Welcome! We are thrilled to have you here and hope you find some inspiration and encouragement as you explore the heart and soul of our Missional Community. “Missional Community” — what is that, you ask? To answer this question, will you join us on a journey to where we first met, and maybe we can help paint the picture of what we have become a little more eloquently.
COVID-19, the virus that doomed the surviving world to loneliness. We referred to this way of living as “the new normal” where every gathering is online and we put plastic bags on our hands to pump gasoline. “The new normal was really code for intense isolation and the beginning of an immotile homebody existence. The year of clearer vision, 2020, was opening our eyes to just how lonely our apartments and 9-to-5 jobs could become. So, in an effort to reclaim our society, which intrinsically hinges on socialization, we, four young adults, independently joined a local church’s ministry for young professionals. This step back into our new world would set the course of our lives and while a small step for man, was indeed a large step into mankind.
The larger weekly gathering of young professionals was segmented into smaller groups and we, four young adults, found ourselves meeting weekly as our fearless leader facilitated discussion through the concurrent reading of the Joshua and Ephesians. This deeper study not only whet our appetite for deeper relationship, it, with uncanny frequency, revealed the connections God has written between the writings before Jesus and after.
Separation
As God was revealing His immutable nature, the local church who supported our small group was in crisis and clung to a vision of tethered devotion to a single church body. Our small group was at an impasse. Our fearless leader, who attended the parent church, believed this vision and challenged the three of us, who did not attend his church, to convey ourselves in totality to the church of our Sunday service attendance. With weeks of deliberation and even tears, the group where we had finally reestablished our society was no more.
With three dedicated vagrants sure of only one thing, God’s pleasure in our fellowship, left to our own devices, we prayerfully decided to continue the group. Rotating teaching and hosting responsibilities, we bore the burdens of one another and pursued God as a band of brothers. This was 2021.
The tenacity our COVID brotherhood fostered is exemplified in the solitary fact that only a few months into our meeting, we were included in each other’s bridal parties. Since early 2021, each of us has seen the others married, become home owners, and evolve in leaders. We experienced a metamorphosis of sorts that we have felt God’s calling to share. Just as Abraham is blessed in such a way that those around him could be blessed, so we believe God blesses His children with the intention that they bless the world.
Today
Zoomers — the next generation — the “Post-millennials.” This generation is busting at the seams with intentionality and most of them are barely 20. This is who we have been called to share our metamorphosis with. On January 4th, 2024 our small group of three young adults saw almost twenty others join us as we planned our 2024 in what we now affectionally call a focus night. For us, a night like this is marked by heavy white-board usage and an around-the-horn, popcorn session of vision casting. From the ages of 18-30 we formed our collective vision for 2024. With somewhere between five and nine churches represented, the ecclesial diversity of a denominational dream coat, and a dry-erase marker the following is a glimpse of what we pray our 2024 would encompass.
As we have grown, our emphasis is on staying small. These days, after our two-book concurrent Bible study, interposing the Old and New Testaments weekly at 7PM on Thursday, our small group separates into micro-groups where we pray for one another and challenge each other throughout the week. Our goal is to join God in His mission, and part of that is deliberately training our brothers within God’s gifting. In 2024, we are praying God would raise up the teachers, worship leaders, administrators and servants that He has placed in each of us. The original three in our group are working to “replace ourselves” as teachers, administrators, and leaders. Additionally, this year we will continue to intentionally partner with churches and organizations to meet the needs of our city and spread the name of Jesus on Saturdays. We’d love it if you joined us!
Who we are
The group has three primary focuses that make us a “Missional Community.” These are marked with three words: “Upward, Inward, & Outward.” These are not new ideas for Christ followers. For example, Transformation Church in Indian Land, South Carolina’s benediction expresses these ideas as “love God completely, love yourself correctly, and love others compassionately.” Jesus dictated the two greatest commands as “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40). As a group, we strive to do the same corporately. We love God through singing, teaching, and the like. We love ourselves as we compete in sports, cultivate a culture of exhortation, and more. We love others by serving in our families, churches, and city.
If the new normal of 2020 taught us anything, it is that even if we are not in the same geographic place, amazing collaboration, inspiration, and encouragement is just a click away. We are a Missional Community because we don’t simply share our lives with one another; we share our lives with our community.
Welcome to our community, we pray that you are encouraged here.