Last Sunday(sept 2, 2018) we continued ion our series "Everyday Church" and we looked at "Everyday Community". On page 56 of the book, we read the following:
People are often attracted to Christian Community before they are attracted to the Christian message. This does not necessarily mean inviting people to Sunday services. It means introducing them to our network of relationships in the context of ordinary life: inviting both Christian and non-Christian friends around for a meal or for an evening out.
For many of us, the ideas of "evangelism" and "invitation" are practically synonymous. The problem with this kind of thinking is that it eliminates our opportunity for mission with a lot of people. It also has the problem of allowing us to feel like we are on mission, when we really aren't. Invitation to church services is not the same as evangelism. We are not inviting people to come to an experience, we are inviting people to a relationship with a person who we believe is always with us. Jesus is present with us in the ordinary life situations that we find ourselves in every day, and these are the situations that we also find ourselves in with those who don't yet know Jesus.
This week as you are living "ordinary life" think of all of the people who you interact within that "ordinary life" who you can begin to invite into your life in a way that will lead to gospel conversations. One of the key factors for this is that you are also pursuing life together with other Christians so that you are not on mission alone. This is where Missional Communities come in to play. MC's are a way for us to intentionally prioritize Christian community in a setting outside of Sunday morning so that we have that place to invite those who don't yet believe to "come around for a meal" or for a game night, or for a night out. MC's allow us to be on mission in community in a way that touches our "ordinary life".