Long before our first gathering I was describing New City Church as a 'church of house churches (Missional Communities; MCs) who gather together for worship and celebration on Sundays.' Then a small group of us launched New City Church downtown publicly with Sunday gatherings and no MCs! For the nine months following our launch of weekly services I continued to preach, teach, talk about, and shout that New City Church was a church of house churches that gathered together for worship and celebration on Sundays.For those first nine months it was all talk - all vision casting. And we - New City Church was driven by our Sunday morning service.
For the next nine months - leading up to today - we have inched toward the reality of being a church of house churches who gather together for worship and celebration on Sundays. Our MC leaders have grown into this role - MCs are the primary place for care, ongoing encouragement, strengthening one another..., and the majority of our training and focus is on MC leaders.
Still, we have largely been driven by Sunday mornings
Tonight we may have taken our largest step toward changing drivers! We have, as most churches do, used Sunday mornings as our time to recruit...BEG for help in various areas like the nursery, children, greeters, coffee bar, the 567, and other areas. As leadership talked tonight about our family stepping up to help out in areas of need, we all agreed that as a church of house churches who gather together for worship and celebration on Sundays, it was up to our house churches to take care of family needs and to be intentionally missional by watching/keeping/teaching the children of those not yet a part of the community. Already our MCs take care of set up on Sundays, now they will work together to take care of other needs as well. In other words, our MCs will now begin driving our Sunday services!!!
It will take more time, teaching, preaching, talking about, and shouting, but New City Church downtown IS a church of house churches who gather together for worship and celebration on Sundays!
