Having a simple strategy promotes and protects the big picture of disciple-making. It also enables the church to live in a “less is more” reality. Simplifying around discipleship requires ruthlessly consistent communication.
The single greatest tool for ruthless consistency is what we call the Missional Map. The Missional Map is a picture that shows how the church will accomplish its mission at the broadest level.
The strategy icons below are a sample from hundreds of Missional Maps developed through Auxano:
Just imagine everything a regular attender experienced at your church was saturated with a picture that points to discipleship. What if this picture trumped everything else in your church communications? The benefits would be huge.
The Missional Map would:
- Connect the mission with a few “best” ministries
- Present Jesus and guide people toward life change in Him
- Remove complexity and clarify a pathway of involvement
- Limit time “at church” to release people to “be the church”
- Filter which ministry ideas fit best and which ones don’t fit
- Build a climate of invitation that encourages new commitment
- Shape a culture of Christ-following over program-consuming
The daily work of discipleship is hard and messy work. So why not limit all the random, attention-draining and resourcing-depleting moving parts of your church that keep you from getting the basics done. Why not highlight the best ministries you can offer and show how they relate to each other for the purpose of growing people in Jesus and for His mission in the world. To learn more about developing a Missional Map for your church, contact me.
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This is a sponsored post from Tim Peters, a Lead Navigator for Auxano. He navigates church leaders through growth challenges with vision clarity. In addition, Tim is Director of Development of Auxano Design where he helps churches communicate vision visually. Connect with Tim at www.timpeters.org and on Twitter @timrpeters.
