Yesterday I hinted that I have seen signs of the megachurch model (let’s call it “attractional” for this post, because lots of churches use the model, but are not yet mega) being able to adopt some of the simple, organic, humble, service-oriented values that are often found in the house-church model. Let’s call these values “missional” even though not all house churches are missional.
David Fitch wrote a post today about how this could look. He says:
[The] attractional gathering is for celebration, inspiration, the creating of vision, and spurring on of momentum. Missional communities (groups of 20-50) on the other hand do community, local missional engagement, training and discipling well.
He goes on to say that
The attractional gathering is limited…to at most once every 4 weeks or once every six weeks. IT IS NOT THE CENTRAL ORGANIZING EVENT OF THE CHURCH. Indeed, the organic missional community in the local context is the local organizing force. The attractional event fulfills a unique role of celebration, inspiration, the creating of vision and spurring on that comes from the momentum. It plays its role and it is clearly subordinated to the missional community in the life of the church.
This is what I’m dreaming about! I could get involved in a “megachurch” like this where the missional communities are the core, and the attractional gathering is the optional meeting.
Alan Knox wrote something similar about two months ago in a post called “Why I’m Not a House Church Proponent.”
My hope is that each church will consider their current method of meeting together and attempt to change that method however necessary to help one another begin to encourage, teach, admonish, serve, and build up others. If this happens among a group meeting in a house, then great! If it happens among a group meeting in a school, awesome! If it happens in a church meeting in a big building with a steeple, fantastic!
So, no, I am not a house church proponent. However, I am a church proponent: I plead for the cause of allowing Jesus Christ to build up his church through all of those meeting together, not just through a few. I am a church enthusiast: I am an ardent supporter of the church gathering together for the purpose of the whole church helping one another grow in maturity in Jesus Christ.
That’s right. It doesn’t matter if you are a church of 10 or 10,000. The point is to meet together to encourage, teach, admonish, and serve, whatever the model. Currently, it seems to me that the house church model has the fewest barriers to this, but I see encouraging signs of attractional churches making genuine steps toward a more missional mindset.
Are you aware of any “missional-attractional” churches in your area that see the large-group gathering as “optional” and the missional community involvement as the focus and core of the church? I want to hear more!
JM,
I too have left the “brick and mortar” church about 2 years ago, and it has been the best step of faith I have ever taken. I would also like to see the focus switch to action versus the Sunday gathering. I am all for many churches just shutting their doors and using all that money and time for other things, like helping the community.
I also would like a couple other things to go away. Membership requirements, and everyone agreeing to a statement of faith, or a “what we believe” statement should go away. I feel membership makes it feel like a social club, and if we all believe in Christ, the son of God dying for our salvation, then we are already members of “The Bride”, or the Body of Christ Himself waiting to gather together for the great wedding. So why do we need another membership (just so we can fit in.. nonsense)
Have you written on memberships or statement of faiths? I would love to read any entries.
Swanny
Swanny,
I am actually writing a book right now called “Close Your Church for Good.” One of the chapters is “Dump your Doctrinal Statement.” The chapter is only in basic outline form right now, but most of it will eventually get posted on this site for free, so keep checking back.
Thanks, I will be following
Since I found your blog less than a month ago, I have not read many of the older posts. As I read them, I may comment on a few. I found this post and the ones just before it very interesting.
A little over three years ago, when we decided to leave the institutional church once for all, having seen much of the very un-Jesus-like things that go on, especially behind the scenes among the staff and leadership, we looked for a missional church. I actually contacted every church in our city of over one million that advertised itself as “missional”. Only one even sort of live up to what they claimed.
Most churches told me that the youth did a weekend “missions” trip to Tijuana once a year, that they gave money to missionaries and similar stories and that these were the reasons they were missional. My e-mailed questions made one pastor very angry. For some reason he thought I was a spy from the people in his congregation who opposed him and was somehow trying to trap him. Another pastor really did understand the concept but admitted that his mostly elderly congregation did not and that it would take many years to move them even a little in that direction.
Missional and attractional seem to be almost mutually exclusive ideas in every church of which I have been a part. Just this weekend I heard of a church that is helping to equip an empty house to be an office to help homeless people transition out of homelessness. Maybe there is hope. Then again, the church is contemplating building yet another multi-million dollar building to serve their congregation and hopefully to add yet another building to attract more people to the church.
Have you found even one missional-attractional church, especially any that even partly meet your criteria?
Sam,
Not a single one. I did the same thing as you around here. Of course, there are not a million people here, but I contacted all the churches.
When I lived in Dallas, I did find one that was close, and was involved with it for about a year before I moved to New York. It was Mosaic Arlington. They still had some attractional elements, but were moving toward missional.