Preparing to Launch (Part III)

This week I am sharing a number of strategic actions we plan on taking as a Launch Team as we prepare for our Opening Day - September 13th, 2009.

The third stage will be Listening to our Community

In this stage our team will endeavor to connect to and understand our community.

In Acts 17, Paul addressed the Athenians based on their context after community analysis. Paul began with what they had in common. But in order to have a common point, he first had to listen. 

The default mode for most churches is to start by talking, “This is the Word of God!, etc…”

But we must first listen…

• What is the worldview of our target audience?

• How is God already at work with these people?

• What does it cost a person in this culture to become a Christian?

• What redemptive analogy is best for this culture?

• How does this culture view Christianity? The Church?

• What does this culture understand about the basic components of the gospel story?

• Is this culture based on shame or guilt?

• How will this culture understand Christian rituals?

• What is the best delivery system for exposing the people of this culture to the gospel?

We will do a series of activities to develop a community profile. These activities could include interviewing formal and informal leaders, meeting with local organizations, and conducting one-on-one informal and formal interviews.

We plan on putting together focus groups of unchurched and dechurched people living in Des Moines. At these focus groups we will ask why these people don’t go to church and what they would be looking for in a church. We will certainly learn something, but we will also use this as an opportunity to share what we are doing to try to create interest. We will also seek to find ways that we can serve those within these focus groups.

We will encourage team members to walk through the community at different times and days of the week, hanging out in favorite community places, and participating in community activities such as meetings, fairs, or parties.

The central emphasis of this stage is for the church to begin to develop relationships with community leaders and organizations and begin to serve the needs of the city together. 

Click here to join our Launch Team!