luke has chronicled. And for us to put more weight behind any other strategy might be the most idiotic thing we could do. This strategy is old, normal, and completely supernatural.

And maybe, just maybe one day we’ll hear, “There is much joy in that city.”

To read the entire post click here.

7 Ways to Keep Missional Communities from Multiplying

Want to assure yourself that your missional communities never multiply? Seth McBee gives us seven ways to assure that's the case. To make the point painfully obvious, avoid these common pitfalls and it will lead your church and smaller communities toward healthy multiplication.

1. Never ask anyone to step up and lead
2. Don’t have a unified context for mission
3. Do not have a written vision and plan to make disciples
4. Don’t interact with unbelievers
5. Keep it an event instead of a rhythm
6. Teach at the meetings like a professional
7. Don’t talk about multiplication or the Spirit

For the whole article click here.