It’s happening. Churches are starting to shift their small groups to more mission-focused, incarnational communities. And many people I know are forming new “missional communities” among their family and friends. That is super encouraging!
But… Here’s the Problem:
Christians have spent years listening to sermons, studying theology and doing Bible studies, yet still feel intimidated or unable to naturally express the good news of the Gospel into normal life, conversations, and circumstances. We will never experience gospel-transformation and missional movement in our families and neighborhoods unless this changes.
A Bigger Gospel
Whether transitioning your church community groups or small groups to missional communities, or starting from scratch, you’ll discover that your people need a greater grasp of the transforming gospel that touches all of life.
And when you get this right, everything else changes. Life together in community becomes possible-not out of obligation-but out of a gratefulness and confidence that the gospel alone can give.
Gospel Fluency Happens Together
I want to recommend a resource that has made a HUGE difference for thousands of people I know; it’s called The Gospel Primer. Full disclosure: I helped write and create this tool and it has been a serious blessing in my life and in our communities.
[click here to get a free sample of Week #1 and a discount code to save you money on Gospel Primers]
I know of no other resource that can help you gain such a useable understanding and practice of the Gospel in such a short period of time as the Gospel Primer.
Here’s How It Works
Let me give you a quick heads up as to how the Primer works and why I think you’ll love it.
The Primer is an 8-week experience done in community, as a group. It is designed to create new community rhythms that lead to a deeper and practical understanding of the gospel in all of life. The Primer is set up in a daily format for each person in your group to complete individually. It probably takes 15-20 minutes most days to read through and process the questions. Day 5 of the sequence is Community Day when you’ll get together with your group for a meal and to work out what you’ve been learning all week.
Let me briefly walk you through how the weeks are set up:
Day 1: EXPLORATION
The first day of the weekly rhythm will introduce you to the subject of the week and provide thoughts, stories, and definitions to help you get an understanding of the concepts. You’ll also find questions and journaling space so that you can wrestle with what this stuff means in your life and in the life of your community. And here’s fair warning: these questions will challenge you. They may even make you uncomfortable sometimes.
Day 2: MEDITATION
On this day you get a scripture or two connected to the topic to give you a biblical framework. You’ll also answer a few questions to help process the scripture.
Day 3: CHANGE
This is where you start to get serious. What does this idea mean in your life? How would your life be different if you began to let it be changed by the gospel?
Day 4: ACTION
By now you’ve begun to let your heart be changed, now how about your hands, feet and words? Action Day is about putting everything into practice. These days are absolutely critical: if you seriously want to transform your small group and see real growth in the gospel, this day is crucial.
Day 5: COMMUNITY
This day is meant to be a model for how our lives in community are to be increasingly lived out. Day 5 is when you get together with the other members of your community (those other folks who are putting this stuff into practice along with you) and do something–together. The Primer will guide your time each week. Healthy community on mission (with God and with each other) is what we’re talking about. Whether transitioning your church community groups or small groups to missional communities, this will be the most important day of the week.
Day 6: CALIBRATION
Here you’ll revisit the theme of the week from a different angle and get some additional things to think about as you wrestle with the topic of the week and allow God to bring transformation into your life.
Day 7: RECREATE
The last day of the weekly cycle includes a time of rest and reflection with the heart of Sabbath. This is a reminder to each of us that taking a break is a biblical pattern–one we like to call ReCreate: we Rest in Jesus’ completed work on our behalf, and out of that rest we create value, beauty, work. Not to earn God’s approval, but creating/working out of the rest we have in Christ.
Real quickly, here are the topics that will be covered over the 8 weeks together.
WEEK ONE: What Is The Gospel?
WEEK TWO: The Story of God
WEEK THREE: Your Gospel Story
WEEK FOUR: Gospel Listening
WEEK FIVE: Four Eternal Truths
WEEK SIX: Two Gospel Lenses
WEEK SEVEN: Gospel Identity
WEEK EIGHT: Gospel Rhythms
If you CLICK HERE I’ll send you a sample of the first week of the Gospel Primer and a special discount code that will save you big money when buying these for your group.
The next best time to get started transitioning your small group, community group or missional community to grow in their “gospel fluency” is now.
