What is a Missional Community?

While I've made a pair of attempts at explaining what I believe church should be, it seems I can never fully express it. I'm sure that's natural, and likely unavoidable, but I'd love to be able to have a succinct description of this new (to me) style of Christian living when others ask me about it. Specifically, I've been very excited about a lifestyle (worldview, whatever you want to call it) seen in a group called Soma Communities. So, when I saw a recent article which had some relevant questions which were answered by Soma founder Jeff Vanderstelt, I read through it. Jeff does a great job of answering a couple of questions in a relatively succinct manner and in a very clear way. Check it out:

Question #1: What is a missional community?

A Missional Community is a Family of Missionary Servants who make Disciples who make Disciples.

Family – First of all a missional community is a group of believers who live and experience life together like a family. They see God as their Father because of their faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ and the new regeneration brought about by the Holy Spirit.

This means they have and know of a divine love that leads them to love one another as brothers and sisters. They treat one another as children of God deeply loved by the Father in everything – sharing their money, time, resources, needs, hurts, successes, etc… They know each other well. This knowledge includes knowing each other’s stories and having familiarity with one another’s strength and struggles in regards to belief in the gospel and its application to all of life.

They speak the gospel truth to one another, regularly building each other up in love. They also love the people around them as if they were part of the family, showing them what the love of the Father looks like and in so doing inviting them to experience life in the family of God.
(John 1:11-13; Rom. 12:10-16; Eph 5:1-2)

Missionaries – God’s family is also sent like the Son by the Spirit to proclaim the good news of the kingdom – the gospel – and fulfill the commission of Jesus. A missional community is more than a bible study or a small group that cares for other believers.

A missional community is made up of Spirit-led and filled people who radically reorient their lives together for the mission of making disciples of a particular people and place where there is a gospel gap (no consistent gospel witness). This means people’s schedule, resources and decisions are now collectively built around reaching people together.
(Matt. 3:16-4:1; Jn. 20:21; Acts 1:8; Acts 13:2)

Servants – Jesus is Lord and we are his Servants. A missional community serves those around them as though they are serving Jesus. In doing so, they give a foretaste of what life will be like under the rule and reign of Jesus Christ.

Living as servants to the King, who serve others as he served, presents a tangible witness to Jesus’ kingdom and the power of the gospel to change lives. A missional community serves in such a way that it demands a Gospel explanation – lives that cannot be explained in any other way than by the Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus.
(Matt. 20:25-28; Jn. 13:1-17; Phil. 2:5-11; 1 Pet. 2:16)

Disciples – We are all learners of Jesus our rabbi who has given us his Spirit to teach us all that is true about Jesus and enable us to live out his commands. Jesus commanded us to make disciples who believe the gospel, are established in a new identity, and are able to obey all of his commands (Matt. 28:19-20). The missional community is the best context in which this can happen.

Disciples are made and developed: 1) through life on life, where there is visibility and accessibility 2) in community, where they can practice the one anothers, and 3) on mission, where they learn how to proclaim the gospel and make disciples.

Question #2: How is a Missional Community Different From a Bible Study?

During our Missional Community leadership training we start with a definition of missional community. Then, we clarify what it is not. A Missional Community is not primarily a Bible study.

The goal of most Bible studies is to study the Bible. We believe the goal of a missional community is to make disciples who make disciples. We clarify that the mission of making disciples with our missional communities will require studying the bible, but often bible studies don’t require that you make disciples.

In fact, our discovery has been that many people have studied the Bible for years and have never led anyone to faith in Jesus, equipped people for ministry and sent out more to do the same. It’s as if we have come to believe that knowing the Bible equals faith in and obedience to God.

Often when I speak to leaders and people who wish we did more bible studies at Soma, I ask them what was the last book of the Bible they studied. Let’s say they’ve respond with “James”.

I then say something like, “That’s great! I’m sure you’re now caring for widows and orphans, visiting the sick, caring for the poor, etc…!” To which I generally hear, “Well no…not really!?” Then, I say, “But I thought you studied James?” “Well, yes, but I’m not necessarily doing that.”

I go on to explain that the intent Jesus has for studying his word is that we would hear it and do it, not just hear it and know it. The next thing I say is: “So how about getting involved in a missional community and doing what you have studied and know for now? In fact, maybe you should practice obeying what you know with some others for a while before you add more biblical knowledge that you will be accountable to obey.”

The missional community is the best environment to study the Bible because it is only in the context of community that you learn to obey what it teaches and it is while on the mission of making disciples that you come to see how powerful God’s word is for bringing about transformation.

So for us at Soma, we call people to obey the mission of Jesus to make disciples; obey what the Bible teaches; grow as effective ministers of the gospel; get on mission with other believers to reach the lost and build up those who know and believe in Jesus. All of this requires that our people go back to the Scriptures over and over again to inform and equip them for all of this.

Doing mission together pushes our people to study the Bible more intently together. In fact, I have found believers’ hunger for and engagement with the Bible only increases the more they exercise obedience to what it says and also need it to teach others to know, love and obey Jesus.