missional community
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Four Moments in Four Days
Four days. Four moments. One thread: discipleship. Omaha, a podcast I will not name, a training in Liberty Hill, and a Sunday at The Stone, and what they showed me is that the terms and the…
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Gratitude for Partnership in the Gospel
Christian community is not built on consumerism but on covenant partnership, sustained not by preference but by promise. I used to teach at The Stone that we should aim for mission over community, and I have…
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Group Formation Process Graphic
I’ve written in the past about the different stages of formation and growth that groups tend to go through on their way to becoming missional communities. The chart below summarizes the process and provides a few…
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My Doctoral Thesis on Missional Communities
This past few years, I have had the joy of participating the Doctor of Educational Ministry program at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I participated in a cohort of five executive pastors under the supervision of…
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Aren’t Missional Communities Just Small Groups?
Recently I was asked by a reader on this blog and partner in our church: Is the bar so high in missional community that no one can reach it? Or, only a few groups can reach…
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Groups Matter Initiative
Regardless of how you think groups ought to be practiced in the local church, almost everyone would agree that groups matter. In the context of smaller communities, people are known, loved, taught, challenged and led towards…
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A New Year, A New Direction
Although we’re already almost a month into the new year, I’m just now getting my ducks around the blogosphere. Looking back, I focused a great deal of time and attention on the practical aspects of missional…
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Where Do We Do Third Place?
Recently I was asked: As I am trying to lead our small groups toward missional communities, my people are starting to get the concept of third place. One thing that would be really helpful is if…
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Multiple Third Place Environments
Recently I received the following question on Third Place: We planted our church in ’07. Currently, our Gospel Communities meet for a meal together and Bible discussion twice a month (every other week), and people meet…
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Gender Specific Missional Communities?
I recently received this question from a partner at The Austin Stone, and I thought it would be beneficial to address here: Hey Todd, thanks for your faithfulness to getting this information to us. It’s proven…
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Institutionalizing the Change to Missional Communities
The Austin Stone didn’t begin as a church committed to missional communities. Through several years, we have transitioned our church from a traditional community/small group model to our current model of missional communities. This series of posts will help…