Are you the leader of a church, outreach ministry, or community non-profit seeking to ignite missional movement in your city? Forge Joplin can come along-side you in this journey of discovery! We offer a 3 month paradigm shifting experience applicable to any ministry context. We call it i3 - Imagine, Innovate, Initiate. We believe that missionality is not a matter of structures or strategies, but rather paradigmatic imagination & creative innovation. In our core resource On the Verge, Alan Hirsch writes,
"Restructure the organization but leave the original paradigm in place, and nothing will change within the organization."
This isn't about adopting a new fad or implementing the latest quick fix for ministry effectiveness. If anything, it is a process of stripping away all that stands in the way of the Missio Dei (Mission of God) bursting forth from your church or organization. When we are aligned with the ways and purposes of God, we find ourselves energized and infused with unquenchable creativity; this is exactly what i3 cultivates - inspired missional movement.
We start with IMAGINATION.
To create a culture of missionality, we first must tackle some of the dominate paradigms that have shaped the modern institutional church (and vicariously how we do outreach and ministry as a Christian community). The primary shifts will occur in the areas of how we understand the kingdom, the gospel, discipleship, and how disciples fellowship and reproduce in community. The platform for this 4 week journey involves weekly on-site training intensives, customized reading assignments, and round table coaching.
"Thinking about the church requires keen spiritual insight, born or prayer, to develop the theological imagination to be able to see things beyond the status quo of the predominant paradigm." (On the Verge, Hirsch/Ferguson)
Once the collective imagination has been stimulated, we will then be able to move into the INNOVATION phase.
It is here that we will be able to take the newly formed missional paradigms and begin to translate them into your specific context asking questions like, What does the gospel look like to the people in your community? What does the kingdom look like here? How are disciples formed in this context? And how will they reproduce? The process becomes very interactive in this phase, with 4 weeks of individually customized creative exercises and corporate experiments.
"What we need are missionally responsive, culturally adaptive, organizationally agile multiplication movements that will mobilize the whole people of God; expressions that are reproducing and reproducible, are structurally networked and employ missional leadership and ministry modes." (One the Verge, Hirsch/Ferguson)
Now it's time to INITIATE!
The last 4 weeks of this journey is where sustainability is cemented. If there will be lasting culture change it will be won or lost in the embodiment and implementation of these missional discoveries. We will walk with you through this experience as you cast new vision and intentionally model missional lifestyles among your people. We will continue to meet with you weekly to talk about challenges, discoveries, share stories, and motivate further incarnational engagement in your community. Through the power of the Holy Spirit and some friends along the way, you are now on the verge of a missional movement!
"God is on the move. God is moving within you and me and every community of faith, because our God's mission is always in motion. Movement isn't new. Movement is God at work. Movement is the way God has always worked. Movement is how Jesus' mission will be accomplished." (On the Verge, Hirsch/Ferguson)
If you would like to bring i3 to your church or ministry or just want more information, please contact Forge Joplin!