The Squishy Middle

A little over a week ago I was able to attend a 1-day conference through an organization called Mission1618. At this conference I had the great pleasure of listening to an incredible speaker and researcher named Ed Stetzer. One of the most fascinating points that Stetzer made was in reference to what he calls the "squishy middle." 

This is segment of society that claims to be Christian due to one reason or another but have no active faith life (worship, spiritual disciplines, etc.) In short, Stetzer claims that this "squishy middle," which once looked to the church as the cultural chaplain, is now looking elsewhere for guidance and answers. Likewise, this "squishy middle" is being squeezed out and many who once would identify themselves as Christian now simply identify themselves as "nones" - that is, they have no religious affiliation. The implications for this are many, but I want to emphasize two - 1) This is a VERY exciting time for the church because it is an incredible opportunity for us to make a clear confession of Scriptural faith through words and actions, and 2) In my humble opinion, every church ought to see itself as a mission outpost in a very pluralistic society. Perhaps such a mindset will allow the church in the West to fully embrace and live out Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 9:22-23, "I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings"?

We are trying to live in such a way in S. Minneapolis and the Spirit is opening doors to our neighbors, human care organizations, Somalis, American Indians, ex-convicts, the poor, etc. If you would like to pray for us or financially invest in us and our mission in South Minneapolis, follow the links below.

Invest in us and our work in S. Minneapolis - Click Here

Pray for us and our work in S. Minneapolis - Click Here

Participate in the life of the Community - Click Here

#PlantTheGospel

First Baptism and Five Goals

This past Sunday (the 6th) our Lydia was baptized. There is a neat parallel between our Lydia and the Lydia of Acts 16 - the Lydia of the Bible was the first recorded Christian convert in Europe and Lydia was our Community's first baptism. How cool is that! We had a packed house on Sunday (29 total; 15 adults and 14 children) as the picture indicates.

Some of you may be wondering what we're aiming for as a church plant. In other words, you may be thinking, "What will determine whether or not this plant is pursuing 'success'?" That is a fantastic question! For us, we have 5 goals and corresponding questions that keep us on track. They are:

1. Multiplication: Ongoing multiplication at every level (disciples, leaders, Gospel Communities, etc.) Have we multiplied at every level this year?
2. 80%: Genesis’ community consists of 80% new or prodigal Christians. Does 80% of the Genesis community consist of new or prodigal Christians?
3. Generosity towards the Kingdom: Regular, planned support through prayers and finances toward Kingdom work outside of ourselves. Does a portion of our annual budget go towards Kingdom work outside of the work we are doing (church plants, mission organizations, etc.)?
4. Generosity towards the City: Regular, planned support through prayers, finances, and service for the good of the city. Is a portion of our annual budget dedicated for community blessing? Is each Gospel Community working with a community organization for the good of the City?
5. Diversity: Being a community that imitates the ethnic and socio-economic diversity of South Minneapolis. Are we a more diverse community than we were 6 months ago?

In a wide variety of ways we are pursuing each of these five goals. If you would like to pray for us or financially invest in us and our mission in South Minneapolis, follow the links below.

Invest in us and our work in S. Minneapolis - Click Here

Pray for us and our work in S. Minneapolis - Click Here

#PlantTheGospel

The blog's back . . . hopefully

It's painfully obvious that I'm no good at blogging. I attempted lengthy blogs that provided detailed summaries of what was happening in South Minneapolis. Failure. I attempted to do video blogs. Epic failure. So I asked myself what kind of blogs I actually read. Short. Simple. To. The. Point. Thus, from now on I will attempt to provide paragraph(ish)-long updates of what the Spirit is doing through us in South Minneapolis. I make no promises that I will accomplish what I am attempting to do. But I'll do my best!

On Thursday, March 13 we were blessed with the healthy birth of our 4th child - Lydia Nicole Larson. She is doing incredibly well and is doing everything that newborns are supposed to do - eat, sleep, and fill diapers. Her 3 older siblings are absolutely in love with her and have been fantastic helpers! I have been able to take a break for the last couple of weeks in order to focus my attention and energy on the home as we transition to our new life as a family of 6 - with 4 of us under the age of 6 :)

I am very excited about the month of April for a few reasons. Reason #1 - HOPEFULLY winter will finally leave us and we can actually enjoy life outdoors for more than 5 minutes at a time. Reason #2 - As a Community, we are transitioning from initiating relationships with other organizations and churches in the City (i.e. Engage Global, MVNA, Prison Fellowship, etc.) to deepening these relationships. Reason #3 - We have a TON of exciting stuff happening this month. For instance:

1. Sunday, April 6 - the baptism of Lydia Nicole Larson (the Community's first baptism)
2. Sunday, April 13 - presentation during our Community Gathering by our new friends at Prison Fellowship
3. Thursday, April 17 - a full-fledged Seder Meal!
4. Sunday, April 27 - preaching again at Holy Cross in Prior Lake

Invest in us and our work in S. Minneapolis - Click Here

Pray for us and our work in S. Minneapolis - Click Here

#PlantTheGospel

It's Been Too Long!

My deepest and most sincere apologies for the lack of updates on the plant recently. I wish I had some sort of profound excuse for the fact that it's been nearly 2 months since the last update, like alien abduction or being hijacked by a group of rogue pirates. Unfortunately, I have no such excuse. However, it has been a VERY busy last two months, which is a great gift from God. I guess that if I had the choice between having the time to update the blog weekly or only the time to update monthly(ish) due to the number of meetings with people in the community, 1-on-1 coaching sessions with other leaders, coffee with other planters and religious leaders in the City, food distribution to children at a local school, taking food to elderly neighbors, etc., I suppose I would choose the latter option :)

So click on the video below to hear about:

1. Our weekly Sunday night gatherings
2. Men's and Women's times
3. Our work with Second Harvest Heartland and Homeless Care Kits
4. Leadership development
5. Individual missional activities
6. Recent vision casting event
7. Fundraising update

Our recent events:

Community Gathering

Second Harvest Heartland Food Distribution

Genesis Women

Genesis Men

Catch the Vision!

Pray for us - Click Here

Support us through generous giving - Click Here

#PlantTheGospel

On-Ramps

It's been a couple of weeks since our last post, but in this blog we provide updates on what's happening with the core team and the plant as a whole. Also, we pick back up with sharing details about the vision for the plant in S. Minneapolis. So click on the video below to hear about:

1. The core team in S. Minneapolis
2. Entrance strategies
3. Individual "On-Ramps"
4. Large group "On-Ramps"
5. CCD Principles

CCDA 2013 National Conference

Click here to listen to learn more about CCD principles - http://www.ccda.org/

Click on the following links to support us:

Prayer - http://ow.ly/mSRdp 

Finances - http://ow.ly/mSRkc

#PlantTheGospel

We've Been Sent!

In this latest blog, we will take a break from sharing details about the vision for the plant and only provide updates on all that's been happening over the last couple of weeks. So click on the video below to hear about:

1. The transition out of Trinity
2. The sending service
3. Fundraising updates
4. Our community BBQ
5. Strategic meetings

The Core Team from Trinity being prayed-over and sent-out on August 18, 2013. Photo courtesy of Phil Aarrestad.

 Photo courtesy of Andrew Schultz.

Click here to listen to my last sermon as the Associate Pastor at Trinity: http://trinitywaconia.sermon.tv/

Click here to see the picture from our community BBQ:

http://instagram.com/p/c5JaQcqVfz/

Finally, click on the following links to support us:

Prayer - http://ow.ly/mSRdp 

Finances - http://ow.ly/mSRkc

#PlantTheGospel

Relocation Madness!

Once again, the video blog provides both an update on what's going on in the plant and insights into the vision of the plant. So click on the video below to hear about:

1. Relocation Updates
2. Meetings with Pakou, Esther, and Joshua
3. Missional Community Principles
4. Upcoming Speaking Engagements

Also, click on this video to see an overview of Missional Community Principles by a man named Brad House:

Finally, click on the following links to support us:

1. In prayer - http://ow.ly/mSRdp 
2. Financially - http://ow.ly/mSRkc

#PlantTheGospel