Seeing Our Family as a Leadership Community
Next week we’re going to kick off our Winter MC Leaders Training! We offer MC Leaders Training twice a year as an opportunity to send out new leaders to either plant a new MC, provide additional leadership in their current MC, or provide an opportunity for our partners to learn more about the vision behind MC’s by participating in the training.
Missional Communities (MCs) are our version of small groups and are such an important part of the vision and mission of New City Church that we consider them the “lifeblood” of our church. If you only worship with us on Sunday mornings and don’t connect to a MC, you are really missing out on the life of the church at New City! We currently have 15 MC’s, 14 that meet in homes throughout our city and the Middle Georgia area, as well as a Student MC that meets at the church building.
Missional Communities are where the “one anothers” we see in scripture are lived out! They provide a way to live as disciples together in the regular rhythms of life, and to see where we live, work, and play as opportunities to live together as disciples and make disciples.
We have set times where we gather together; we call these MC Family Gatherings. In these gatherings we share a meal together, fellowship and enjoy one another, worship and pray together, and apply what we’ve learned in the sermon to our lives through sermon discussion. These different aspects of a MC gathering provide opportunities for growth in leadership, whether it’s planning the meal, setting up childcare, leading in prayer or worship, writing sermon discussion questions, or following up with visitors, there are countless opportunities for those in our MC’s to use their gifts for the common good and grow as disciples!
I share all of that because it’s common in churches and in small groups to see the leaders as those who “do everything”. Leaders in church small groups may host, lead discussion, and provide the meal. That’s not what we’re going for! For us, MC leaders lead by modeling living as a disciple of Jesus in relationship with others and by creating space for others to step up and grow in their giftings. Their role and calling is to “lead leaders”, not do everything themselves. If they do everything, that is limiting opportunities for others in the group and hindering their growth as leaders and disciples.
It actually takes a lot of intentionality to not do everything and lead future leaders! It takes a vision for seeing the Spirit-given gifts of your brothers and sisters as something to encourage and cultivate and to see all of life, not just the “appointed times” as opportunities for us to be more and more shaped into the image of Jesus.
This vision of leadership and discipleship, along with the necessity to ensure we are planting MC’s that are gospel-centered and faithful to scripture means that we take training our leaders seriously. That’s why we have this 8-week training. We spend time together in conversation, working through a curriculum, growing in our understanding of the gospel and its implications for life in community as a family of missionary servants.
The most refreshing part of this training is to see how much those who participate already know. The reason is because the training has already begun through the shared leadership and discipleship in community that happens in the MC. These candidates for leadership have already been observed by their leaders and community and have been recommended because their character and gifts have been recognized and have blessed the MC. The training time is a way to refresh and equip as a part of a process that has already been underway.
We’re excited to have 4 couples from various missional communities joining us for this training. I’m excited to see how God will use them to help other live in light of the gospel by loving and following Jesus in the everyday things of life.
If you’re interested in being a part of a Missional Community or even if you’re a leader in another church and would like to hear more, reach out to me at rhett@newcitymacon.org and check out our MC page at our website, https://www.newcitychurches.org/missional-communities.