UK & EUROPE
|
CZECH REPUBLIC
MAJAK CHURCH - VSETIN, CZECH REPUBLIC
Majak Church
|
Contact: Bedrich Smola
|
|
At A Glance:
Majak church wants to be a healthy church that plants other churches. Our structure is Sunday gathering and smaller communities. As we have many children and young people we have developed communities for children, youth and college. Big component of our vision is leadership development. |
|
OUR MISSIONAL STORY:
1. What’s the story of how your church was planted, replanted, or revitalized? |
Majak Church was planted after 5 years of discussions in our mother church. One of the important things was that we wanted to be send. We didn't want to split the church. The core team was about 20 people. The reason for planting a church was to start a church that will be able to reach people in our town. We came from church that was older and set in its ways.
|
2. Where did your vision and conviction to be a Missional Church come from? |
People who decided to join the core team all had some missional conviction. In the first couple of years we had to actually understand what it is. As in many cases, people would like to be missional, but wouldn't really understand the cost of such a life. Also for us learning what that practically looks like was important.
|
3. What is it about your church that you believe makes it a Missional Church? |
The short answer for us is that we don't exist just for ourselves as a church.
|
4. How are you structured/organized to accomplish your Missional vision? |
From original Majak network we were able to plant some churches and create Majak network. It is interesting to see that each church has a different approach to its structure, but mostly there is some kind of bit gathering - either every Sunday or every other Sunday. And then there are some smaller communities that are meeting and living together.
|
5. How are you training and coaching your people to live with Missional intentionality? |
Over the years we have developed leadership training process starting with teenagers and going all the way to people that are called to vocational ministry. Our main piece is a two year program called pastor institute. It is a program of theological and practical training.
|
6. What are the most important lessons you’ve learned as a Missional Church? |
It is really hard to imagine missional church without being part of it. One thing is to read books and know the definitions and the other things is to find in our context what that looks like and convince people that they should join you.
And then there is a price of missional living. All the churches I know want somehow go out and reach people, but almost nobody understand what does it mean. How much we have to change to get to know some people and how it will change our community when they join us. It is hard to keep going when you succeed. Most church planters want to plant the church. Once the church is planted it is easy to start feeling like "normal" church. Now we have people and we have to take care of them. |
Missional Progress
Coming Soon...
ENGLAND
HOPE CHURCH - DAWLISH, ENGLAND
Hope Church
|
Contact: Mark Jones - markjones918@gmail.com
|
|
At A Glance:
Our vision is 'More People, More Like Jesus, in More Places'. We are a non-denominational conservative evangelical church with a strong focus on family. We are led by a corporate senior leadership team of male elders, although we meet relationally with our wives. Our context is a small, rather deprived seaside town in the South West of England, which receives 480,000 holidaymakers each year, but, out of season faces all the social problems of coastal deprivation. We work closely with the other churches in the town and with the town council, schools, police and other agencies. |
|
OUR MISSIONAL STORY:
1. What’s the story of how your church was planted, replanted, or revitalized? |
Dawlish Christian Fellowship had tried various forms of revitalization (2006-2016), but the depth of change that was needed necessitated replanting as Hope Church in 2022. Central to this was our awakening to relational disciple-making in the context of everyday life on mission together (2012-2019). Having pioneered missional work in the community over the last decade (2012-2022), we had created little 'missional pull' to see the church engage with lost people in an intentional way.
It took a series of revelations from the Holy Spirit (concerning UP/IN/OUT, and 'both/and' ministry, and relational disciple-making) in our core leaders (2018-2021) to bring about a paradigm shift in what we believe the church is for. This has been disruptive and challenging for some and has taken 30 months from the initial moment of crisis (2019) to a spiritual agreement reached by the whole church (2022). As a result, we are now a missional church and missional community, though small, is an accepted and growing part of the church family. |
2. Where did your vision and conviction to be a Missional Church come from? |
Between 2006-2012 we were asking 'what is a disciple and how do you make one', but could we not find anyone who could offer us a coherent answer within the UK church. We first met a Brazilian disciple-maker in 2012 (a long-term missionary to the UK) who took Mark Jones, our then church leader, to Brazil in 2015 where he had an immersive experience of 'discipulado'.
Ramon introduced Mark to the Verge Network resources, where he encountered Soma and through them, Todd Morr in 2019. Alongside this, we had a big heart for community, which led, simultaneously, to the setting up of a charity (ROC Dawlish; Redeeming Our Communities) to bridge the gap between the churches and the local community, which has opened doors for the gospel and has given the church much credibility. |
3. What is it about your church that you believe makes it a Missional Church? |
Our vision is: "More People, More Like Jesus, in More Places". We are committed to seeing this happen through healthy, replanted conventional church with its life groups, working alongside newly-planted micro-churches and 'sowing' of new missional communities, all working alongside each other under the same umbrella, but independently of each other.
Our first missional community is 'for' the unchurched people, not just accepting of them. We very much operate with a 'belong first' strategy, rather than a 'believe first' strategy. |
4. How are you structured/organized to accomplish your Missional vision? |
We set up ROC Dawlish (see above) and Missional Community to meet new people and disciple them in the heart of the missional context. We have also built a state-of-the-art £1.8M church community centre to bring the community in to and send the church out from.
Our church leadership team has been replanted to facilitate this, with a one-size fits all 'Church Leader' being replaced by two new roles: Missional Leader and Ministry Leader, who are responsible for the 'Out' and 'In' elements, respectively. |
5. How are you training and coaching your people to live with Missional intentionality? |
Although we are using DNA material to make disciples in missional community, we are also planning to offer our DNA material to the whole church, regardless of which context they currently serve in. We anticipate life groups transitioning to micro-churches and micro-churches transitioning to missional communities as people understand and believe their gospel identity and increasingly live out the reality of who they are in Christ.
|
6. What are the most important lessons you’ve learned as a Missional Church? |
Reaching lost people is the easy part. Getting the church fully on board and reoriented towards mission is the hard part. It's been like repainting a battleship at sea during an ongoing conflict, without the luxury of dry dock. Also, we havee learnt that you need to just begin or you will end up wasting ten years or more talking about what it would look like if we were living 'on mission'.
We don't really need another sermon series on this, we just need to cut our teeth and do it. This creates a wonderful practical problem that has to be solved and gets people sharing the stories which inspire faith and courage. Just begin as mission itself is the best classroom. |
Missional Progress
Coming Soon...
REDEEMER CHURCH MANCHESTER - MANCHESTER, ENGLAND
REDEEMER CHURCH MANCHESTER
|
Contact: Greg Willson - greg@redeemermcr.com
|
|
At A Glance:
Redeemer is a gospel formed family on mission in Manchester, England. We are organised around missional communities, networks of relationships that work together to make God's glory known in ways and places that it hasn't yet. To do that, we join God in His mission to bring wholeness to all. |
|
OUR MISSIONAL STORY:
1. What’s the story of how your church was planted, replanted, or revitalized? |
When we first arrived in Manchester, it had less than 2% of people connected to a church that preaches the gospel. In our neighbourhood of Manchester, less than .1% of people were connected to a church that cared about and lived out the gospel. Our neighbourhood is called Chorlton, and there are about 55,000 people living here.
It is the classic spiritual but not religious background: artsy, bohemian, cynical, most people think they now what Christianity is and have moved on. There are churches around our neighbourhood, but there is a huge need for churches in our neighbourhood. We want to bring the gospel to others, instead of asking others to come to us. We started in prayer. Praying each month for a year for the government, schools, charities, businesses, and for God's glory to be made known in ways that it hasn't yet. We also were asking the Lord to use us in this process. This eventually became a missional community, nine of us in our middle room, learning about Jesus and His mission over dinner. We would pray and continue to ask the Lord what might be next. We held many open invite dinners, throwing parties and inviting all sorts of people to come along. That led to our missional community growing to two missional communities. It was then that we started meeting on Sundays for gathered worship between two MCs. We met in our house, outgrew that, met in a bar, outgrew that, met in a pub, and we're outgrowing that asking the Lord, what next? When we began this journey, we have been able to see that .1% grow to .2%. Our big prayer is to see 1% of the 55,000 people in our area be connected to a church that loves Jesus and His Word. |
2. Where did your vision and conviction to be a Missional Church come from? |
My own vision and conviction came from putting into practice what seemed clear in the Bible: God works through people (plural). Being rescued by Jesus saves us from our small missions to His big glorious mission. This mission itself is the discipling context that we all find ourselves.
|
3. What is it about your church that you believe makes it a Missional Church? |
We take seriously our identity. As we put it: "we are a gospel formed family on mission." We talk about this often, teach on it often, organise our church structures around it, resource towards this, and even structure meetings and coaching around it.
And when we say "mission" we don't merely mean individual mission, but mission through community. This kind of life does take longer and can be hard work, but it is so much more effective, doable, and just more fun. It's also the pattern we see in Scripture. |
4. How are you structured/organized to accomplish your Missional vision? |
Our most fundamental building block as a church is a missional community, where we live out being a gospel formed family on mission. Membership goes through MCs, pastoral care and teaching goes through MCs, MC leaders help the group work through what God is calling this particular MC to do and how to live out.
As a pastor I spend a fair bit of my time coaching MC leaders. In our preaching on Sundays we talk often of the MC context and how to apply what we're learning. We spend a good amount of prayer time for our MCs and their separate shared missions. We also spend time resourcing and training existing and new leaders in how to best shepherd our people on the mission. |
5. How are you training and coaching your people to live with Missional intentionality? |
We have formal teaching times 2-4 times/year where all MC leaders gather together.
Each MC has an intentional coaching time every 3 months to take a look back, and look ahead. We also have a few one off conferences that we pay for people to attend. Our MCs have at least 3 leaders in each of them, so they can lean on each other as they go. |
6. What are the most important lessons you’ve learned as a Missional Church? |
Taking seriously what the Bible says about doing, on the same level of believing, has been important. An obstacle there has been the idea that if we just believe the right things, we're ok, and anything else is just icing on the cake. To persuade people that doing is an important and necessary part of knowing has been good for us.
An obstacle here would be cynicism toward anything that smells of institutionalism. So we focus on gathering around food as much as possible: in houses, at the pub, in a park (if it's not raining!). I love to see people get excited about mission, but sometimes that can mean high unattainable hopes and plans. We work to convince people to set the lowest bar possible. We will be at this for decades, Lord willing, and it takes the average person here about a decade to convert to Christianity. So low key, a low bar, means something can be sustainable. We also found that it's important to not focus on the mission in itself as a primary goal. As believers, our sights ought to be higher: God’s kingdom, His glory, the possibility of spiritual renewal in our city, our changed hearts, the Holy Spirit at work, the big picture of the new heavens and earth, have all been important. We strive to keep the main things the main thing. |
Missional Progress
Coming Soon...
ESTONIA
Missional Churches Coming Soon...
Germany
Missional Churches Coming Soon...
LATVIA
MĀJVIETA - RIGA, LATVIA
Riga Baptist church "Mājvieta"
|
Contact: Tomass Šulcs; aivars.lembergs@inbox.lv
|
|
At A Glance: "Mājvieta" church is led by a team of leaders, including the lead pastor (the only paid position in the church). We have various ministries led by ministry leaders and their respective teams.
We are focusing our everyday lives on living missionaly by spending time with our church family and inviting our non-Christian friends to partake in our activities and celebrations. |
|
Our Missional Story:
1. What’s the story of how your church was planted, replanted, or revitalized? |
Church "Mājvieta" was both planted and revitalized. There was an existing older congregation and they invited a young pastor Kārlis and his team to pastor the church. He started to implement some changes towards the church being more missional. Some time later the church was joined by an existing missional community and the church started focusing more on missional community format. Quite a few new people joined including couples with young children. That led to forming a new Sunday school ministry that grew rapidly to about 30 kids.
Parallel to that the church continues serving people in and outside the church organizing various events, picnics, outings etc. |
2. Where did your vision and conviction to be a Missional Church come from? |
Some of the leaders were exposed to the ideas of missional lifestyle back in 2010/2011 from "Soma" church in Tacoma, that organized conferences here in Riga. Leaders from Soma were also sharing their experiences in personal meetings with various small groups around town. A few of these groups had people in them that are now part of the church's leadership. The vision and conviction of "there has to be more to church than just a Sunday sermon" was there before, Soma people just showed how it can be done in real life.
|
3. What is it about your church that you believe makes it a Missional Church? |
We try to emphasize the importance of sharing the Gospel not only with our words, but also with our lives.
We try to achieve that by sharing our lives with other believers as well as non-believers. The recent conflict in Ukraine has provided even more opportunities for the church to live missionaly. |
4. How are you structured/organized to accomplish your Missional vision? |
We have several missional communities that (try to) meet regularly.
Each group has a core team of 4-6 people that are committed to the vision and serve with their gifts, time, energy. |
5. How are you training and coaching your people to live with Missional intentionality? |
We've gone through various training materials as well as inviting people to take part in any training that teach about missional lifestyle. Sunday services also serve as a constant reminder to people not to lose focus on being missional in their everyday lives. That is done from the pulpit as well as in personal conversations.
|
6. What are the most important lessons you’ve learned as a Missional Church? |
None of this will work properly without Jesus.
People need to be constantly reminded of the vision/mission. People/leaders will let you down. Even young people aren't always open to changes. |
Missional Progress
Coming Soon...
ROMANIA
Missional Churches Coming Soon...
SWITZERLAND
GRACE CHURCH - STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
Grace Church
|
Contact: Phil Whittall - phil@gracechurch.se
|
|
At A Glance:
We are a multi-cultural, multi-lingual church community in Stockholm, Sweden with a vision to make disciples, train leaders and plant churches. We gather weekly, fellowship regularly, and pray frequently as we seek to equip people to confidently live out their identity as a friend of Jesus in a highly secular context. |
|
OUR MISSIONAL STORY:
1. What’s the story of how your church was planted, replanted, or revitalized? |
Grace Church started in Stockholm in the summer of 2012 around a kitchen table with 7 adults and 4 young children. The vision was, and is, to see a church community that honours the word of God and delights in the presence of God making disciples, training leaders, planting churches and caring for the poor,
Those convictions have led us to gathering a growing number of people from all over the world and working these things out in multiple languages, cultures and communities. |
2. Where did your vision and conviction to be a Missional Church come from? |
Mark 3:14 has a wonderful description of Jesus' motivation for his chosen twelve disciples. It says, "that they might be with him and that he might send them out..." That captures in one short sentence so much of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus: to be with him and sent by him!
In Sweden which is thoroughly secular nation if we are to make disciples then we need people who have been with Jesus and who are sent by him into every community and workplace that they are in. We need disciples who understand their identity as both loved (be with) and missionary (sent). So there is a contextual imperative to be missional but really it stems from wanting this description of Jesus' disciples to apply to us. |
3. What is it about your church that you believe makes it a Missional Church? |
Because we believe Jesus is Lord and that His Lordship applies to every hour of every day and not just for two hours on a Sunday. That has an impact on how we see our working lives, our social lives, our neighbourhoods - we are 'sent' everywhere we go.
|
4. How are you structured/organized to accomplish your Missional vision? |
This is a challenge for us in a constantly changing urban context as people keep moving! But what we are are consistently working towards is a structure of Sunday Gatherings (in various languages), midweek communities and within those DNA groups. Each context presents different challenges & requires different solutions but the aim in each is to encourage people to live with and by faith as Jesus' sent ones into the world.
|
5. How are you training and coaching your people to live with Missional intentionality? |
Sunday gatherings are places to hear the Word preached but also to be freshly commissioned. Most services end with a reminder of our calling to be reflective lights of the world & to be reminded of our identity as bearers of his image, carriers of His presence and messengers of His grace.
Midweek communities are the places for fellowship & prayer where local context comes into play and DNA groups where we have the opportunity to work through with others the Lordship of Jesus in our lives. |
6. What are the most important lessons you’ve learned as a Missional Church? |
That missional almost never just happens. Like most things it requires intentional thinking, attentive leadership & prayerful actions to graciously help people see this is as an integrated approach to life following Jesus. It is so easy to drift from things you really believe even with all the best intentions.
|
Missional Progress
Coming Soon...
Wales
URBAN CROFTERS - CARDIFF, WALES, UK
Urban Crofters
|
Contact: Will Souter - urbancrofters@gmail.com
|
|
At A Glance:
We are a network of missional communities that make up a new Anglican church plant in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. We have a church building that is open Monday to Friday for a range of community activities including a cafe offering a child-friendly, co-working space. We meet together on Sundays for worship, teaching and prayer ministry. We are committed to developing a worldview for our faith and work that focuses on partnering with God to build His kingdom on Earth. |
|
OUR MISSIONAL STORY:
1. What’s the story of how your church was planted, replanted, or revitalized? |
We started meeting as a missional community in October 2016 - three families of five meeting in one of our homes. We had a vision to invite spiritually open and curious friends and neighbours along to our weekly meetings. Our first hour has always been sharing in a two course meal together, the second hour a range of different discussions - for example, sharing someone's life story; watching an inspiring video about mission and then discussing what we can learn from this; or an accessible Bible study. We have gradually grown in number and have gradually started new missional communities. We are now a network of five missional communities.
|
2. Where did your vision and conviction to be a Missional Church come from? |
Firstly, from the Great Commission of Jesus - this was not a suggestion, but a clear commandment to His apprentices. Secondly, from the Bible - the description we read in Acts is of a missional church. Thirdly, from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit - He is a missional Spirit. Fourthly, from the context in which we find ourselves - surveys show that only about 2% of Wales is committed in personal Christian faith - mission is desperately needed.
|
3. What is it about your church that you believe makes it a Missional Church? |
We are committed to growing our network of missional communities in breadth and depth. Every member of our church is connected to one of these communities. We are eager to develop community activities that expand our fringe of contacts, so that we can develop friendships with not-yet Christian people and invite them into missional communities. These include our community cafe in our church building Monday to Friday; a conversational group for isolated people and immigrants who want to practise their English; a children's choir; an adult choir; Friday evening entertainment; midweek music classes for pre-schoolers. We seek to promote the vision, values and practices of mission whenever we can.
|
4. How are you structured/organized to accomplish your Missional vision? |
We have a team of missional community leaders that meets once a month. The whole church meets in a network of missional communities each week. We have a church What's App group to communicate practical and prayer needs to one another. We organise DNA groups within each missional community to go deeper with the Bible; deeper with God; and deeper with one another in our discipleship journey.
|
5. How are you training and coaching your people to live with Missional intentionality? |
Missional community leaders meet once a month for mutual support, sharing stories of what God is doing and to consider leadership skills that are helpful in leading these communities well. We also have a leadership training evening once a month. This year we are focusing on apologetics training to assist in our conversations with sceptics. We use a discipleship curriculum that explores eight key topics: living a Jesus-centred life; listening and responding to the prompts of the Holy Spirit; developing Christian character; developing new leaders; knowing how we are called to serve; practising relational evangelism; spiritual disciplines; and developing a kingdom of God perspective for faith and work.
|
6. What are the most important lessons you’ve learned as a Missional Church? |
The importance of "having a go" at new ideas - we might not know all the answers before we start something new, but we probably know enough to try something and see if it will bear fruit. The importance of flexibility: through organising ourselves as a network of missional communities it is easy to be able to plan and pivot whenever necessary. The importance of leadership intentionality: it is so easy to lose focus and momentum and leaders need to stay on track with missional priorities. The importance of doing little things well: sometimes the smallest of beginnings can lead to the most significant impact - part of the mustard seed dynamic of God's kingdom.
|
Missional Progress
Coming Soon...
