LAUNCHING YOUR OWN MISSIONAL COMMUNITY You are here because you are passionate about leading a Missional Community: a group of 15-40 people who live out the mission of God together to a specific area or to a particular people group by demonstrating the gospel in tangible forms. Here is the pathway to take to launch your own Missional Community. The MC Pathway includes three phases: PRELIMINARY PHASE PREPERATION PHASE LAUNCH PHASE PRELIMINARY PHASE Here are a few questions you need to ask yourself before you jump into leading a Missional Community. 1. Who has God called you to serve? A Missional Community is the church on mission to a specific people group. Your MC will only be successful if you are called to serve a specific group of people. If you don’t have one, pray that God will reveal one to you! 2. Do I have the time and commitment necessary to lead a Missional Community in my present stage of life? Leading an MC takes a lot of work! An MC requires both time and commitment from you in order to be successful. People will be under your care as they seek to serve God on mission! Although it's exciting, it also carries with it a real responsibility. 3. Is my life worth following? You may be thinking, “That’s a difficult question!” You’re right! It is! You will be discipling people through mission. They will be looking to you to help lead the group forward. Are you worth following? 4. Do I have the ability to lead a Missional Community? You do not need to be perfect to lead a Missional Community, but you do need to be competent in a few areas! Are you able to cast a vision for a group of people? Can you create momentum in a group of people? Do you have the ability to lead Bible studies and group discussions? Do you have the capacity to pull out the best of others? It is important that you are capable (but not perfect) in these types of areas. If you have answered YES to these questions, you're ready for the Preparation Phase! PREPERATION PHASE Preparation is an important phase when launching Missional Community! Here are some steps to ensure that you will be ready to lead a Missional Community when you launch. 1. Read through the Missional Community Leader’s Guide. This is a one-stop guide that will familiarize you with the important elements of leading a Missional Community. It offers insight into a host of topics including What is a Missional Community, The Purpose of an MC, The Structure of an MC, Leadership Development, and a host of tools to help you launch a successful MC. Become familiar with its content so you can lead a great MC! 2. Solidify the date, time, and location for your Missional Community. Though simple, this information is essential. It's important to have these details available for those you invite in your MC. 3. Meet with the Pastor of Missional Discipleship. This is a friendly meeting in order to discuss your Missional Community, brainstorm about what your group could look like, and field any questions you have concerning a Missional Community. Contact Curtis Carnes at [email protected] to set up it up! 4. Plan the first four months of your Missional Community. Having a concrete plan for the first four months of your MC is essential for a successful launch. A concrete plan will give you confidence because you understand where you group is going. Moreover, a concrete plan gives you something to talk about and makes it much easier to invite others to get involved. Use these tools to get started: MC Brainstorming Tool and MC 4 Month Planning Tool. 5. Check out Leading Missional Communities by Mike Breen. This book provides the foundation of Missional Communities. Here you will learn what Missional Communities are and how you can lead them successfully. We provide all MC leaders with a copy. Just ask! Now that you are prepared to lead a Missional Community, lets Launch! LAUNCH PHASE By now, you are chomping at the bit and ready to go! Here are the steps to Launch. 1. Pray! Leading a Missional Community is a spirit-led activity. Since your goal is to disciple other through mission, prayer is crucial! Pray for your target group! Pray for those who will be joining your group! 2. Invite people! We have discovered that Missional Community participation has resulted almost exclusively from personal invitation. Make a list about who you are going to invite and start extending some invitations! Include a quick pitch about who your MC is serving, how you are planning on doing it, and what is the next thing they can participate in. A completed 4 Month MC plan will aid you greatly in your pitch! 3. Participate in Renew's Missional Community Launch! During the Fall and the Spring, we have a Missional Community Launch during our Main Gathering. We introduce our MC leaders to the congregation and give them an opportunity to talk about their respective groups. Please be there so interested participants can meet you! 4. Attend Missional Community Leader's Trainings! During the duration of your Huddle, Huddle Leader's Trainings will be offered once every other month after service. It is a time to connect with fellow MC leaders, celebrate successes, work through challenges, and be trained in an aspect of leading an MC. Make it a point to attend! 5. Start Strong! Your first four months is crucial when launching an MC. Cast a fresh vision for your group that people are excited about. Start serving you target group immediately. Invite others in right away. Delegate responsibility to potential leaders now. Good Luck! We look forward to see how God is going to work through your Missional Community! And we will be there right beside you to help coach you along the way!.