Discovering God’s Heart for Your City Brad Fieldhouse “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because as it prospers, you too will prosper.” Jeremiah 29:4-7

Our Expectations/Desires That you have a deeper sense of hope for your city and its transformation That you would be challenged to more fully embrace your role as the Church (people of God) That you would be encouraged by our stories That you would be equipped with some practical teaching That you (and your small groups) would be reinvigorated to be an agent of Kingdom blessing That God would be glorified! That you have a deeper sense of hope for your city and its transformation That you would be challenged to more fully embrace your role as the Church (people of God) That you would be encouraged by our stories That you would be equipped with some practical teaching That you (and your small groups) would be reinvigorated to be an agent of Kingdom blessing That God would be glorified!

Table Conversations ► Introduce yourselves ► What are we after?  What would you like to see in YOUR city?  What Bible verses (themes, ideas, etc) support your perspective?

Jesus’ Church IS the Hope for Our Cities!

How Does Jesus See His Church? (Matthew 16:13-18) ► ► The Church is His Project   He builds it! “I will build my church…” ► ► The Church is His Project   He builds it! “I will build my church…”  He owns it! “I will build my church…”  Church is to be growing! “I will build my church…”  He owns it! “I will build my church…”  Church is to be growing! “I will build my church…”

How Does Jesus See His Church? (Matthew 16:13-18)   Church faces opposition but “the gates of hell shall not overpower it.”  Church is Relevant (on offense!)  Gates are of hell not heaven  Gates are not offensive weapons  Jesus gives us the keys  Church is Relevant (on offense!)  Gates are of hell not heaven  Gates are not offensive weapons  Jesus gives us the keys

…except her own lack of faith! How Does Jesus See His Church? (Matthew 16:13-18)  Church faces opposition but “the gates of hell shall not overpower it.”  Church is relevant (front lines of hope!)  There is no force on earth that can stop the Church from accomplishing the mission given to her by Jesus…

The Church as a Living Entity

The presence of Jesus among His people called out as a spiritual family to pursue His mission on this planet The presence of Jesus among His people called out as a spiritual family to pursue His mission on this planet The Definition of Church:

DNA of the Living Church DNA of the Living Church D ivine Truth N urturing Relationships A postolic Mission

D ivine Truth Truth is the foundation for everything. By Divine Truth we mean the dynamic and living presence of Christ and His Word intersecting with humanity in order to shed light on who we are and why we are here D ivine Truth Truth is the foundation for everything. By Divine Truth we mean the dynamic and living presence of Christ and His Word intersecting with humanity in order to shed light on who we are and why we are here N urturing Relationships A building of family and brotherhood based on a love relationship with our Father and His Son, Jesus N urturing Relationships A building of family and brotherhood based on a love relationship with our Father and His Son, Jesus A postolic Mission By “apostolic” we mean sent. The church is to be a sent agency, not a sending agency. Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, so send I you” (John 20:21) A postolic Mission By “apostolic” we mean sent. The church is to be a sent agency, not a sending agency. Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, so send I you” (John 20:21) DNA of the Living Church

D ivine Truth—The Great Commandment: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. N urturing Relationships—The Second Greatest: Love your neighbor as yourself. A postolic Mission—The Great Commission: Go and make disciples of all the nations. D ivine Truth—The Great Commandment: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. N urturing Relationships—The Second Greatest: Love your neighbor as yourself. A postolic Mission—The Great Commission: Go and make disciples of all the nations. If DNA is so important, why didn’t Jesus emphasize it? He did… If DNA is so important, why didn’t Jesus emphasize it? He did…

Apostolic Mission Divine Truth Nurturing Relationships Divine Truth is the code that binds relationships and mission, brings the church to life and dictates the development of the body. DNA of the Living Church

DNA defines the Living Church The presence of Jesus among His people Revisiting our definition of church: The presence of Jesus among His people called out as a spiritual family to pursue His mission on this planet.

Healthy DNA = Healthy Church Communitas, Not Just Community!! Let’s Rediscover Our Sense of Adventure! Communitas, Not Just Community!! Let’s Rediscover Our Sense of Adventure!

Gospel of the Kingdom freedom, favor, fruitfulness

The Gospel of the Kingdom (Matt. 10/Luke10) ► Jesus preached the same sermon at least twice on different occasions to different audiences ► He was repeating himself for emphasis because it was important ► The subject was very practical and his sermon was full of outstanding missional principles ► These sermons are found most completely in Matthew 10 and Luke 10 ► Jesus instructed the disciples to teach us to observe all that He commanded them…that includes these sermons ► Jesus preached the same sermon at least twice on different occasions to different audiences ► He was repeating himself for emphasis because it was important ► The subject was very practical and his sermon was full of outstanding missional principles ► These sermons are found most completely in Matthew 10 and Luke 10 ► Jesus instructed the disciples to teach us to observe all that He commanded them…that includes these sermons

The Gospel of the Kingdom (Matt. 10/Luke10)  Practice Of Prayer “Behold I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”  Pockets Of People

Do you believe like I believe? “Centered Set” Do you care about what I care about? “Bounded Set” Pockets of People People of good faith working together with people of good will

Pockets of People… ► …experiencing that Jesus (often) cares about what they care about!

The Gospel of the Kingdom (Matt. 10/Luke10)  Practice Of Prayer “Behold I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”  Pockets Of People  Power Of Presence  Person Of Peace What does a person of peace look like?...

Characteristics of a “person of peace” Person of courage, collaboration, competence, commitment Responsiveness: they are interested in the gospel Relational Influence: they are well connected and quickly refer Christ to others in his/her network Reputation: they are persons of well known character (good or bad) Person of courage, collaboration, competence, commitment Responsiveness: they are interested in the gospel Relational Influence: they are well connected and quickly refer Christ to others in his/her network Reputation: they are persons of well known character (good or bad)

Characteristics of a “person of peace”   Matthew (Matt. 9:9)   Lydia (Acts 16)   Ethiopian Eunich (Acts 8)   Cornelius (Acts 10)   Woman at the well (John 4)   Gerasene Demoniac (Mark 5)   Matthew (Matt. 9:9)   Lydia (Acts 16)   Ethiopian Eunich (Acts 8)   Cornelius (Acts 10)   Woman at the well (John 4)   Gerasene Demoniac (Mark 5) If you saw a hand reaching out of the sand you would assume a body is attached. When a person experiences Christ in a new pocket of people, assume a body is attached and keep digging to unearth the rest of it. Assume each new follower is a person of peace to bring the Gospel of Kingdom transformation to a new ‘household’ (oikos) Some “First-Domino-People” that started a chain reaction of Good News in the New Testament

 Practice Of Prayer  Pockets Of People  Power Of Presence  Person Of Peace  Practice Of Prayer  Pockets Of People  Power Of Presence  Person Of Peace  People Of Purpose Gospel of the Kingdom (Matt. 10/Luke10) “Behold I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”

Day-to-day House Church Experience ► Individual churches  DNA is part of their weekly experience together  House Churches spend their financial resources on their own projects first (before supporting the broader network)  Include all generations in the conversation ► Collective network of churches  Gather occasionally with everyone and share stories (approx 3-5 times per year)  Leaders gather regularly and compare experiences  Partner with existing/new regional agencies  Join city-wide efforts (secular and faith-based)

What we have seen happen ► Healthy disciples make up a Healthy church  DNA is coming alive in each “cell” of our body ► Holistic Gospel understanding in our churches  We need to both BE Good News and SHARE good news ► The city is increasing their value perception of us  They call us!  Christians in various spheres of influence are networking ► Tangible Projects continue to emerge  HIV/AIDS collaborative  Homeless assistance housing  Youth mentoring  Many others…

Key Learnings ► DNA is critical at every level (disciple, house churches, leadership, regional network) ► P.O.P. steps build upon each other and are not meant to be seen as sequential ► Church needs to be on the front lines of hope  This is HARD & TIME CONSUMING work! ► God is at work, yes, even outside the Church! ► Build your people’s capacity to know more about and fall in love with your city and the people who live in it!