Missional Church Seminar Review

I finished up my seminar work this weekend at the Glendale Church of Christ. There is a good young core there that really has taken the concept to heart (thanks, Brice, for your passion!). They are scoping out gathering places for the church to engage in mission.

Fortunately, the Burbank area, which is nearby, has many such places. It is a neat urban area, with many coffee shops, a theater, and shopping. They pointed out the Starbucks and street where a scene from Jurassic Park 2 and Fun with Dick and Jane were filmed.

I reorganized some material for this seminar, dividing the presentations into the following sections:

• Session 1: The Biblical-Theological Basis for the Missional Church


• Session 2: Developing a Missional Church Strategy


• Session 3: Making Disciples Through Mission (includes Missional lifestyles)


• Session 4: Impacting Every Ministry for Mission


• Session 5: Evangelistic Methods and Messages to Reach Today's Postmodern Culture


• Session 6: The Story of Redemption (my Evangelistic Bible study for Postmoderns; see http://www.storyofredemption.com/)

The second session on develping a missional church strategy was reorganized material which emphasized the comprehensive process involved in evangelism, and the many entry points needed. Other new emphases included picking target groups and evangelistic small group process. I hope to pick up some additional tips on the latter in my D.Min. class this week.

I love helping churches become more missional and outward focused. It was a good experience, and the group talked about the concepts long after both the Friday night and Saturday sessions.

On Sunday, I spoke on the lordship of Jesus Christ, emphasizing discipleship in all areas of life. Again, this seemed to be well received.

Signing off for the night. Tomorrow!