:: AIP#11 - Communities on Mission & Coming Together (BEING the Church, part 3)

The City Church is "one church in many locations, living as communities on mission and coming together to celebrate." The first post on this topic explained the biblical and historical basis for "doing church" this way; the second one explained the first half of that phrase. Today we turn to the second part: "living as communities on mission and coming together to celebrate."

Living as Communities on Mission
It's a question we've gotten regularly as we explain this structure to folks: "As our The City Church gathers throughout the week in many locations across Fort Worth, what will the these Villages do?" The simple answer is that a Village is more than a "small group"; it's more than a "Bible Study"; it's more than a "hang out [or if you grew up in the church, 'fellowship'] night." A Village is a community on mission; it's the regular gathering of the church, in which the church carries out the activities of the church as described in the New Testament:

Based on Acts 2:42-47 and other passages describing life in the early church, each week our Villages will "devote themselves to the apostles' teaching," to "fellowship," to "the breaking of bread," to "prayers," and to meeting each other's needs. Practically, at each Village you'll find out the biblical passage(s) we'll be covering the following week. Most weeks, we'll spend time eating together and talking about life ("breaking bread" and "fellowship"; "receiving food with glad and generous hearts"), then move into an intentional time of mutual exhortation and discussion over that week's content ("apostles' teaching"). Finally, we'll spend time in "prayers" and accountability for each other and as a community, caring for each other "as any had need."

On occasion, Villages will break from this normal structure to spend a more extended time in prayer and accountability, or to serve our community together, carrying out local mission and hopefully "having favor with all the people," that "the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved."

Villages will be facilitated by trained leaders who help guide the discussion, and each Village will take on a little of its own personality depending on who's involved in it. The basic idea is that everyone in The City will find a Village near your home, as it best fits your personality and schedule. Villages will be inter-generational because natural community is inter-generational, and because older and younger persons can learn much from each other (and the inter-generational model is another one encouraged by Scripture: 1 Tim 5:1-2; Titus 2:1-8). These are the things done by the church in the Bible; these are the ideas involved in being "a community on mission." We do life as one church; we do life in many locations. We strive together to carry out God's mission. But then, we get to celebrate!

Coming Together to Celebrate
Realizing that there is unity, purpose, and beauty when the entire church body gathers, all the Villages will come together a few weekends a month (after our launch phase) - but these will never be "church!" YOU are the church; the church is a community on mission, so the life of the church primarily occurs in your Village. These weekend gatherings of the Villages are just that: they're All-Church Gatherings. They're "family celebrations," where we come together to celebrate God through music, media, and spoken word; celebrate God's word through preaching, celebrate Christ through communion, and celebrate what God is doing in our lives and in our church, as we hear testimonials from different Villages and people in The City each week.

We'll gather together a few weekends each month, but our goal is always to give you about one weekend a month, not "off," as a "vacation" from church, but as an intentional opportunity to not "GO to church," but to "BE the church," loving our neighbors; impacting our city; living on mission in our neighborhoods. How? It could be as simple as throwing a July 4th block party for your neighbors; as mowing the grass at a local park that's become run-down; as throwing a BBQ for the folks in your office. Not "evangelizing them," but simply building a relationship with them: loving them, serving them, getting to know them, because as Christ was sent into the world, so has He sent each of us into the world (John 20:21).

So That's Our Strategy for "Being the Church" in Fort Worth
It's different, but it fits the model of church described in the Bible; it embodies the incarnational/missional life of Christ; it seems to make sense. In addition, and as needs arise within the body, we'll hold seminars, area gatherings, care and recovery, church events, and studies, men's, women's, and students' gatherings, but only occasionally and secondary to the simple "Village -> All-Church Gathering -> mission" structure that shapes The City Church. We can't live on mission together if we fill your calendar for you! So we know this looks different; you might even consider it "weird." But we hope you're willing to experiment with us as we model a church after the Bible and as we take bold steps together, for the glory of God and the good of Fort Worth!

----
Please send me feedback, questions, comments, etc. on this structure - because it is so different, it can be confusing; please let me know how I can help clarify. And unique to this post, if you're the first to correctly count the number of quotation marks ("), you'll win a prize : ) - seriously sorry, there's a ton in here today!