Missional Community
“Redemption’s Hill is not just interested in holding events but wants very much for people to connect in authentic community centered on gospel and mission.”
A Missional Community (MC) is the coming together of three elements: Gospel, Community, and Mission. It is our goal as a church to be a people that are living out the gospel in community and on mission. For so many the church is viewed as an event, on a day and held in a building. We choose to believe that a corporate gathering is important and healthy for the church, but not all that defines the church. The church are a called people living a life that is set apart for the glory of God.
As our core group has looked to the Bible to try and inform our idea of what the church could look like we saw that the early church loved each other so much that they didn’t meet once or twice a week, but fully engrossed their lives together. In fact Jesus threw his life into the lives of the people around him to grow a relationship, and through that could teach and train and correct and rebuke the disciples, to mold them into the foundation of his church. God has called us to do the same; to invest and share our lives with others. A core scripture for us is found in 1 Thessalonians 2:8 -
So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
Paul here was showing us that true love for those around us formed by the gospel yields more then just preaching at people. Our affection becomes so strong that we start throwing our lives into the lives of those around us in the hopes of creating a community that can show them the love of Christ. The beauty of this the community that is created by the gospel and on mission for those around us, echoing the call in Corinthians to be ambassadors for Christ, is that it allows the gospel to take a deeper place in our own lives.
What Should I Expect At A Missional Community?
Every Missional Community will look different because they will be made up of different people who have different passions, interests, and schedules. But no matter the specifics we all try to live out the following rhythms of our identity in the gospel:
- Learner: We embrace the process of understanding, believing and speaking the gospel to one another and others.
- Family: We grow together in community as the gospel bond between us strengthens us.
- Servant/Missionary: We live with a life focused on bringing about the restoration of Columbia, Missouri. Meaning we serve the city to show a hermeneutic of the gospel in our actions.
Rhythms Will Look Like:
- Friendship
- Shared Meals
- Discussion centered on the Scriptures
- Prayer
- Service to the city