Establishing a Missional Culture continued

In thinking about establishing a missional culture, I came up with 3 steps:

1. Know what that culture will look like


2. Make sure it's missional


3. Establish it

Seems pretty simple when I say it like that, eh? Obviously it's not quite as easy as 1-2-3 so let's look at those steps in a bit more detail.

1. Know what that culture will look like

You could describe this as starting with the end in mind - you don't need to have everything planned out in detail before you begin, but you do need to know your destination so that you can take steps in that direction.

Think about what good news would look like in the neighbourhood or network that God has given you a vision for.

Think about what values are important to you as leader(s). What do you want your community to look and feel like? Do you want to eat together? Do you want to pray regularly for friends, family and colleagues? Do you want a culture of openness and honesty?

Answering some of these questions before you begin will help you steer yourself and your community in that direction.

2. Make sure it's missional

We are people who are sent out, called to look out on our world and cry out for God's kingdom to come. We are invited to be part of God's mission and take his truth, grace and love to the places and people who need it.

The culture you establish needs to have mission as it's starting and ending point. It needs to be the lifeblood that flows through it, that guides your community and gives it momentum.

It's often when a community is new that it's hardest to be missional. A lot of time and energy goes on getting to know one another, hearing from God about what he wants to do with you, deciding when, where and how often you want to meet. These are all important aspects of building community and connecting to God.

But it's important that you don't forget to include mission and there are simple things you can do to keep it running through the life of your community. Prayer walk around your neighbourhood. Talk about your missional vision and what good news would look like. Tell each other who your people of peace are and pray for them. Give testimony about opportunities to pray for colleagues.

3. Establish it

Once you know what culture you want your community to have and you're sure it's missional, you need to make sure that you actually begin to live it!

Let's say you've decided that you want your community to have a culture of openness and honesty. Great, but it can be all too easy to avoid this at the beginning, especially if you don't know each other very well. It's so important, though, to build this in from the start as it can be very difficult to change later on. As a leader, you can choose to set an example by modelling wthe openness and honesty that you're hoping will become part of your community culture.

You may have decided that an important value of your community will be having a bring and share meal every time you meet. At the beginning it may be easier for you as the leader(s) to provide a full meal, rather than asking people to contribute to a new community. After all, hospitality is important too. But you may inadvertently set a culture where people expect that a meal will be provided for them. Instead, start as you mean to go on.

This can be done in a very low bar way - you don't need to ask a visitor to make a lasagne for 8 people! You could simply tell them that your community always has a bring and share meal and you'd love it if they could bring a drink or a packet of biscuits.

And don't forget to establish mission right from the beginning. It's often hardest to be missional when a community is new. A lot of time and energy goes on getting to know one another, hearing from God about his plan for your community and the practical things like deciding when, where and how often you want to meet. These are important aspects of building community and connecting to God.

But it's important that you don't forget to include mission and there are simple things you can do to keep it running through the life of your community. Get to know each other by talking about who your people of peace are - and then pray for them. Take time to listen to God by prayer walking around your neighbourhood. Talk again and again about the missional vision of your community. Give testimony about what God has done through you as well as in you.

So there you go - Steps 1, 2 and 3 for establishing a missional culture!