Launching Missional Communities: a field guide

Missional Communities are at the epicenter of one of the most important current trends in grouplife and the work of Mike Breen and 3DM is at the heart of it.

In my recent 5 part interview with Breen, he mentioned Launching Missional Communities: a field guide (co-written with Alex Absalom).   I’ve had a chance to carefully examine a review copy.  Here’s what I found:

First, Launching Missional Communities is truly a field guide and goes beyond explaining the need for this approach, this strategy.  It does start there, though, devoting almost 50 pages to building a carefully laid foundation to the concept.  If you’re beginning to explore the missional community (MC) strategy, your team will appreciate the detail here.  With a number of case studies woven into the discussion, Breen and Absalom begin by defining missional, community, the four spaces (think Joe Myers’ Search to Belong), and a very thorough explanation of the system-wide leadership requirements.

Second, the field guide goes way beyond an introduction by providing a very detailed launch guide with planning, preparation and implementation insights.  Beginning with some keys to preparation, you’ll appreciate the detail in the explanation of putting a pilot missional community into play.  Further, you’ll appreciate the behind the scenes strategies that will make a wider launch more effective.

The third thing I absolutely loved in the field guide is the nuts-and-bolts section in part four.  Providing over 50 pages of how-tos…you’re going to wear this section out!  Everything from how to develop MC Leaders, how to help MC Leaders identify their mission, the dimensions of MCs (up, in and out) and all the way through are case studies and “real-life stories from people and churches who have been implementing MCs in the United States.”

If you’re awareness is growing about the widening 60% who are unreachable by the attractional model, you’ve got to be thinking about missional communities.  Once you start down that road, you’re going to want Launching Missional Communities: a field guide on your resource list.