All In. On Mission. With Jesus.
We are Disciple Makers- Living on Mission!
With God's help we are learning how to live on mission, how to be disciples who make disciples in this time and place. Among other things, we're learning that there is a BIG difference between the Legacy Church (aka CAWKI- Church As We Know It) and DMM's (Disciple Making Movements) around the world.
Some Foundational Concepts
Mission First. Then Community.
This is in contrast to the common practice of forming a community and hoping that it will eventually get around to mission. Jesus called his first disciples by saying “Come follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people.”
They joined him in the mission in which he was already engaged and on-mission formed an amazing community that in time became the Church. Read more HERE.
Win Build Equip Multiply
The Sonlife Strategy of Winning the Lost, Building Believers, Equipping Workers and Multiplying Ministry is at the heart of 12Church.
It is biblical, simple, scalable and transferable.
Very few ministry approaches rival it in these important metrics and too few churches (and followers of Jesus) have embraced this framework.
Follow...or Not.
Jesus allowed people to quit following him. He didn’t chase them or coerce them.
12Church invites people to join us in following Jesus. But should someone, or a group, choose to live out that following in another context, we will send them off with a blessing and the hope that they will continue to be and make disciples.
Should someone wander away from the faith, we will of course seek to draw them back, while recognizing that they are free to follow or not.
Lose the Building, Build the People
Weekly worship gatherings and church facilities have become the focal point of most local churches. While neither are inherently wrong, they often do not contribute effectively to disciple making and in fact often divert resources from things that that would contribute.
The way we usually “do-church” also adds an unnecessary layer of complexity to disciple-making.
12Church seeks to reallocate resources. Getting away from the weekly large gathering eliminates the need to own a meeting hall and helps move evangelism and disciple making to the forefront.
Sustainable Service
Too many sincere pastors, ministry leaders and church workers are burning out.
In some cases self-care may be lacking, but there also seems to be something unsustainable about the way we “do church” for the average person.
While we affirm the call of Christ to “take up your cross daily and follow” and know that this call may in fact include the need to lay down our lives as martyrs, our conviction is that it usually isn’t a call to sacrifice our physical, mental or spiritual health, nor our marriages and families.
DNA of a Christ Follower
DNA of a Christ Follower shares the essential character traits of a biblical follower of Jesus Christ. This describes the “What” of disciple-making. 12Church is our answer to the “How.” Learn More HERE.
- Lover of God
- Lover of People
- Holy
- Truth-Based
- Evangelistic
- God-Dependent
- Persevering
- Focus on Eternity
LEGACY CHURCH
Centralized, facility-based
Professional clergy
Passive consumers
Teaching Focus
Content
"Come Here"
Expensive
DISCIPLE MAKING
Decentralized, People-based
Everyone on Mission
Active Missionaries
Training Focus
Application
"Go!"
Cheap but Costs You Everything
Additional Convictions
The primary purpose of any single church is to glorify God by making disciples/followers of Jesus Christ
Disciples are best made by churches whose efforts balance winning the lost, building believers, equipping workers and multiplying leaders
Churches need clarity about what a disciple is and what it then means to “make a disciple.”
The activities of each church (ministries, programs, staffing, budgets) should be determined by what is needed to achieve this
Biblical church leadership is an essential foundation for church health and effectiveness
Christian leaders are called to lead first by example, to “be what we are calling God’s people to become”
The greatest current challenges to the church are internal not external, and can often be traced to an absence of deliberate disciple-making
Ministry should be carried out in a way that is sustainable over the long term, not requiring people to sacrifice physical, spiritual or family health
The discipling of children is the responsibility of Christian parents. Churches should equip parents for this.
Centralized church facilities are often a hindrance to disciple-making, and will increasingly be so in a hostile culture.
Denominational alignment and loyalty, while never superseding loyalty to Jesus Christ or the Word, can be a contributor to healthy and effective churches.
The primary purpose of any denominational structure is to aid local churches in the task of making disciples locally and globally.
Disciple-making is a partnership with the One to whom all authority has been given. Therefore those joining him in his mission are assured of his presence and power through the Holy Spirit.
Disciples makes disciples.
Our Foundational Training:
The Missional Living Map
TAKE THESE
FREE TRAININGS
Introduction to
Starting an On-Mission Group
Disciple making is not a solo activity.
Learn how to recruit others to join you in moving All In. On Mission. With Jesus.
