Our New Leader Training is designed to help you get your new group launched, whether your starting a group from scratch or multiplying out of an existing group. New Leader Training starts this Sunday, Aug. 30th and runs for 2 weeks. You can choose from 2 class times: 9am or 5pm. We will be meeting the AHS Library during both class options.
Topics we'll cover in New Leader Training:
- getting your group started
- creating a welcoming environment
- creating a gospel-centered culture
- facilitating the The Tangible Kingdom Primer (the Missional Community curriculum during the Vision Series this Fall)
Sign up for the New Leader Training here.
We look forward to seeing all new leaders this Sunday!
Leadership Summit 2009: Missional community leaders, potential or interested leaders, MC members, church planters, and pastors/church leaders from other churches are coming together THIS SUNDAY! We will learn from Stew and Hugh Halter, author of The Tangible Kingdom, how to see the bigger picture of gospel-centered movements in Austin and to gain practical ideas for growing the mission of your community in the months ahead. Leaders, please invite anyone in your missional community and those who are interested in starting a missional community we would love to have you there as well! You can find the details below:
Date: THIS SUNDAY, August 23rd
Time: 2pm-4pm
Location: Performing Arts Center, Austin High School
*Price: $10 - Missional Community Leaders OR $0 - Potential / interested Missional Community Leader OR $10 - Church Planters, Pastors, leaders of churches outside of the AustinStone.
Registration: Registration will be open until Friday, August 21st. Register here!
*Childcare will be provided*
Fall Remote Parking: Our remote parking lot is reopening this Sunday, August 23. We want to ask that you consider parking remote this fall semester. If you haven't had the chance to experience it before try it this Sunday! Breakfast and coffee are served each week as a small thanks.
We're looking for 300 remote parkers this fall (we really need to expand our parking capacity). If you enjoy it sign up here for the fall and tell your missional community about it! [KEEP READING]
We have officially opened up sign ups for our Missional Community Summit to all Austin Stone leaders, potential and interested leaders, and missional community members as well as any church planter or pastor/leader in churches outside of the Austin Stone. Hugh Halter, author of The Tangible Kingdom, will address the barriers to mission through sharing stories of how he has overcome them practically in his life and within his church.
We hope the Summit along with missional communities walking through The Tangible Kingdom together will allow our the body an opportunity to see the bigger picture of gospel-centered movements in and outside of Austin. You will learn practical steps how to seek out mission for your community in the months ahead. Here are more details:
Date: Sunday, August 23rd
Time: 2pm-4pm
Location: Performing Arts Center, Austin High School
*Price: $10 - Missional Community Leaders OR $0 - Potential / interested Missional Community Leaders OR $10 - Church Planters, Pastors, leaders of churches outside of the AustinStone.
Registration: Registration will be open until Friday, August 21st. Register now!
*Childcare will be provided*
KidStuff Volunteers Need: Families are joining together two more Sundays: August 9 and August 16, for KidStuff FX. Our KidStuff team is in need of help the next two Sundays during the 9AM service to help serve in the classroom. If you are interested in helping please email Kelly White!
Leadership Summit 2009: All of our missional community leaders will be coming together to learn from Stew and Hugh Halter, author of The Tangible Kingdom, how to see the bigger picture of gospel-centered movements in Austin and to gain practical ideas for growing the mission of your community in the months ahead. Leaders, please invite anyone in your missional community and those who are interested in starting a missional community we would love to have you there as well! You can find the details below:
Date: Sunday, August 23rd
Time: 2pm-4pm
Location: Performing Arts Center, Austin High School
*Price: $10 - Missional Community Leaders OR $0 - Potential / interested Missional Community Leader
Registration: Registration will be open until Friday, August 21st. Register here!
*Childcare will be provided*
Prayer as a Missionary Strategy....here
A great church planting and/or missional community strategy
Reading list for you book lovers:
Church Planting Movements by David Garrison (MC leaders - if you are going to get this one check
with the church office first, we may have copies)
Total Church by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis
Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay
*All three of these books will help your leadership in your community. I highly encourage reading these.
"Not thinking through a strategy as a church (missional community) for winning and adding and shepherding more and more people is not an option. Because no strategy is a strategy. A heartless one.
-John Piper
Planning takes time, and it's very easy to put off or simply not do. However, studies show that 1 hour of effective planning can save you between 4-12 hours of wasted execution time later. As a missional community God is in the process of giving you a specific people to declare and demonstrate the Gospel in the city. Take some time to pan how your missional community will be effective for gospel renewal in the city and how your missional community can play its role in that renewal.
To build a movement of missional communities who worship Christ, live incommunity, get trained for ministry and make disciples... together, over time.
How to stay focused on the vision and mission
As leaders we must clearly communicate the vision and mission and what it means.
Review the vision and mission often. Intimate knowledge of the visionand mission is a call to commitment and action. When the direction isunderstood as God's direction and not that of man, we can mobilize with ahigher authority. A clear understanding will gain commitment which should leadto application and action.
Model how the vision guides your decisions and actions.
Show others from your own walk how understanding of the vision guidesthe decisions you make concerning leadership and your personal reliance on Godand His leading. You may be the only example of "Jesus in skin" that the groupmembers have the privilege to see up close and personal. Leaders are exampleswhether they want to be or not! Modeling also allows accountability to statedcommitments.
Believe and stick to the mission.
An intense committed focus on the mission will keep others focused as to"What We Do" when distraction and discouragement attempt to sidetrack theguiding mission. It is easy to lose sight of it. A solid, stated commitmentwill bring the discussion, action and behavior full circle to the guidingprinciples.
Don't get discouraged. Stay connected to God.