How to apply principles of ministry in residential communities to church planting efforts. Will include examples from practitioners and processes for moving from singular events to relationships that lead to the formation of small groups. Will then focus on the multiplication of small groups and the determination of essential characteristics that constitute a new church plant.
Student will explore a new venue for starting churches. In most church planting areas, at least a small cluster of apartment communities will be available for ministry. They should have completed some basic course on multihousing ministry, and will now see the value of intentional work here as a way to connect with many more, much more quickly. Additionally, the student will be able to apply the process to neighborhood ministry.
All church planters will discover an entirely new population; 96% of which are not engaged in a local church. They may discover that this is perhaps the easiest way to begin the search for persons of peace and form the core group for a new church plant. Should they fail to understand the residential community piece, in many cases they will eliminate over 40% of the population in their church planting target area. It is therefore relevant to their strategy to engage every pocket of people in order to effectively reach a community and start a new church.
Follows the pattern of the Apostle Paul, Peter, and other early church leaders in intentionally engaging people of peace with a view to begin “house churches” “Mission Outposts”
The heart of a missionary is to establish relationships that lead to groups and planting of churches that key on discipling and making disciples.
Modification of practices according to type of resident…racial, economic, educational, spiritual will be encouraged.
There will be the opportunity to develop skills that apply across cultural boundaries.
An emphasis on the application and evaluation of experiences in planting within residential communities such as apartment complexes, condominiums, mobile home parks, tiny home communities, student housing, 55+ active adult communities, life care communities, urban core neighborhoods, subdivisions, and rural unincorporated communities.
Students will be encouraged to think differently as to how they begin then process of engaging a community; where to begin, how to engage, and how to move from casual meetings to relationships to group dynamics and church start.
