Our Mission & Methods // Winter 2018 Discussion Series
January 3rd, 2018 | John Chandler
In the last four years, Austin Mustard Seed has established a core community striving to live a meaningful expression of Christianity in our time and place. Our Leadership Team has spent much time reflecting on the good that has happened so that we might imagine how our grow into the fullness of who we might be as a church community.
This has led to a fresh articulation of our Mission, and the Methods by which we pursue that mission. These weren’t formed out of ideas that sounded important or good, but out of our own story as a church, and what the best version of that story can be as we move into the future.
Two family meetings will offer extended conversation about how and why this all came about:
- January 14 // lunch meeting after liturgy in the Orange Chapel
A time to talk about how our Mission and Methods came about, why they matter for this next season of aMS, and to offer space for Q&A. - February 11 // 6pm meeting in a home
A time to revisit the our conversations from the series, talk more about how our community shares in the ownership of our methods, and to offer additional space for Q&A.
And, of course, we will devote time in Liturgy and Community Groups to these topics:
Week of January 7 || Our Mission
To form communities of Jesus who experience and expand God’s work of renewal together.
In the history related through the Bible, we see an invitation to humanity to partner in God’s purpose of setting things right in this world. As a church, we join that ongoing story too. We believe that the best thing we can offer one another is a sense of purpose in this world. We form communities, from smaller groups to new churches and everything in-between, so that we can walk alongside others as we partner with God.
Our Methods
Week of January 14 || Learn Practices
We learn practices of Jesus so that we can know, love and follow him.
We aim to experience and expand God’s work of renewal together, and we recognize that comes through following Jesus. We see Jesus as the fullest expression of who God created us to be. We learn from one another, and encourage one another, to take on the patterns of the Jesus way of living.
Week of January 21 || Cultivate Relationships
We cultivate relationships that lead to both friendship and formation.
God exists as a relationship, and so we too recognize that we are created to be in genuine connection with others. We long to have friendships that are both safe and stretching, so we prioritize embodied and committed relationships with one another.
Week of January 28 || Develop Connections
We develop connections that teach us to how to love those who are not a part of a community of Jesus.
God’s work of renewal isn’t limited to what happens in a church community, but is intended for all humanity and all of creation. We pay attention to how God is at work in neighborhoods and nations so that we can acknowledge and join in that restorative work through justice, evangelism, and care.
Week of February 4 || Seek Opportunities
We seek opportunities to expand beyond a fellowship of sameness to reflect the breadth of God’s kingdom.
Jesus recognized that all humans are created in the image of God, so he continually directed attention to those who were on the margin, those overlooked and unseen by others. We look for and celebrate voices that are not like our own because we recognize that every human offers a fuller way of seeing and understanding who God is and how God acts.
Week of February 11 || Raise Leaders
We raise leaders who have the capacity to form communities of Jesus.
With a focus on forming new communities large and small, we recognize that there will always be needs and spaces for leaders. We train, equip and empower leaders who can enable our mission as Austin Mustard Seed to expand and multiply new communities.