3. A need to be connected
• To the digital world
• To each other
• To the Body of Christ
• To the community
• To God’s larger purpose, with the world
beyond the community
4. As a missional leader you must
help your people connect to the
living God.
6. Chapter 1: MISSION AHEAD
What’s the difference between a
missional church and a mission-
minded church?
7. A “mission-minded” church
• Financially supports missions
• Pray’s for missionaries
• Studies about missions
• Periodically participates in mission trips
• Has a missions committee
8. A ‘Missional” Church
• Has a passion for the mission of God and
allows this passion to be at the heart of
the life of the church. It is the DNA of the
church.
• Everything the church does is aligned with
carrying out the mission of God as it
understands it.
9. The difference between a mission-
minded church and a missional
church
• Set up the box from page 8
10. Definition of a Missional Church
• “A missional church is a community of
God’s people who live into the imagination
that they are, by their very nature, God’s
missionary people living as a
demonstration of what God plans to do in
and for all of creation in Jesus Christ.”
(Alan Roxburgh and Fred Ramanuk)
11. The Two Great Commands of
Jesus to the Church before His
Ascension
• Matthew 28:18b-20 – The Great
Commission
• Acts 1:8 – Notice the movement outward
13. Stuff to Think About...
• Based on the above definition, would our church
be considered a mission-minded church or a
missional church?
• How well have we “exegeted” our community?
Do we have a good understanding of the basic
strengths, needs, demographics, and the
heritage and future direction of our community?
What would it take for us to gain such an
understanding?
14. Stuff to Think About...
• How well do we release our people to
engage in ministry beyond our walls? Do
we tend to judge our health more by what
happens inside our walls rather than what
happens outside our walls?
• If our church were to disappear tomorrow,
would it make any discernible difference to
our community?
15. Chapter 2: A CLOSER LOOK
• What should a missional leader look like?
16. Different skill sets for leaders
• Traditional training prepares a pastor to
“take care of the flock” as primary task...
• Missional leaders are a totally different
kind of leader.
17. A Missional Leader
• Is faithful to the gospel
• Is entrepreneurial
• Is a catalyst, a cultivator of a missional
environment
• Understands the importance of community
as a basis from which to embrace
missional living
• Is an agent for positive, focused change
18. The Image is
•Not that of a map, which implies a
known destination but that of a
compass, which implies heading in the
proper direction.
19. Stuff to Think About...
• Do I have a leadership style that is more
authoritative or empowering? To what
extent am I able to fully trust the Holy
Spirit to work in and speak through the
lives of those in my congregation?
• How might I more effectively serve as a
catalyst for the development of a missional
mindset among our people?
20. Stuff to Think About...
• How do I personally deal with radical change?
Is my natural tendency to embrace change or to
avoid change? How can I become a positive
change agent for my congregation?
• What are the road maps or paradigms that
shape the direction of my ministry? Am I willing
to become more of a “compass-driven” leader
rather than a “map-driven” leader?
• What things could we jettison from our current
structure to help us be more “lean and mean” for
the task ahead?
21. NEXT STEPS
• A Prepared Leader
• A Prepared Church
• An Actualized Mission
22. At what point is one fully prepared
to lead the church to be a missional
church?
• Does my church have to wait until I feel I am
fully a missional leader to move forward?
• How will I know when my church is ready?
• How long will we be in the “preparation phrase”
before we can begin putting feet to our mission
strategy?
• How much inward development do we need?
• How much spiritual maturity should happen
before moving forward?
23. We don’t wait until we are
mature to move, we mature as
we move! Movement and
growth go hand in hand.
24. Strategies for Moving Forward
• Reach Upward
• Relate Inward
• Move Forward
• Go Outward
• Work Together
• Pave the Way
25. Chapter 3: REACH UPWARD
• How can you connect your people to the
living God?
26. We are all aware of spiritual efforts,
however noble in intent, that have
failed due to their being rooted in
human effort rather than in the
power of God.
• John 15:1-5
• John 5:19-20a
• Acts 1:8
• Philippians 1:9-11
• Ephesians 4:11-15
27. WE CANNOT ADVANCE THE
KINGDOM, WE CANNOT BE
MISSIONAL, APART FROM A
VITAL GROWING RELATIONSHIP
WITH CHRIST!
28. Stuff to Think About...
• Do we have a process to assess the spiritual
health of our congregation? If not, do you know
how and where to find and utilize such a
process?
• Do you have a picture of what a fully mature
follower of Jesus might look like? Do we attempt
to raise the bar of spiritual growth and maturity
so that our people have some sense of what
they are trying to become?
29. Stuff to Think About...
• Do we bathe each activity and mission
effort in sincere prayer, seeking to do all
things in the power of the Holy Spirit and
not in our own power?
• How closely would Paul’s desire for the
church at Philippi be true for our own
church?
30. Chapter 4: RELATE INWARD
• How can you connect your people to each
other?
31. When a church exists only to meet
the needs of its members, it has
ceased being a New Testament
church and has become something
entirely different.
32. In The Missional Church...
• Deep relationships lived out in authentic
community is the desire of these
congregations.
• The reinforcement for mission comes from
the community.
• Many are drawn to our fellowship before
they even share our beliefs because they
are so hungry for friendships. This has
been called “belonging before believing.”
33. Ephesians 3:17b-19 says...
• “And I pray that you, being rooted and
established in love, may have power,
together with all the saints, to grasp how
wide and long and high and deep is the
love of Christ, and to know this love that
surpasses knowledge – that you may be
filled to the measure of all the fullness of
God.”
34. Stuff to Think About...
• Do we have sufficient structures and
opportunities in place to allow for real
interaction and koinonia to develop among
our members?
• Would people know our church as a loving
church? Is our church marked by loving
relationships or by infighting, bitterness,
and jealousy? If the latter, do we have
any way of rooting out such negativity?
35. Stuff to Think About...
• Are non-believers being drawn to our church due
to the quality of our fellowship? If so, are they
being welcome and allowed to “hang with us” to
the level of their comfort?
• Do our people see fellowship as an end in itself,
or as a support for mutual encouragement to live
sacrificial, missional lifestyles?
36. Chapter 5: MOVE FORWARD
• How can you connect your people’s
passion and imagination with the mission
of God?
37. Missional leaders are called to be
spiritual imagineers, connecting
people to experience and living
out the Story that guides all of
creation.
38. The missional leader helps a
congregation imagine a future
where the Kingdom of God reigns
and we all have a part to play. The
process engages the right side of
the brain as well as the left. And it
always keeps the Story at the heart
of the dreams.
39. The Bible speaks about God being
the God of new beginnings.
• 2 Corinthians 5:17
• Revelation 21:5
40. • For a missional leader, leadership is about
cultivating the imagination and passion of
the people so that the vision arises from
the giftedness of the body. You must trust
the work of the Holy Spirit to do his work in
and through your people without the need
to control everything that happens!
41. Stuff to Think About...
• Do we allow for times of creative dreaming
in our church, engaging the right side of
the brain, or do we focus only on setting
goals and objectives, engaging only the
left side of the brain? When was the last
time we had a “vision casting” experience,
when our people sat around tables for the
purposes of sharing dreams and visions
for a missional future?
42. Stuff to Think About...
• To what extent do the people in our
church feel that they can each contribute
to the collective vision of our church’s
mission beyond the walls? Are we an
empowering fellowship, one that
encourages full participation in all facets of
the body life?
43. Stuff to Think About...
• How readily can our people recite our
basic mission statement and core values?
If this is not so, then how can we facilitate
strengthening this among our people?
• How healthy is the spiritual soil in our
congregation? What can be done to
enrich the soil so that healthy disciples
can grow to maturity?
44. Chapter 6: GO OUTWARD
• How can you connect your church to the
world beyond its walls?
45. 4 Areas of Geographic Focus in the
Lord’s Acts 1:8 challenge...
• Jerusalem, or your local community
• Judea, or your region
• Samaria, or your nation or continent
• The ends of the earth, basically everything
beyond the above
46. It is vital that a church in order
to be truly missional, include
strategies for impacting all four
areas in its vision.
47. Stuff to Think About...
• Does our vision include our Jerusalem?
What are we doing to impact our local
community? Again, would our community
miss us if we disappeared tomorrow?
• Does our vision include our Judea? Do
we have strategies for our state or
geographical region? How can we involve
our people in mission action to impact
these areas?
48. Stuff to Think About...
• Does our vision include our Samaria?
How can we have a greater impact on our
nation/continent?
• Does our vision include the whole world?
Are we actively helping our people to see
needs beyond our own nation? Are we
raising up our people to be global
Christians, with a global vision and
awareness?
49. Stuff to Think About...
• In looking over the four areas, do we
naturally tend to focus on one end of the
spectrum rather than the other? What
steps can we take to achieve balance in
our mission strategies? Do our prayers
include all four areas?
50. Chapter 7: WORK TOGETHER
• How can you connect your church with
other partners to carry out God’s mission?
52. National Networks
• The International Mission Board
• The North American Mission Board
• LifeWay Christian Resources
• The Southern Baptist Seminaries
• The Women’s Missionary Union
• Stewardship Development Association
55. Stuff to Think About...
• How would I assess my networking ability? Am I
connecting with the people and resources I need
to help me in my work? How could I be more
intentional in this effort?
• Have I fully considered the networking and
resources available through my SBC partners?
Are there areas that I may have overlooked due
to any presuppositions on my part?
56. Stuff to Think About...
• What Great Commission Christians and
churches are in my area that I might not
have considered as network partners?
Am I comfortable in stepping outside of my
denominational boundaries to relate to
those outside my network? If not, why?
57. Chapter 8: PAVE THE WAY
• How do you lead your church to support
its missional vision?
58. Let us focus on the importance of
leading your people to support a
missional vision and lifestyle out of
the resources that God has
provided for them.
• Stewardship is simply the wise
management of the resources God has
entrusted to us.
59. Missional Churches
• Seek to maximize their resources beyond
the walls of the church.
• Encourage their people to give from joy
rather than from burden.
• Desire to minimize the use of resources
for its own needs.
60. Truths about giving from 2
Corinthians 8:1-15
• Sacrificial
• A spiritual discipline
• Be consistent and
steadfast
• Comes from the heart
• Equality and mutual
support are important
61. Developing a Mission Support
Strategy
• Don’t be afraid to teach stewardship.
• God gives his people a desire to give.
• Don’t leave a recipient hanging that you
agree to support.
• We should continue to give regardless of
our means.
• There is the issue of mutual support.
62. Mutual Support: The Cooperative
Program
• The CP is a giving channel where each person’s gift, and
in turn each church’s gift, is pooled with other such gifts
so that every part supports the whole.
• A church’s participation in supporting the CP is voluntary,
and churches should find encouragement from the
Macedonian Christians.
• Many SBC churches give 10% or more to support
missions through CP.
• Every dollar given through CP goes to support the
mission enterprise.
• The mission boards will assist you in putting faces to
missionaries your church supports through CP giving.
63. Definition of the Cooperative
Program approved at SBC Annual
Meeting in June 2007:
• The Cooperative Program is Southern
Baptists’ unified plan of giving through
which cooperating Southern Baptist
churches give a percentage of their
undesignated receipts in support of their
respective state convention and the
Southern Baptist Convention missions and
ministries.
64. Stuff to Think About...
• When is the last time we’ve had any kind
of stewardship or giving emphasis in our
church? If it’s been a while could it be
because I’m reluctant to address this
issue?
• Are there any of the five principles that
speak most readily to our situation?
65. Stuff to Think About...
• Which of the strategy recommendations
are most appropriate for us to put into
immediate practice?
• How can we promote an awareness of the
value of the Cooperative Program among
our people?
66. WHAT NOW?
• Within the Body of Christ, being connected
has always been of great importance.
• “Philippians 1:3-6”
– A “missional church” is connected not only to
like-minded believers and churches across
the world but also to like-minded believers
and churches across the ages.
– Why would any leader not want his church to
be a missional church?
67. Close with the definition of a
Missional Church:
• “A missional church is a community of
God’s people who live into the imagination
that they are, by their very nature, God’s
missionary people living as a
demonstration of what God plans to do in
and for all of creation in Jesus Christ.”
(Alan Roxburgh and Fred Ramanuk)
