What would it look like for a group of people to share everyday life, follow Jesus together, and make room for their neighbors? These articles explore that question through the vision, practices, and leadership of missional communities.
Most of this material was written in 2013 during ministry at The Austin Stone. The examples, structures, and reported results belong to that season. The guide brings those articles together so you can consider them in your own context.
Find your starting point
- Exploring the idea? Begin with the six-article introduction below.
- Leading a community? Start with everyday practices, then stages of development.
- Leading a church? Begin with leadership development or church transition.
A first path through the material
If you’re new to the material, these six articles provide a starting path through the vision, everyday practices, and some honest questions about the model. For a fuller treatment, choose one of the original series below.
- What is a Missional Community? — Definition (2013). Start with the theological purpose of a community sent to demonstrate and declare the gospel.
- The Family Meal (2013). Consider what changes when a gathering makes room for shared life around a table.
- Life Transformation Groups (2013). Read about smaller gatherings for Scripture, repentance, accountability, and prayer.
- Third Place (2013). Explore how a community makes regular room for relationships with people who don’t know Jesus.
- Fitting Them All Together (2013). Bring the practices into a sustainable rhythm, with room for different seasons of life.
- Aren’t Missional Communities Just Small Groups? (2014). Finish with a later response to a fair question about expectations, maturity, and the purpose of the model.
Go deeper with an original series
Read a series in order, or use its chapter list to return to a particular question.
A shared understanding
Begin with the vision and definition, then work through what it means to share life on mission with a particular group of people.
Original sequence: 7 articles, 2013
Read the 7-article series
Consider together: Who are the people your community is already among, and what would it mean to share life on mission with them?
Next: Explore the everyday practices.
Everyday life together
Follow the original practices series from its overview through shared meals, discipleship, and time with people who don’t know Jesus. The closing article addresses how these rhythms fit into a busy life.
Original sequence: 6 articles, 2013
Read the 6-article series
Consider together: Which of these rhythms is already present? What is one change that could make room for a neglected part of community life?
Next: Consider how communities develop.
Helping a community take its next step
These articles describe four patterns of community life and the leadership each calls for. Read the overview first: the names describe patterns, rather than prescribing what a church must call its groups. The closing data belongs to the original ministry context.
Original sequence: 6 articles, 2013
Read the 6-article series
Consider together: Where do you recognize your community in these descriptions, and what kind of leadership might help it move forward?
Next: Think through leadership development.
Developing people who can lead
Start with the relationship between people, culture, and systems. Continue through identifying leaders, preparing them to serve, and providing ongoing training and care.
Original sequence: 8 articles, 2013
Read the 8-article series
- Leadership Development Systems for Missional Communities
- Discipleship and Leadership Development
- Two Ways to Identify Leaders
- Questions to Ask When Considering a Leader
- The Basic Qualifications for Leadership
- Basic Training for Missional Communities
- Ongoing Training for Missional Community Leaders
- Caring for Missional Community Leaders
Consider together: Where are people being personally discipled, and where are you expecting a system or training event to do that work?
Next: Consider change across a church.
Leading change across a church
This sequence follows the Austin Stone’s experience of change, from the reasons for moving toward missional communities to the work of building a shared vision and sustaining it over time.
Original sequence: 10 articles, 2013
Read the 10-article series
- Transitioning Your Church to Missional Communities
- Two Ways to Transition Your Church
- Creating a Sense of Urgency
- Forming a Strategic Team to Lead Transition
- Crafting a Vision for Missional Communities
- Communicating the Vision for Missional Communities
- Empowering Others to Act in Missional Communities
- Celebrating Wins in the Transition to Missional Community
- Building on the Change to Missional Communities
- Institutionalizing the Change to Missional Communities
Consider together: What needs to become clearer or stronger before you ask people to change their practices?
Next: Return to the practices that make the vision concrete.
Working through a specific question?
We’re just getting started. Read The first weeks of a new community.
How do children fit into community life? Read Missional Communities and Kids.
What should a coach ask? Read Coaching Questions.
How do we recognize health? Read Leader Self-Assessment.
When should a community multiply? Read When to Multiply a Missional Community?.
Keep exploring
The Leading a Church of Missional Communities index also preserves ordered series on coaching, assessment, connecting people, the first weeks of a community, children, and student ministry.
For printable materials, visit Missional Community Curriculum and Tools. For a longer treatment of church transition, read Transitioning Your Church to Missional Communities (PDF).
Read with your team
Choose one series and read a chapter before each conversation. Use the questions in this guide to compare the article with your own community, then agree on one practical next step. Return to it the next time you meet.