Welcome to week 1 of Building Missional Culture. Over the next 6 weeks you will explore what it means to be on mission with God in your context and have the opportunity to try out some new tools to help you on the journey. Each week you’ll watch a short video presented by Nic Harding and Jennie Taylor and this will be followed by a group discussion and some practical application.
In this first session you will:
· Discover why mission is important to God
· Explore your identity as a witness and ambassador for Jesus
Section 1: God’s heart for mission
https://youtu.be/6suX7A-cS2Q
Section 2: Group Discussion
Read the statements below about God’s heart for mission and answer the question together.
Why Mission?
· It’s important to God who is a missionary God. Jn 3:16. He longs for a big family Rev 7:9-10, His heart is broken over lost people 1Tim 2:4, 2 Pet 3:9.
· It’s important to the world that is broken and in a mess because of sin. The world needs Jesus’ good news. Look at some news headlines (normally it’s bad news) to demonstrate the brokenness of our world.
· It’s important to eternity because we will all spend it somewhere.
· It’s important to us because it is the most significant and rewarding work we will be involved in.
Is living missionally important to you? if so why, or if not, why not. Be honest.
Read and discuss these scriptures together.
3 scriptural keys: The great commandments (Matt 22), The great commission (Matt 28), And the great completion (Matt 24).
These scriptures define the why and the how of mission (Matt 22:37-39) – out of love for God and others, and by showing God’s love to others; the what and the who of mission (Matt 28:19-20) – by making disciples who make disciples of all nations / people groups (Greek Ethne); And the by when (Matt 24:14) – it will be completed before Christ returns.
What do you notice? What might God be saying to you? How does the great commission connect to Jesus return. Why do you think that is?
10 min
In groups of threes, describe how the good news is good news to you.
Prayer 5 – 10 mins
Pray in threes for up to 5 not-yet Christians, people you know or are aware of, who you would like to have contact with over the next week. Pray for each other to have persistence in praying daily for their own and each other’s possible connections.
Section 3: Homework
Pray each day for your 5 people and the other potential connections from your prayer triplet. Ask God to give you opportunity to make contact and connection with your 5. As you get opportunities just reach out and start a conversation, see what happens!
Welcome to Session 3 of Module 1 of Reimagine Church. How did you get on with finding 5 not yet Christians to pray for?
In this session you will:
· Be introduced to a new tool for disciple-making and mission
· Explore what God is already doing in the lives of your not yet Christian friends
Section 1: Review
As a team take 5 mins as a team to reflect on what you learnt last week. How have you got on with the assignment on prayer? What did you discover and has anything happened as a result? Has anyone in your team had the opportunity to use the 3Be’s?
Section 2: The power of your story
Section 3: Team Assignment
20 mins
Develop and practice your stories to yourself using the 6-word sheet. Find some space to do this in.
20 mins
Share your stories with each other in pairs and give constructive feedback.
20 mins
Pray in pairs for specific non-Christians (maybe ones on the DMJ map from last time), and for opportunities to tell your story in the next week
NB – Sometimes we miss these opportunities, how can you be better at spotting them?
Welcome to Session 3 of Module 1 of Reimagine Church. How did you get on with finding 5 not yet Christians to pray for?
In this session you will:
· Be introduced to a new tool for disciple-making and mission
· Explore what God is already doing in the lives of your not yet Christian friends
Section 1: Review
As a team take 5 mins as a team to reflect on what you learnt last week. How have you got on with the assignment on prayer? What did you discover and has anything happened as a result? Has anyone in your team had the opportunity to use the 3Be’s?
Section 2: The disciple makers’ journey
Section 3: Team Assignment
As a group discuss where you get stuck on the journey, where do you need to grow? Identify up to 5 people each and plot them on your map.
Welcome to Session 2 of Module 1 of Reimagine Church. We hope you enjoyed the extended session last week and have had an opportunity to use some of the tools you learnt.
In this session you will:
· Explore prayer as the heart of mission
· Discover some tools to use in your personal prayer life
Section 1: Review
As a team take 5 mins as a team to reflect on what you learnt last week. Have you had the opportunity to practice using the 4G’s or the 4 questions? What did you learn?
Section 2: Prayer for Mission
Section 3: Team Assignment
Discuss your current personal prayer practices and how the 3Cs or the Lord’s prayer outline might affect your approach in the future. How could this impact on the way you pray together as a group?
Two key scriptures for this kind of prayer – 1 Jn 5:14-15, Jn 14:13.
Can you identify the 5 not-yet-Christians you want to be praying for daily over the coming weeks? This is an important practice when building missional culture and will set the tone for the small groups when they start to do the same. Building rhythms of prayer, both personal and together, is so important to underpin the missional culture we are seeking to build. Prayer is the foundation for everything.
Have a time of collective prayer as a group focussing on one thing you want to contend for. In other words stand together for something that preferably has a missional dimension (eg your 5 not-yet Christians, backsliders, boldness to share the gospel or our story, divine appointments, a guest service, more workers for the harvest etc). Seek to discern what God’s will is and pray accordingly, with faith and perseverance – note Hebrews 6:12.
Start with a worship song (YouTube if needed) to connect with God. Use scriptures’ promises and the name of Jesus to contend. Watch to see how God responds over the coming weeks. You may like to experiment with praying one at a time, and then praying all together out loud. God hears! There is no need to shout in prayer as God is not deaf, but it is quite hard to feel full of faith if we are just timidly whispering our prayers.
Homework and Additional Reading
Use this next week to develop your personal prayer rhythms using either the Lord’s Prayer or the 3Cs. Experiment with new ways of praying. Prayer can become stale if we don’t keep developing our prayer life. Can you use the 3 Be’s during this week?
Take 5 mins to individually reflect on the following questions:
How is God getting your attention today?
Take 25 mins in teams to discuss both your personal responses to the questions.
As a team are you more steam or solar powered? What are the implications in terms of building Missional culture?
Section 3: Our identity
Personal reflection 5 mins
In what challenges about developing missional culture are you likely to be held back by believing a lie about who God is, and who you are in light of that?
Team Assignment 25 mins
Ask for a couple of members of the group to share their reflections. Help them process the 4 questions (The Circle) and the 4G’s to help them get a fresh perspective on their situation, their new identity, and how they get to live in light of that.
Homework
This week, actively look for opportunities to use the 4G’s and the 4 questions. Find someone you trust to help you process your reflections.
