The project aimed to help congregational leadership teams gain an understanding of their missionary call. This began by developing knowledge of the God of mission, helping to discern what God is doing in context, and then equipping the people to participate on mission with God. It provided a model and method for the Forge Missional Training Network, to help churches in Canada become missional and multiply.
After reflecting on the history of Southside Community Church and its theological roots, the project then examined crucial books in the missional movement. It determined that the church had reversed the order of theology, missiology, and ecclesiology. This order needed to be corrected in order to understand the nature of God and His invitation.
God’s people, living on the margins, are all called to be missionaries. All Christians are to join God on mission, introducing our friends to Jesus. We bear witness to Christ and the nature of God in every aspect of our lives. Each person belongs to a well-led mission group. The project articulated what it meant to be in a mission group and how to help to equip leaders.
A year-long training program was developed to help leaders understand the nature of God, discern what He was doing in their neighborhood, and to help their people become missionaries. The program is being tested in the three congregations of Southside and in the replant of the fourth. Much of the material has been used through Forge Canada, and has proven to be effective in encouraging churches to develop a missional DNA.
Theological Mentor: Kurt Fredrickson, Ph
