Church leadership has often been confined to a select few. In fact, the idea of “calling” has often been reserved for a select class of Christians we have labeled “the professionals.” As we explore the microchurch paradigm, we will have to be more creative when we consider the question, “Who can lead?” In this webinar with Stacy Gaskins, the Microchurch NEXT team will explore the question of leadership. Stacy is part of the Underground Network’s international planting team where her primary work is to equip movement leaders. That will then plant missional hubs to empower everyday missionaries in their cities. Locally, she is part of a home based microchurch and does mentoring, street and club outreach with Created; a microchurch to vulnerable women in the sex industry in Tampa, Florida.
The missional conversation in the West has been snowballing for decades. Leslie Newbigin, who is considered by many to be the instigator of this conversation, posed the question in his book Foolishness to the Greeks, “What would be involved in a missionary encounter between the gospel and this whole way of perceiving, thinking, and living that we call ‘modern Western culture’?” We’ve been wrestling with that question for 40 years. Over the last two decades, pioneering efforts in the missional movement have been made with the mixed results expected of early experimentation. Now, mature forms of microchurch movements are emerging. COVID-19 has demonstrated the fragility of the predominant forms of Church, which has created a surging interest in simpler forms of the Church led by ordinary people.
Of course, microchurch is not a new form of the Church, but the most ancient one. A compelling case can be made that the microchurch is the original design within the pages of the New Testament. In addition, it is also the primary expression of the Church in the most significant disciple-making movements on the planet today, in places like India and China. Now is the time for us in the West to return to the microchurch for biblical, cultural, and missiological reasons.
Join Leadership Network this year for a series of catalytic conversations with leading practitioners. And follow this move of the Spirit that is bringing about the return of the microchurch.
