Last week, we introduced two of the six types of Innovative Faith Communities (IFC) that Mission Alive can help you launch in your community: Individual Missional Initiatives and Mission Small Groups. This week we will examine two more IFC types that can transform your community with the love of God: the Missional House Church and the Missional Church.
Missional House Church
If God is calling you to launch a Missional House Church, your goal will be to create a series of small expressions of church that can meet comfortably inside someone’s house. Typically, house churches have between 5-30 participants. This number can be slightly larger if you choose to meet in the backyard or in a local park, for example. Nonetheless, your goal will be to remain small enough for a close, intimate Christian community to develop and as the numbers grow, launch new house churches in new neighborhoods. If you start a Missional House Church, you will focus on the Sunday gathering while equally focusing on the lives of your neighbors, especially those who are marginalized or struggling.
Missional Church
Instead of creating multiple small group gatherings, the Missional Church gathers as one larger group. Missional Churches continue to look similar to traditionally structured churches. For example, they make the worship gathering the primary activity of the church. Yet, they are missional because they place a high value on missionally engaging their community and commit resources to that end. A Missional Church’s goal is to keep growing the church into an ever-larger congregation while expecting all of its members to be missionally engaged in its community.
Mission Alive will come alongside you to help identify the specific area of brokenness in your community on which your church will focus. We will provide training and coaching along the way so that you maximize your impact.
If you sense God stirring within you to launch a Missional House Church or a Missional Church, we encourage you to take the IFC quiz to help confirm your sense of calling or schedule a conversation with one of the Mission Alive team members.
Take IFC Quiz
Talk with Tod or Steve