Joining in God’s Mission

God’s Spirit is calling us to something new.

Mission is the nature, not a purpose of gathered believers, and calls congregations and ministries into truth and integrity.

God reveals the way we are to follow, to join in God’s work each day and we are called to do so with the expectation that God is present.

God’s mission is not what has worked in the past, but is according to God’s plan, and calls us to faithfulness.

God’s work in the world is particular and contextual in community and is not a system or program to be imported from somewhere else. We are called to obey where and when God leads.                              

God continues to redeem and restore the world, establishing the here and not yet kingdom of God and calling the world to relationships of repentance and forgiveness.

Together in community, through discernment of God’s word and prayer, the Holy Spirit inspires the church into new ways of living, instead of depending on experts and best practices. This calls us to surrender to and trust in Jesus Christ.


Joining in God’s Mission Summary

A. Understanding the unfolding of missio Dei (For the full details please download the following link)

1. Biblical and Theological Foundations for moving forward
2. Attitudes and Practices for moving forward
3. Contextual Background
4. An Excerpt from Bishop Larry Kochendorfer’s Synod Convention Report 2018
5. Our Synod’s Journey and Diffusion of Innovation (Everett M. Rogers)
6. Two Views of Church

B. Possibilities for Congregational Journeys (For the full details please download the following link )
Dwelling in the Word
1. Toe in the water – Exploration process found in Call manual (4 months)
2. Stepping into the ocean waves – using the Action Learning Cycle (18 months to 2 years)
3. Swimming in the ocean– using LEAD process (2-4 years)

C. Leadership Resources (For the full details please download the following link)
1. The Sacred Valley
2. Beyond Maintenance to Mission
3. Practices for the Refounding of God’s People
4. Adaptive Leadership

D. Stories and Learnings (For the full details please download the following link)
1. Missional Formation Iteration
2. Creative Initiatives Ministry Experiments
3. Learnings from Creative Initiatives experiments across the Synod
4. Encounters with the Living God
5. What participants said at Synod Convention 2016
6. What Synod Council learned from Participating in Hope
7. Learnings regarding the national CECF Adaptive Challenge 2018
8. What participants said at Synod Convention 2018
9. Sermon on Luke 10:1-11