In a previous post, I shared some observations about the meaning of missional and some comparisons between missional and attractional evangelism. In this post, I want to focus on 5 characterisitcs of a missional group. I call these characteristics the “5 C’s of a Missional Community.” The better your group is at these five characteristics, the more missional it is becoming:
The Five C’s of Missional Community:
- C – Connect
- C – Content
- C – Consecrate
- C – Cause
- C – Change
Let’s quickly clarify these characteristics.
Connect – Missional groups do not live in isolation. With the exception of some discipleship groups, Sunday School classes and home groups are places where group members are seeking to connect their friends to the group and ultimately to God. I said the previous sentence carefully. Missional groups are not waiting for guests to find the group! Missional groups do not sit in a room and hope an unchurched person stumbles into the class. Instead, missional groups are actively inviting unchurched friends and neighbors to join them, to connect and make friends with people in the group. But also, ultimately to connect their friends with God and His Son, Jesus Christ through repentance and Lordship.
Content – Missional groups are deeply devoted to the study of God’s Word, both corporately and individually. Missional groups have such a high view of the Bible that the Bible itself is the focus of the study. Other resources are allowed in their study, but only if they help illuminate their study of Scripture. Missional communities understand that they are studying the very words of God Himself, “words not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit”. (1 Cor. 2:13). Missional groups go beyond being informed by the Bible, the people in these groups are being transformed by their study of God’s Word (Romans 12:2).
Consec
rate – Consecrate means to set apart. Consecration is important for the entire group, but even moreso for the leader of the group. People model leadership. Unconsecrated leaders produce the same in their followers. Consecrated leaders will ultimately lead their group members to live lives that are set apart. Missional groups need consecrated leadership.
Cause – Missional groups exist for more than just the group. They exist to make disciples… both in their class, across the street, and around the world. A missional group recognizes that they are how the church organizes itself to complete the Great Commission. Missional groups recognize that they have unique gifts and abilities that are meant to expand the Kingdom. “Cause” is what a missional group does to put the Gospel on display in their community. I am a big proponent of Sunday School class or small group mission experiences. These experiences involve the entire group in hands-on mission involvement in their community. Groups that are conducting group mission projects almost always develop a sense of vitality that results from their effort to spread the Gospel through their neighborhood. This is nothing less than Spirit empowerment that comes from being faithful to the Gospel. These groups are experiencing the power of God in their midst as a result (Romans 1:16).
Change – God is bringing change to this world. Because of their ministry and faith in the Gospel, missional groups see change happen in several levels:
- First, they see change in themselves. They are growing believers and life in Christ is meaningful and fulfilling. It’s not always easy, in fact it is often tough. But their faith is growing.
- Second, they see change in their own group as they join together to put the Gospel on display.
- Third, they begin to see change happen in their own church. I firmly believe that the best way to change a church is one class at a time. Change a class – change a church!
- Fourth, as more of their church’s groups become missional, they begin seeing changes take place in their community. Their church is no longer a building on a corner, but a family of believers that is impacting lostness with neighbors, ball teams, civic organizations, and the work place. The Gospel of Jesus Christ drives out darkness and transforms communities.
- Finally, they see change happening in their country and their world. An unreached people group they have been praying for has the Bible translated into their language. A neighbor that one of the members has been witnessing to comes to faith in Christ. A church is planted; souls are being saved with the power of the Gospel.
For more information on the 5 C’s of a Missional Group, I have a series about it on my blog.
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Bob Mayfield is the Sunday School/discipleship specialist for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. Bob also has his own blog at www.bobmayfield.com
Are those who practice “attractive” evangelism not deeply devoted to the study of God’s Word? Being a pastor, I do my best to study His Word and present a proper study of His Word to the church at every service. I can see that those deeply involved in missional groups probably would be more committed to individual study but it seems that this idea of being ‘missional’ means the people included in these groups are more spiritual or deeply devoted to Bible study and fulfillment of the Great Commission by default is faulty.
Content – Missional groups are deeply devoted to the study of God’s Word, both corporately and individually. Missional groups have such a high view of the Bible that the Bible itself is the focus of the study. Other resources are allowed in their study, but only if they help illuminate their study of Scripture. Missional communities understand that they are studying the very words of God Himself, “words not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit”. (1 Cor. 2:13). Missional groups go beyond being informed by the Bible, the people in these groups are being transformed by their study of God’s Word (Romans 12:2).
Chris, great comment. Actually, I don’t think that being missional makes one more or less spiritual than someone else. The key issue in my opinion is that missional groups and missional people have adopted a strategy and mindset that is trying to share the Gospel out in the culture itself, rather than hoping that the culture will come to church to hear the Gospel. Also, don’t misunderstand me. I’m one of those who believes that the Gospel should be preached from the pulpit every Sunday! It is simply that in many contexts, most lost people are not attracted to come to church on Sunday, so we must take the Gospel to where they are.
I included “content” as one of the five C’s for two reasons: One, being missional does not mean that we live outside of the Word of God. Instead, it is the Scriptures that teach us to be missional in the first place. John 20:21 says it plainly, “As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.” Matthew 28:19… “Go, and make disciples.” Acts 1:8 “…you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Missional people live as missionaries in their work places, neighborhoods, and schools.
A second and less important reason I included “content” as one of the five C’s is that had I left it out, some people would have been critical (and rightly so) because they might think that missional groups are not grounded in Scripture. Being missional does not mean a person is not growing personally in God’s Word. I wanted to make sure that people understand that missional groups are very concerned about spiritual depth and discipleship.
I hope that makes sense and thanks for your comment. I certainly do not want to make rash judgments about the spiritual lives of others, but I did want to communicate that missional groups are firmly grounded in the study and application of Scripture.
Thanks for the clarification. I certainly would hope that all groups are founded on the Word. One thing that I’ve noticed is that even in an ‘attractional’ group those that are really committed are ‘missional’ in their own lives. No one can slip around the Great Commission and reach people.
Chris, I agree with you and would certainly hope that all of our groups were all founded on the Word. Unfortunately, in many (and I would argue most) of our classes this is simply not true; the teacher is the only person studying their Bible. Recent research I found in “Read the Bible for Life” states that only 16% of Christians read their Bible every day. This is a reflection of our current practices in Sunday School where the teacher is generally the only one prepared.
We are not trying to separate the wheat from the tares in missional Sunday School. Instead, we are trying to bring about a renewed interest in Bible study that produces Great Commission (missional) Christians. An evidence of a missional Christian is that we “Go” and take the Gospel into our society.