• Do nothing – (this would be inconsistent with our mission)
• Try to share in our own strength – (this is a recipe for failure)
• Ask God to do in and through us what we cannot do in our own power – (this is the only way get the job done) 

Sometimes we hesitate to pray for ourselves. Maybe we feel guilty asking for things. Perhaps we fall into the trap of doing things on our own rather than in the power of God’s Spirit. 

Peter Wagner, in On the Crest of the Wave, writes,

“…all the carefully planned mission strategy in the world will be of no avail unless it is activated by divine power. According to our records, the very last words Jesus spoke to His disciples before He left this earth were: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you shall be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Nine Missional Prayers for the Journey

While the list of things we could pray for this year is almost endless, here are nine short prayers that will help keep you focused on your missional journey. 

1. Lord, fill me with Your Holy Spirit and the power He gives to be a witness to those in my circle of influence. (see Acts 1:8)
2. Lord of the harvest, open my eyes that I might see the ripe fields around me. (see John 4:35)
3. Transforming Christ, let others see that my old life is gone and I am new in You as a sign that You can reconcile and transform anyone. (see 2 Corinthians 5:17-19)
4. Master, break my heart for those in my circle of influence who do not know You as Lord and Savior. (see Romans 9:1-3)
5. Father, fill my mouth with Your words that I might boldly share the mystery of the Good News. (see Ephesians 6:19-20)
6. Jesus, thank You for choosing me and sending me out to bear fruit that will last. Give me a bountiful harvest. (see John 15:16)
7. Lord, may I shine like a lighted city on a hill so others see You in my life and are drawn to You. (see Matthew 5:14-16)
8. Father, open doors of opportunity for me to share Your message, and may I share it clearly. (see Colossians 4:2-4)
9. Jesus, it is my desire to join You on Your mission of seeking and saving those who are lost. (see Luke 19:10)

Missional Challenge

• Download the printable, 9 Missional Prayers for the Journey, and place it where you will see it throughout your day.
• Use it as a bookmark for your daily Bible readings.
• Share a copy with a friend.
• Copy them to your prayer journal.
• Pray these prayers for yourself.
• Find a partner and pray them for each other.
• Move out and join the Father on His mission.

Download

What’s on your prayer list?

Guest Post

We moved into our neighborhood seven years ago with much anticipation about meeting our neighbors and seeing what God had in store. In the first few weeks, we knocked on doors to introduce ourselves and invite people into our home. We were available and enthusiastic.

The roadblock we ran into was that while we were beginning a new chapter in our life, our neighbors were not. Our neighbors were busy with the rhythms of their own lives, and making new relationships and commitments is hard when life is busy. Then we began filling up our own schedule with commitments and responsibilities, and spending time with neighbors was quickly sent to the back burner.

We prayed for our neighbors and enjoyed our chats when we ran into each other doing yard work or walking to the mailbox but it never developed beyond that.

Enter COVID

COVID swarmed into our lives like invading locusts. It consumed the normal rhythms of life and has left us calculating how to pick up what’s been destroyed and move forward. For many (myself included) it has come with a bounty of emotions from sadness, to anger, to depression, to fear.

But in the midst of this time where we as a culture are grieving our loss of control, a hope has dawned. In the midst of our fractured rhythms and our grief, we can’t be business as usual. As if arising from a fog, we have to look at our priorities, our commitments, and make evaluations. And one of the beautiful outcomes is that we begin to see the people in front of our faces.

For us, that has meant our neighbors. A few weeks ago our doorbell rang and our next-door neighbor wanted to know if I could talk with her. She was struggling and felt like God wanted her to come over for a visit. She is a Muslim, and I am a Christian. We sat outside and talked about life and anxiety and the Prince of Peace. Over the last several weeks, we have developed a relationship and a rhythm of being in each other’s lives. We have read the Bible, learned the names of each other’s children, and prayed together.

The encouragement in this is not that God has a perfect bow to place on top of COVID that will make it all okay. But rather, that in this melody that feels arduous and uncertain, He is creating something beautiful. And it is not because we, as believers, are beyond the realities and struggles of life, but because as we sit in them, we do so with hope. And this anchor gives us the ability to love when we don’t feel it and to serve, not out of perfection, but out of being present.

This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. – Hebrews 6:19-20a (NLT)

The encouragement is that in these fractured rhythms of life, God is at work creating new rhythms. He is using His beloved bride to see and love a world in the midst of the hurt and to build something new and beautiful; to redeem the broken that He may be glorified and His creation be restored.

To all who mourn in Israel,
he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
that the LORD has planted for his own glory.
– Isaiah 61:3 (NLT)

Social isolation made me selfish

I think the biggest problem was that it seemed that all I could do was focus on me. Social isolation made me pretty selfish. How does my understanding of the Bible help “me”? How can God’s Word take “me” through this?

I could use the technology that is available today to talk with family, friends, and fellow believers, but I felt cut off from those who needed to find a relationship with Christ. I thought, “How can I be missional when there is no one to ‘mish’ with?” “Where is my purpose?” “How can I encourage people to be missional right now when I didn’t even know who to do so myself?”

Finally, some of the clouds began to lift. I started to hear the Lord’s voice again. I woke up in the middle of the night with a question on my mind, “Is this our Acts 8:1 moment?”

Is this our Acts 8:1 moment?

The bible tells us that,

And Saul approved of their killing [Stephen]. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

The book of Acts begins with Jesus telling His followers that they would be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the earth. It appears that the church was not in a rush to fulfill this command as they stayed in Jerusalem. 

But then things got uncomfortable. A great persecution broke out, and they couldn’t stay in Jerusalem and continue doing business as usual. The believers had to scatter into Judea, Samaria, and eventually into the Gentile world. And I imagine that they didn’t know what it would look like when they left or how they were going to serve Christ. They probably struggled with the possibility of never being able to go back to the way things were.

Social isolation due to a pandemic is certainly not persecution, but it can produce the same results. At various times in history, God has used negative social situations like persecution, disasters, wars, and disease to scatter His people and advance His message of Good News.

Covid-19 has definitely scattered the followers of Christ. It has moved us away from our buildings, programs, and leaders.

Some Acts 8:1 questions

Prayerfully ask yourself:

Could God be using Covid-19 to put His church back into the hands of everyday Christ-followers?

Are we willing to accept our scattering as an opportunity to take the message of Jesus to a hurting world?

How will we best use this opportunity to take the Good News of Christ to the ends of the earth?

Stress-related issues

Social isolation due to COVID-19 is stressful and triggers reactions like: 

• Fear of dying
• Fear of a relative or close friend dying
• Fear of being hospitalized
• Fear of losing a job, a business, or income 
• Worry 
• Anxiety 
• Uncertainty 
• Loneliness 
• Anger 
• Panic 
• Depression 
• Impatience 
• Confusion – each day is just like every other day 
• Sadness 
• Frustration 
• Sorrow 
• Feeling overwhelmed 
• Desire for hope

Even though we follow Christ, we are susceptible to these strong emotions and must find ways to cope. We believe that our hope is in Christ. We look for answers and comfort in the personal quietness of our isolation through prayer and God’s Word. We seek ways to gather and find encouragement with like-minded fellow travelers. Many are willing to risk contacting COVID-19 and attend worship services to hear the Word of God. Others participate in digital Discovery Community and Bible study. You read your Bible and pray. You listen to online sermons.

Those who do not have a relationship with Christ have the same list as Christ-followers, but they seek hope and answers in other places and listen to different voices. Most do not know that Jesus offers hope for their hurting lives. And if they do reach out to God, they do not know how to read the Bible or pray.

Missional Challenge

What if you could offer your friends who do not have a life-changing relationship with Jesus an opportunity to read the Bible with you and discover how God can help them in their struggles? 

What if we could start dozens of new Discovery Communities for those who need the hope of Christ? 

I am offering a You Plus Two Zoom workshops that will help you: 

• Learn a simple method of connecting with two or more friends and help them discover the hope found in the all-sufficient Christ? 
• Explore how to establish simple discovery communities to help your friends and family who are searching for ways to cope with the stress of social isolation.You Plus Two Workshop Sunday, August 2, 2020 6:00 p.m. 
• Receive a free resource based on stories of hope from the gospels entitled Discovering Hope and ideas for using it. 

The workshop will be Sunday, August 2, at 6:00 p.m.

Deadline for registration – 3:00 PM Sunday August 2.

Register for the You Plus Two Workshop

You Plus Two Zoom Workshop
Sunday, August 2, 2020
6:00 PM

This is the final post in the series, Making Disciples through Discovery Community.

A Discovery Community is a developing group of people following Jesus Christ outside the walls of a church building who are discovering Him as the way, the truth, and the life.

You can read the series here:

Part 1: What Is a Discovery Community?
Part 2: Discovery Community – Suitable Name
Part 3: Discovery Community – Strategic Environment
Part 4: Discovery Community – Simple Meeting Format
Part 5: Discovery Community – Repeatable Rhythms

Frameworks for meetings are needed, but they should be simple and reproducible. Dave DeVries writes in Six Word Lessons to Discover Missional Living, “Habits and practices embodied together in community with other Christians will be replicated.”

In our last post, we examined using the five corporate rhythms of linking, loving, listening, looking, and leaving in a Discovery Community meeting. The repetition of the 5 Ls and conversation questions is intentional. They are repeatable and contribute to disciple-making in several ways.

Repeatable Rhythms for Everyday Life

The 5Ls of a discovery community meeting should not end when the meeting is over but should be repeated in everyday living.

Rhythms for following Christ into the world

As members leave discovery community meetings, they are encouraged to allow the rhythms to flow throughout the week as they follow Christ in the world. They will discover opportunities to link with others. They can practice listening by asking questions and paying attention to what is said. They will discover ways to practice love in practical ways. They will develop eyes that look to see where God is working. (See 5 Everyday Missional Rhythms)

Rhythms for individual Bible reading and discovery

The practice of the 5Ls in community is easily transferred to individual Bible reading and study. Through these rhythms members will develop the skill of examining scripture personally, leading to mature Christ-followers who are not dependent upon others for insights into God’s word.

Repeatable Rhythms for Communal Life

In addition to a weekly format, the rhythms of linking, loving, listening, looking, and leaving can be repeated communally in at least three ways.

Rhythms that pursue the mission of Christ

A Discovery Community is more than a meeting. It is a community on mission together and should look for ways to repeat the rhythms corporately. People will be drawn to a group of people who demonstrate and declare the good news of God’s kingdom.

Rhythms that produce new leaders

One of the roles of a Discovery Community facilitator is to develop new leaders. The goal is that after only a few sessions, anyone could replicate the rhythms. Meetings should be simple enough that group members could say, “I can do that.” Individual rhythms can be assigned to members to prepare and lead. It’s easier to conduct just one of the rhythms than it is to facilitate an entire meeting.

Rhythms that expand into new discovery communities

Members who have learned to repeat the 5Ls when spending time in God’s Word and who have been practicing the rhythms when leading meetings will be able to facilitate new discovery communities. The goal is that anyone in the group can reproduce the 5Ls and make disciples anywhere they find a person of peace and a pocket of people.

Simple things reproduce more easily

Discovery communities are a simple, reproducible method of disciple-making. The intentional consistency of practicing the 5Ls becomes predictable, reliable, and repeatable. A little repetition will multiply disciples, leaders, discovery communities and movements. 

Contact Called to the Journey if you want to know more about Discovery Communities.

A Discovery Community is a developing group of people following Jesus Christ outside the walls of a church building who are discovering Him as the way, the truth, and the life. You can read the series here: 

Part 1: What Is a Discovery Community
Part 2: Discovery Community – Suitable Name
Part 3: Discovery Community – Strategic Environment
Part 4: Discovery Community – Simple Meeting Format
Part 5: Discovery Community – Repeatable Rhythms

A Discovery Community is more than a meeting – it is a network of relationships. But when the community gathers, there are some rhythms that can help things run smoothly and orderly.

5 Ls for Discovery Community Meetings

A Discovery Community meeting can be structured around five corporate rhythms (Linking, Loving, Listening, Looking, and Leaving). These 5 Ls are intended to be a flexible framework for meetings rather than a rigid structure. They allow for maximum participation and are easy to follow.

Linking / Me to You (10-15 minutes)

Linking will usually include some kind of icebreaker. The icebreaker helps people enter the group dynamic as each person in the group is linked to everyone else. Many discovery communities begin their meeting with a meal, which enhances linking and fellowship.

Loving / Us to God (10-15 minutes)

The purpose of the loving rhythm is to direct the group’s attention to Christ. It is a time to offer praise through worship and prayer and acknowledge the presence of Christ in the meeting. Spending some time in worship at the beginning of a meeting centers people afresh on Jesus and helps open them to the presence of the Lord. A community loving and worshiping together will easily move on to expressing love for one another throughout the meeting.

Listening / God to Us (20-30 minutes)

The listening rhythm provides a time to allow God to speak directly through the Bible. Discovery community leaders are more facilitators than Bible teachers or preachers. Through listening questions, leaders help participants hear what the Spirit is saying through God’s word. They facilitate a conversation between the group and the Holy Spirit that leads to discovery and application. Leaders should not talk too much and be dispensers of information because the goal is transformation. The aim is for the participants to apply God’s Word to daily living and to go away changed by what they discover through God’s eternal message.

Looking / God to Us (10-15 minutes)

The looking rhythm focuses on two things. First, for transformation to take place, participants must look into their own lives and see how to be obedient to the truths they have just discovered. In addition to this inward look, the group should also be encouraged to look outward. They should be challenged to consider who within their circle of influence needs to hear what they have just discovered and to make a commitment to share their discoveries.

Leaving / Us to Them (10-15 minutes)

The leader intentionally dismisses the meeting encouraging members to follow Christ in the world. They are challenged to be obedient to what they hear the Spirit saying, to share what they have discovered, and to join the Father where He is working.

This simple format provides a flexible outline for discovery community meetings. It can be used to help people, no matter where they are on their journey, to discover Christ as the way, the truth, and the life.

We will conclude this series on Making Disciples through Discovery Community next week when we look at the subject: Discovery Community – Repeatable Rhythms.

We’re continuing a series of posts about Making Disciples through Discovery Community.

A Discovery Community is a developing group of people following Jesus Christ outside the walls of a church building who are discovering Him as the way, the truth, and the life. You can read the series here:

Part 1: What Is a Discovery Community?
Part 2: Discovery Community – Suitable Name
Part 3: Discovery Community – Strategic Environment
Part 4: Discovery Community – Simple Meeting Format
Part 5: Discovery Community – Repeatable Rhythms

Where Discovery Communities are located, serve a strategic purpose in making disciples. They are planted right in the middle of pockets of people who may be unlikely to come to a traditional church. They are primarily defined by relationships and meet outside the walls of a church building in any place and at any time that best meets the needs of those gathering.

In New Testament times, more emphasis was placed on the extended family than on immediate family units. The word used to describe this was the Greek OIKOS, which means house or household. While in our culture, we tend to think of a household as our immediate family, the ancient understanding was much broader. Joel Comisky writes that OIKOS included family, both immediate and extended, and also “slaves, freemen, hired workers, and sometimes tenants and partners in trade or craft.”

Today one might refer to a person’s OIKOS as one’s life group. An OIKOS is made up of the people with whom life is done regularly. It is the people among whom someone moves and interacts.

Think Groups not Individuals

In the New Testament, the basic form of reaching people was not one-on-one or mass evangelism. The gospel flowed naturally along the line of the household. Just as in the New Testament, people today are already grouped in natural relationships. The aim of seeding new discovery communities is to win life groups or households to Jesus.

Identifying OIKOS Relationships

When Jesus sent out his disciples in Luke 10 and Matthew 10, he sent them to relational networks of people in search of a person of peace. 

Within households, there are persons of peace whom the Holy Spirit prepares to open the door to the Gospel. This may be a man, woman, teenager, or child who has a desire to know more about Jesus. They could come from any walk of life and will welcome you, listen to your message, provide an entry point into their life group, and influence them for the sake of the Gospel.

A Strategic Environment

Some of the strategic elements of the Discovery Community environment include: 

1. They meet in places in which the participants are already comfortable and familiar 
2. They are not bound by traditional times and locations 
3. The participants already have a relationship with one another 
4. The disciple-making team is asked to move toward the OIKOS rather than the OIKOS moving towards them 
5. Entire households begin following Christ, come to faith in Him, and grow in His likeness 
6. People coming to faith in Christ are not removed from their OIKOS and those with whom they have influence 
7. An expression of the body of Christ becomes evident in the places where people live, work, learn, and play

Connecting OIKOS Relationships to Jesus

The Holy Spirit used this linking of people in networks to spread the Gospel across the Roman world and will use the same format to reach people today. Jesus instructed, “Stay in that house (OIKOS), eating and drinking what they give you…Do not keep moving from house (OIKOS) to house (OIKOS)” (Luke 10:7).

Join the conversation:

As we move from thinking about the people we link with as individuals to the groups they represent, how can this change our missional behavior? 

Grace and Peace, 
Terry Sanders

We’re continuing a series of posts about Making Disciples through Discovery Community. A Discovery Community is a developing group of people following Jesus Christ outside the walls of a church building who are discovering Him as the way, the truth, and the life. You can read the series here:

Part 1: What Is a Discovery Community?
Part 2: Discovery Community – Suitable Name
Part 3: Discovery Community – Strategic Environment
Part 4: Discovery Community – Simple Meeting Format
Part 5: Discovery Community – Repeatable Rhythms

While there are many names used to identify small groups that are gospel-centered, Discovery Community is a suitable name for a group of seekers who meet to make disciples. Discovery Communities initial focus is on:

• people who are not following Christ
• people who have little or no church background
• people who hesitate to attend a traditional church meeting
• people who are not experiencing the life-changing power of Jesus

Discovery Community is an appropriate name for several reasons: 

1. It has strategic implications. While Community Groups tend to focus mostly on fellowship and House Church focus on location, Discovery Community focuses on the process of helping groups of people discover Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life. 
2. It suggests value for the seeker. People have questions about life, and discovery is an essential driving force. Community speaks to the longing to find a safe place to find answers to these questions with other people. A Discovery Community is more than a support group, but here people find edification. 
3. It is concrete and creates an image that is familiar and tangible. People prefer words they can relate to and understand. “Discovery” and “community” are terms that people easily recognize because they are words they hear and use regularly. 
4. It removes the baggage of church jargon that is sometimes a barrier when reaching out to non-Christian segments of the population. Missional Community is a good name to define groups formed from within existing churches but can be an obstacle when speaking with non-believers. 
5. It is a name that flows from the call to follow. The Bible plays a central role in a Discovery Community, but it is more than a Bible study. Jesus didn’t call people to come study Him. He called them to come follow Him and discover who He was. For many unchurched people, the idea of a Bible study is an obstacle. They may believe they need some previous knowledge of the Bible before they attend a Bible study. Others might feel embarrassed at their lack of knowledge of the Bible. For others, the idea of “study” might bring up negative memories of school. But an invitation to come to discover and follow Jesus is quite another thing. 
6. It points to something bigger than a meeting. Discovery communities are more than meetings and are not defined by attending an event. As has been pointed out, they are not another name for a small group, a fellowship group, a support group or a Bible study, although members do study the Bible, enjoy fellowship, and find support from one another. A Discovery Community is an extended household of searchers, learning to follow Jesus in the everyday routines of life. 
7. It reminds us of our mission. Whenever we use the name Discovery Community, it reminds us of the outward thrust of Christ’s mission. It pushes us from being consumers and spectators who are content with Bible studies, small groups, and programs aimed at our comfort. 
8. It does not take a lot of effort to explain. One does not have to know a lot of church jargon or have an in-depth definition. All that is needed is a simple invitation to a journey of discovery.

Would you like to read the Bible together and discover how it speaks to our lives?

A Discovery Community is a developing group of people following Jesus Christ outside the walls of a church building and who are discovering Him as the way, the truth, and the life. They are a key element in disciple-making.

A team of believers launches a Discovery Community when they find a person of peace. Together they invite those within his or her circle of influence to gather and read the Bible.

This is Part 1 of the series Making Disciples through Discovery Community. You can read the series here:

Part 1: What Is a Discovery Community?
Part 2: Discovery Community – Suitable Name
Part 3: Discovery Community – Strategic Environment
Part 4: Discovery Community – Simple Meeting Format
Part 5: Discovery Community – Repeatable Rhythms

Today let’s consider some key elements.

Discovery

There are people in the places where we live, work, learn, and play who wonder about the meaning of life. Discovery Communities allow them to discover first-hand what the Bible says about God, about people, and what it means to follow Christ. Here they can come to a saving relationship with Jesus and continue to grow in His likeness.

Community

Discovering in a group is more effective than discovering alone. Jesus called and made disciples in a community environment where they experienced life with Him and each other. A Discovery Community is a group of people who have committed themselves to one another and to explore what God says in His Word.

Following Jesus

When people who are drawn to Jesus respond to His invitation to follow and spend time with Him in His Word, everything changes. This becomes an ongoing journey of discovering the riches of the gospel hidden in Christ.

Disciple-Making

A Discovery Community should grow beyond these initial stages to become a simple expression of the body of Christ located in the pocket of people in which it is planted. Within this community, disciples will be made, leaders will be equipped, the mission of Christ will be pursued, and new communities will emerge.

On this journey, you will explore values that that missional Christ-followers must embrace if missional practices and rhythms are to be formed.

…Remain Centered on Christ – 1 Corinthians 2:2

The identity and life habits of a missional Christ-follower must be firmly centered on the leader, Jesus Christ. Paul set the example when He declared, “For me to live is Christ.”

…Celebrate Christ in Community – Acts 2:42-47

Missional life is best lived in the context of community with fellow travelers. You are not called to follow Christ alone. Christian community is the best argument for the Christian faith.

…Pursue the Mission of Christ – Luke 4:17-19

Those who follow Christ are called to bless others and carry out God’s mission of reconciliation and redemption in the world. This mission is pursued in the everyday rhythms of life in the places where you live, work, learn, and play.

…Grow in the Likeness of Christ – 2 Corinthians 3:18

Focusing on Christ leads to being transformed more and more into His likeness. Your Christlikeness influences your relationship with your fellow travelers and with those you encounter in the world.

…Make Disciples of Christ – Matthew 28:19-20

Missional Christ-followers take seriously the commission of Jesus to make disciples who make disciples and reach pockets of people with the gospel.

Missional Challenges

From time to time, you will be called to action to move you from theory to practice.

Your Next Steps

1. Register to receive the latest posts with email delivered straight to your inbox.
2. Join others by commenting on the content you read here.
3. Spread the word by sharing on social media.
4. Invite others to join you on this journey

Grace and peace to you on your missional journey

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus made it clear that his followers were to go and make disciples.

Disciple-making focuses on non-disciples. It is joining the Father where he is already working as we intentionally link with others inviting them to follow Jesus, helping them discover him as the Christ, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey the word of God resulting in more disciple-makers.

If we are going to take the command of making disciples seriously we must make prayer for a disciple-making movement a priority. David Garrison writes:

“We pray because our vision exceeds our abilities. Prayer is the soul’s deepest cry of rebellion against the way things are, seeing the lost of this world and crying out, ‘This does not glorify God, and so, by God’s grace, it must change!’ Prayer comes from God and ascends back to God on behalf of those who do not know God.”

Seven Steps in Praying for Disciple-Making

An effective way to make disciples is to use the example and instructions of Jesus in Luke 10:1-16.

1. Pray for Christ-followers to be obedient in going and finding the place where the Father is working.
2. Pray for the discovery of and linking with the person of peace whom God has prepared to receive the good news of Christ.
3. Pray for seeing and meeting needs in love.
4. Pray for an open door to gather with the person of peace, their friends, and their family.
5. Pray for the planting of a simple church or discovery community within this pocket of people where they can discover and obey treasures from God’s Word.
6. Pray for people to discover Jesus as the Christ and for baptisms and obedience.
7. Pray for the maturating of new believers and for their going out and repeating the process of making disciples.

Missional Challenge

Don’t wait.

Set aside 5 minutes right now and pray that you and other Christ-followers will be faithful in making disciples.