Missional Communities
Encyclopedia
A Missional Community is a group of anything from 20 to 50 or more people who are united, through Christian
community, around a common service and witness to a particular neighborhood or network of relationships. With a strong value on life together, the group has the expressed intention of seeing those they impact choose to start following Jesus
, through this more flexible and locally incarnated expression of the church. The result will often be that the group will grow and ultimately multiply into further Missional Communities. Missional Communities are most often networked within a larger church
community (often with many other Missional Communities). These mid-sized communities, led by laity
, are “lightweight and low maintenance” and most often meet 3-4 times a month in their missional context.
Emerging in England
in the mid 1990s, primarily through the experimenting of the church St. Thomas’ Sheffield
, this movement has spread through most of England, into Europe
and now the United States
and Canada
. As this missional movement began to gain traction in England, missiologists
such as Eddie Gibbs at Fuller Seminary and Kent Hunter, of Church Doctor Ministries, began to direct both established churches and church planters
to the UK to see these decentralized and highly reproducible Missional Communities as St. Thomas' now has two campuses: One is the fastest growing church in Europe (the Crookes campus) and another is one of the largest churches in all of Europe (the Philadelphia campus). Mike Breen, the former Senior Pastor of St. Thomas’ Sheffield who originated Missional Communities, moved to Pawleys Island, South Carolina
and in 2008 began 3DM, a coaching entity that comes alongside churches of varying sizes to help them transition to this missional/discipleship model. With missiologists pointing people to churches in the UK to see the “future of the church,” as well as the emergence of 3DM within the United States, the result has been an unprecedented interest in these mid-sized communities as the latest statistics show church attendance at 15% for Generation X
and 4% for Generation Y
. Because of this, it has North American pastor
s and missiologists alike believing this movement will have much to contribute in an increasingly post-modern society
. After years of people requesting such a text, what many consider will serve as the definitive book on MCs was released in November, 2010, co-authored by Mike Breen and Alex Absalom, entitled Launching Missional Communities - A Field Guide.
This group usually has 2 or 3 leaders who, through a process of discernment, decide their mission vision and then invite people to join them in reaching that particular context. The leaders of the MC are held accountable by the leadership
of the greater church community, both for what they do and for the way in which they do it (i.e., character as well as task). The tagline that is often used is “low control/high accountability” to describe relationships between the Missional Community and the church body and leadership. Alex Absalom is one of the early pioneers in the United States with Missional Communities - on average he oversees the start of at least 15 Missional Communities each year – and describes in the book co-authored with Mike Breen, “Launching Missional Communities – a Field Guide”:
Since Missional Communities are meant to be “lightweight and low maintenance” and led by laity
, running the community is spread throughout the group so it isn’t only 2 or 3 leaders doing all of the work. This is a key ingredient and one of the main benefits of these mid-sized groups. People don’t approach it as consumer
s but as participants. While some MCs meet in homes, it is not uncommon for many of them to meet in the particular mission context they are reaching into. (For instance, a MC reaching out to the homeless would meet on the streets with the homeless rather than trying to bus them to another location)
Missional Communities often have Small Groups within the larger body, with Small Group leaders being held accountable by the Missional Community Leaders. The small groups work as places of support,challenge and closeness, as the wider MC gathering is too large for general sharing of prayer requests and the like. MCs will also gather periodically with the larger church body for what is referred to as a Celebration Service. This usually involves a time for corporate worship, teaching, stories and re-envisioning the wider community. The larger church body determines the frequency of these Celebration Services, ranging from every week to once a month. In an existing church, as opposed to a new church plant, regular Sunday services often perform this function, showcasing and celebrating what is going on across that particular church in their Missional Communities.
More often than not, when Missional Communities reach the size of 30-40 people they begin to intentionally work on starting a new MC. As before, any new MC is driven by the presence of accountable leaders who have sought God for a clear and specific mission vision. This could mean sending out two leaders to start a new community, maybe a Small Group is sent out en masse, or even half the group stays with the current MC while the other half begins a new community. However the group is multiplied, the essential element is expanding the reach of the church into a new context.
saying to you? 2) What are you going to do about it? By seeing that leaders follow through on the plans they form from answering both of these questions, a culture is developed of both high support and high challenge. Over a period of time, this allows leaders to cultivate and sustain the character, skills and spiritual depth needed to lead.
As churches with Missional Communities tend to be far more decentralized than most Western churches, the network of these Huddles are essential to the unity and direction of the wider church. Usually the Senior Pastor
will Huddle 4-10 leaders, these leaders will in turn Huddle 4-10 leaders, who in turn Huddle the leaders they are responsible for. As the church grows, multiplying Missional Communities and Small Groups, more Huddles are added as necessary. What most churches have found helpful is an agreed upon DNA
in the language
that all leaders use that filter down to their various groups. Most often this is the language of LifeShapes, a set of 8 Shapes that distill the teachings and principles of the Bible
and Jesus
, that were fashioned by Mike Breen as Missional Communities first developed and captured in his book “Building a Discipling Culture.”
In practice MCs do tend to certain things pretty regularly, albeit in slightly different ways according to their context, including:
In addition to providing this list, Alex Absalom comments, “We would summarize this as a 1 Corinthians 11-14 model, which seems the fullest unpacking of how a church oikos [extended household] would meet and express its life together. From what Paul writes, it is also clear that those gatherings were led in such a way that people who weren’t yet Christians could come in and be welcomed, without it throwing all the plans into confusion.”
As well, a Missional Community will go OUT together in specific missional activities, to serve and witness to their place of calling. Such events need to be regular and rhythmic, so that the group sees this as an integral part of their life together. It should be no more a ‘special’ than meeting to eat together or pray together is.
in the late 1980s, before becoming more fully formed when Mike Breen became the Senior Pastor of St Thomas’ Sheffield
in 1994. They were described as being multiplying missionary congregations and called ‘Clusters’ (Missional Communities are also called Clusters, Mid-Sized Communities, Mission Shaped Communities, MSCs). The focus was on a group of Christians operating as a community together in mission. Leaders were encouraged to seek God for a vision for a new expression of church and, with training and support, they could be released to gather a team and pursue that dream.
As St Thomas’ grew, many MCs were planted into the urban center of the city. The church met for Sunday celebrations in a variety of large rented facilities, ending up in a huge disused nightclub, the Roxy, where the Rolling Stones had once played. In 1998, however, with only a couple of weeks notice, the building was closed down for breaking fire code, and the church was forced to scatter into their various MC gatherings for Sunday worship. It took almost a year for a new permanent home to be found – during which time the original MCs that had been sent out had doubled in number, with many people coming to know Jesus
during that year when the church had been forced to go into all the city.
Gradually the stories about MCs started spreading, both across the UK and Northern Europe and more and more churches began using this church structure. In 2004 the Anglican church released a report, “Mission-Shaped Church,” examining the viability and success of this movement within the Anglican church, including a forward by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. Also, the European Church Planting Network picked up on this approach and hundreds upon hundreds of churches have been planted as a result. Between 2006 and 2009, over 720 churches were planted across Europe. This was the first time this has been done in European
church history.
In the mid 2000’s this model of church began to spread to the United States. Early pioneers in this movement, such as Community of Joy in Phoenix, Arizona
, Norman Community Church in Norman, Oklahoma
and Trinity Grace in New York City
were some of the first American churches to embrace this structure. The acceleration of growth in the United States is also due to the emergence of 3DM as a champion of this movement. Led by Mike Breen, the originator of MCs at St. Thomas’, 3DM operates as a hub both for best practice and training leaders. This means churches of all sizes are beginning to shift how they “do church.” For example, Southland Christian Church, a church of 15,000 in Lexington
, Kentucky
is working alongside 3DM, as well as a church plant called Eikon Community Church in Richmond, Virginia
that started with 42 people.
The local churches choosing to make this transition vary largely in church denomination
, but the largest percentage currently involved with this movement in the United States are Baptists, Lutherans, Assembly of God, Nazarene
, Presbyterians, Episcopalians
and non-denominational churches.
More broadly speaking, even the term Missional Community is seeping into the consciousness of the evangelical world of the United States as the first large-scale conference was held about MCs. Verge: Missional Community Conference happened in Austin
, Texas
on February 4–6, 2010 and sold out weeks before the conference. In 2011, Verge united with Exponential, the largest conference for church planters, where the theme was, “Missional Communities: Discovering Old Truths in New Paradigms.”.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
community, around a common service and witness to a particular neighborhood or network of relationships. With a strong value on life together, the group has the expressed intention of seeing those they impact choose to start following Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, through this more flexible and locally incarnated expression of the church. The result will often be that the group will grow and ultimately multiply into further Missional Communities. Missional Communities are most often networked within a larger church
Local church
A local church is a Christian congregation of members and clergy.Local church may also refer to:* Local churches , a Christian group based on the teachings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, and associated with the Living Stream Ministry publishing house.* Parish church, a local church united with...
community (often with many other Missional Communities). These mid-sized communities, led by laity
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
, are “lightweight and low maintenance” and most often meet 3-4 times a month in their missional context.
Emerging in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in the mid 1990s, primarily through the experimenting of the church St. Thomas’ Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, this movement has spread through most of England, into Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and now the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. As this missional movement began to gain traction in England, missiologists
Missiology
Missiology is the area of practical theology that investigates the mandate, message, and mission of the Christian church, especially the nature of missionary work...
such as Eddie Gibbs at Fuller Seminary and Kent Hunter, of Church Doctor Ministries, began to direct both established churches and church planters
Church planting
Church planting is a process that results in a new Christian church being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, new worship centre or fresh expression is created that is integrated into an already established congregation...
to the UK to see these decentralized and highly reproducible Missional Communities as St. Thomas' now has two campuses: One is the fastest growing church in Europe (the Crookes campus) and another is one of the largest churches in all of Europe (the Philadelphia campus). Mike Breen, the former Senior Pastor of St. Thomas’ Sheffield who originated Missional Communities, moved to Pawleys Island, South Carolina
Pawleys Island, South Carolina
Pawleys Island is a town in Georgetown County, South Carolina, United States, and the Atlantic coast barrier island on which the town sits. The population was 138 at the 2000 census...
and in 2008 began 3DM, a coaching entity that comes alongside churches of varying sizes to help them transition to this missional/discipleship model. With missiologists pointing people to churches in the UK to see the “future of the church,” as well as the emergence of 3DM within the United States, the result has been an unprecedented interest in these mid-sized communities as the latest statistics show church attendance at 15% for Generation X
Generation X
Generation X, commonly abbreviated to Gen X, is the generation born after the Western post–World War II baby boom ended. While there is no universally agreed upon time frame, the term generally includes people born from the early 1960's through the early 1980's, usually no later than 1981 or...
and 4% for Generation Y
Generation Y
Generation Y, also known as the Millennial Generation , Generation Next, Net Generation, or Echo Boomers, describes the demographic cohort following Generation X. There are no precise dates for when the Millennial generation starts and ends, and commentators have used birth dates ranging somewhere...
. Because of this, it has North American pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
s and missiologists alike believing this movement will have much to contribute in an increasingly post-modern society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
. After years of people requesting such a text, what many consider will serve as the definitive book on MCs was released in November, 2010, co-authored by Mike Breen and Alex Absalom, entitled Launching Missional Communities - A Field Guide.
Synopsis
A Missional Community is a group of between 20 and 50+ people aimed at either a geographic location (a neighborhood) or an existing network of relationships. Missional Communities are often described as “small enough to care but large enough to dare.” Key to the success of Missional Communities are the participants finding their primary identity of “church” within this community, rather than, say, a larger worship service or Small Group. In essence, this group of people becomes a close-knit spiritual family on mission together.This group usually has 2 or 3 leaders who, through a process of discernment, decide their mission vision and then invite people to join them in reaching that particular context. The leaders of the MC are held accountable by the leadership
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
of the greater church community, both for what they do and for the way in which they do it (i.e., character as well as task). The tagline that is often used is “low control/high accountability” to describe relationships between the Missional Community and the church body and leadership. Alex Absalom is one of the early pioneers in the United States with Missional Communities - on average he oversees the start of at least 15 Missional Communities each year – and describes in the book co-authored with Mike Breen, “Launching Missional Communities – a Field Guide”:
Since Missional Communities are meant to be “lightweight and low maintenance” and led by laity
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
, running the community is spread throughout the group so it isn’t only 2 or 3 leaders doing all of the work. This is a key ingredient and one of the main benefits of these mid-sized groups. People don’t approach it as consumer
Consumer
Consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.-Economics and marketing:...
s but as participants. While some MCs meet in homes, it is not uncommon for many of them to meet in the particular mission context they are reaching into. (For instance, a MC reaching out to the homeless would meet on the streets with the homeless rather than trying to bus them to another location)
Missional Communities often have Small Groups within the larger body, with Small Group leaders being held accountable by the Missional Community Leaders. The small groups work as places of support,challenge and closeness, as the wider MC gathering is too large for general sharing of prayer requests and the like. MCs will also gather periodically with the larger church body for what is referred to as a Celebration Service. This usually involves a time for corporate worship, teaching, stories and re-envisioning the wider community. The larger church body determines the frequency of these Celebration Services, ranging from every week to once a month. In an existing church, as opposed to a new church plant, regular Sunday services often perform this function, showcasing and celebrating what is going on across that particular church in their Missional Communities.
More often than not, when Missional Communities reach the size of 30-40 people they begin to intentionally work on starting a new MC. As before, any new MC is driven by the presence of accountable leaders who have sought God for a clear and specific mission vision. This could mean sending out two leaders to start a new community, maybe a Small Group is sent out en masse, or even half the group stays with the current MC while the other half begins a new community. However the group is multiplied, the essential element is expanding the reach of the church into a new context.
Network and Accountability
If MCs are “low control/high accountability,” having a church structure that invests in lay leaders and empowers them while holding them accountable is of paramount importance. Perhaps the most widely used vehicle for this are called Discipleship Huddles, which is a group of 4-10 leaders. The frequency of these groups differs based on each individual church, but generally speaking they meet at least once a month and as often as once a week. Huddles are a place where leaders are actively being discipled in a community of peers, where they are held accountable for the leadership of their groups by their Huddle leader. The two central questions of a Huddle are: 1) What is GodGod in Christianity
In Christianity, God is the eternal being that created and preserves the universe. God is believed by most Christians to be immanent , while others believe the plan of redemption show he will be immanent later...
saying to you? 2) What are you going to do about it? By seeing that leaders follow through on the plans they form from answering both of these questions, a culture is developed of both high support and high challenge. Over a period of time, this allows leaders to cultivate and sustain the character, skills and spiritual depth needed to lead.
As churches with Missional Communities tend to be far more decentralized than most Western churches, the network of these Huddles are essential to the unity and direction of the wider church. Usually the Senior Pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
will Huddle 4-10 leaders, these leaders will in turn Huddle 4-10 leaders, who in turn Huddle the leaders they are responsible for. As the church grows, multiplying Missional Communities and Small Groups, more Huddles are added as necessary. What most churches have found helpful is an agreed upon DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
in the language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
that all leaders use that filter down to their various groups. Most often this is the language of LifeShapes, a set of 8 Shapes that distill the teachings and principles of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, that were fashioned by Mike Breen as Missional Communities first developed and captured in his book “Building a Discipling Culture.”
A Typical Missional Community Gathering
There is tremendous flexibility in the forms of Missional Communities, since the intention is that they are highly accessible to the culture into which they are planted. They are anchored around the three core relationships of life – UP to God, IN to family and friends, and OUT to the wider society which they seek to be a blessing to.In practice MCs do tend to certain things pretty regularly, albeit in slightly different ways according to their context, including:
- FoodFoodFood is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
- ideally sharing a meal together - Socializing/ laughing/ having fun
- Breaking Bread/ sharing CommunionEucharistThe Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
- Story-tellingStorytellingStorytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values...
(i.e. testimony), especially of things people are grateful to God for - Bringing praise and worship to God
- Offering prayerPrayerPrayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
for healing and prophetic encouragement to anyone who has particular need - Studying the Scriptures together, especially from what God has been speaking to the leader (or whoever is leading that portion) about during the past week.
- Praying for the wider community that you are seeking to reach, as well as for the MCs witness there
- Planning practicalities for mission activities
In addition to providing this list, Alex Absalom comments, “We would summarize this as a 1 Corinthians 11-14 model, which seems the fullest unpacking of how a church oikos [extended household] would meet and express its life together. From what Paul writes, it is also clear that those gatherings were led in such a way that people who weren’t yet Christians could come in and be welcomed, without it throwing all the plans into confusion.”
As well, a Missional Community will go OUT together in specific missional activities, to serve and witness to their place of calling. Such events need to be regular and rhythmic, so that the group sees this as an integral part of their life together. It should be no more a ‘special’ than meeting to eat together or pray together is.
History of Missional Communities
Missional Communities were first experimented with in inner city LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in the late 1980s, before becoming more fully formed when Mike Breen became the Senior Pastor of St Thomas’ Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
in 1994. They were described as being multiplying missionary congregations and called ‘Clusters’ (Missional Communities are also called Clusters, Mid-Sized Communities, Mission Shaped Communities, MSCs). The focus was on a group of Christians operating as a community together in mission. Leaders were encouraged to seek God for a vision for a new expression of church and, with training and support, they could be released to gather a team and pursue that dream.
As St Thomas’ grew, many MCs were planted into the urban center of the city. The church met for Sunday celebrations in a variety of large rented facilities, ending up in a huge disused nightclub, the Roxy, where the Rolling Stones had once played. In 1998, however, with only a couple of weeks notice, the building was closed down for breaking fire code, and the church was forced to scatter into their various MC gatherings for Sunday worship. It took almost a year for a new permanent home to be found – during which time the original MCs that had been sent out had doubled in number, with many people coming to know Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
during that year when the church had been forced to go into all the city.
Gradually the stories about MCs started spreading, both across the UK and Northern Europe and more and more churches began using this church structure. In 2004 the Anglican church released a report, “Mission-Shaped Church,” examining the viability and success of this movement within the Anglican church, including a forward by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. Also, the European Church Planting Network picked up on this approach and hundreds upon hundreds of churches have been planted as a result. Between 2006 and 2009, over 720 churches were planted across Europe. This was the first time this has been done in European
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
church history.
In the mid 2000’s this model of church began to spread to the United States. Early pioneers in this movement, such as Community of Joy in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, Norman Community Church in Norman, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
and Trinity Grace in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
were some of the first American churches to embrace this structure. The acceleration of growth in the United States is also due to the emergence of 3DM as a champion of this movement. Led by Mike Breen, the originator of MCs at St. Thomas’, 3DM operates as a hub both for best practice and training leaders. This means churches of all sizes are beginning to shift how they “do church.” For example, Southland Christian Church, a church of 15,000 in Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
is working alongside 3DM, as well as a church plant called Eikon Community Church in Richmond, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
that started with 42 people.
The local churches choosing to make this transition vary largely in church denomination
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
, but the largest percentage currently involved with this movement in the United States are Baptists, Lutherans, Assembly of God, Nazarene
Church of the Nazarene
The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged from the 19th century Holiness movement in North America with its members colloquially referred to as Nazarenes. It is the largest Wesleyan-holiness denomination in the world. At the end of 2010, the Church of the...
, Presbyterians, Episcopalians
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
and non-denominational churches.
More broadly speaking, even the term Missional Community is seeping into the consciousness of the evangelical world of the United States as the first large-scale conference was held about MCs. Verge: Missional Community Conference happened in Austin
Austin
Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas.Austin may also refer to:-In the United States:*Austin, Arkansas*Austin, Colorado*Austin, Chicago, Illinois*Austin, Indiana*Austin, Minnesota*Austin, Nevada*Austin, Oregon...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
on February 4–6, 2010 and sold out weeks before the conference. In 2011, Verge united with Exponential, the largest conference for church planters, where the theme was, “Missional Communities: Discovering Old Truths in New Paradigms.”.