“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:19-20).
Some read this passage and assume it is in the past tense. That the role of the prophet and apostle was simply to provide the original foundation, and then move out of the way, leaving the church to the voices of evangelists, shepherds/pastors, and teachers. But two chapters later, Paul says that that APEST was given to the church in the ascension (Ephesians 4:1-16). Furthermore, the original language for the word “built on” in Ephesians 2:20 is not past tense, but an active present participle, which implies it is still being built now. The Cornerstone, around which the house is built, is indisputably and always Jesus. As Jesus builds a new movement, he begins with the apostolic and prophetic.
How do the apostolic and prophetic functions converge like a tip of a spear to drive forward gospel advance or like two corners connecting, making a sure foundation, in a movement of microchurches today? How do we join Jesus in laying this foundation? Why is it necessary? Hear from the apostolic and prophetic voices in the Kansas City Underground about the amazing synergy, tensions, joy, and pain-in-the-neck this has been in their journey … and how they wouldn’t do it any other way.
In recent days, post-COVID, there has been a sea change in the world of “church planting.” Five to ten years ago, virtually all planters and church planting organizations were focused almost exclusively on the legacy model of church planting, often known as “launch large.”
Now, a surging number of young leaders have different dreams and aspirations: “How do we launch a decentralized network of disciple-makers and microchurches in our city?”
Where do we begin? How does a microchurch movement start up? What are the potholes? Where might we find hidden breakthroughs? Is there ancient wisdom available for this very contemporary challenge in the post-Christian western context?
Join us in this series of webinars and articles as we explore some of the vital dynamics of the startup process for a microchurch movement.
