LEAD THE WAY
Extra Sessions
3. Stages of Community

CONNECT

  • Connect through care, prayer and loving accountability for previous “I will …” statements

DISCOVER

Ephesians 3:14-19 (NLT)

14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Colossians 3:12-17 (NIV)

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

  • What are Paul’s goals for Christian community in these passages?

Here are the Stages of Community and the Lifecycle of MicroChurches:

  1. Dating - People will come and check you out. They may be new to MicroChurch and want to check out the model. They may be checking out your leadership or the people in your MicroChurch family. They may be checking out Jesus and His church. We want to be open and welcoming to these people.

  2. Commitment - Ask people to make a commitment by prioritizing the gathering and ministry of the MicroChurch. Challenge them to make your MicroChurch their church and to invest their time, gifts and money into it. Call them to see the MicroChurch as more than just a meeting but as a family of brothers and sisters in Christ. You can ask for this commitment during your gatherings to the whole group or one on one with each individual.

  3. Honeymoon - Enjoy. It’s amazing. The family is forming as you pursue Worship, Discovery, Community and Mission.

  4. Conflict - Leaders must recognize when conflict arises and facilitate the group and individuals through it. The conflict may be between family members, over a priority of your MicroChurch or even over your leadership. This conflict will call for an intervention. This intervention may happen at a gathering or separately with the individuals involved. This is one of the most difficult challenges of leading a group. But it can be so fruitful and lead your group to …

  5. Maturity - Now the MicroChurch is experiencing authentic community. You thought the honeymoon was good. This is so much richer.

  6. Kids - Yup! That comes with healthy families. These could be biological kids or spiritual kids. Welcome the kids and welcome the mess. For biological kids, incorporate them into your gatherings and disciple them as they grow. As your MicroChurch lives a Prayer > Care > Share > Dare missional lifestyle people will come to Christ. Make sure these spiritual newborns are being discipled in a Follow the Way Discover Discipleship Group. Get the young involved in the ministry of the Body as soon as possible.

  7. Launching - At some point, your spiritual children will be ready to move out and start a MicroChurch family of their own. This is one of the most difficult things to do yet one of the best things in the world to happen. Your family is maturing. Your ministry is multiplying. Your mission is replicating. Even though the kids have grown up and left home your parenting isn’t over. Stay in touch and support them. Regularly, get the families together in a Collective Gathering for a family reunion.

  8. Closure - Not everyone will stay forever and not every MicroChurch will last forever. Passing and dying happen to all that lives. Saying goodbye and bringing closure is an important function of leadership and an important gift you can give to your gathering.

  • How have you seen these stages of community in your MicroChurch?

  • What stage are you at?

  • How can you move to the next stage of health and community?

LIVE / LEAD

  • What did you discover in this training session?

  • What is your “I will …” statement flowing from this training?

PRINTABLE PDF

  • Stages of Community