To show & tell the gospel in 48202 in order to make disciple-making disciples – that’s what we are about at Restore. Of critical importance, then, is our understanding of the church. Namely, what is the church & how is it to function? One of the contributing influences in answering this question from Scripture has been Soma Communities in Tacoma, Washington. (As many of you know, Clete, Susan & I attended a week long training in May called Soma School 101. I blogged a bit about it here, here, here, here, & here. You can access the notes & messages here. And in November, just before moving to Detroit, Clete & I attended the first ever Soma 201.)
This 15 minute message from Ephesians by Jeff Vanderstelt (Soma Communities/VP of Acts 29) provides a good summary of what we have learned in our interaction with Soma and is a worthwhile listen not only for those interested in learning about Restore but also for those seeking to learn more about the call to make disciple-making disciples.
*Unfortunately Vimeo does not play on Iphones at this time so you’ll have to go to your computer to watch the video
Hopelessness & hope. That’s what I felt on yesterday’s prayer walk. After passing the corner gas station & chatting with the guys who gather there, I came across an old church building. I’d seen these broken down buildings before, but this time my heart was gripped – gripped by both hopelessness & hope.
Hopelessness. Apparently a group of faithful Christians gathered in these buildings, perhaps for many years. Judging by the service times listed they met frequently. They covered their buildings with Bible texts. They even operated a soup kitchen & book store. But now these buildings are lonely, boarded up & falling down. Did those people really have any impact? Did they really make a difference? And how in the world could we of all people ever expect to have an impact & make a difference? What a pipe dream!
Hope! As I stood there thinking about all that I was looking at, I was also filled with a sense of hope. Hope, because no doubt many were gathered to Jesus through that ministry. Hope, because those texts of Scripture have been planting silent seeds of life, awaiting the warmth of a fresh movement of God’s Spirit. Hope, because God brings life out of death. Hope, because God has a people for His Name whom He will call to Himself. Hope, because the church is not a building or time, but the people of God empowered by the Spirit of God to invade all of life to show & tell the Son of God.
On a related note I recently came across a great article that deals with another part of our area, “Detroit, Community Resilience, & the American Dream.” (Warning: you’ll probably want to move to our great city after reading this article!) We long to be a church composed of all kinds of rescued people – from drug dealers & prostitutes, to young professionals & students, to long term “church goers” who have embraced a false gospel & not the Biblical gospel.
grow roots & develop relationships in the 48202 (32/6 Initiative)
experience a deeper work of the gospel in our own lives (As we take the gospel again & again to ourselves we are freed more & more to take the gospel to our neighborhood)
provide opportunities for people to hear & interact with the vision of Restore.
TO PURSUE THESE GOALS WE ARE PLANNING THREE THINGS:
Gospel in Life is an eight-week course on the gospel and how it is lived out in all of life— first in our hearts, then in community, and out into the world. Week 1 opens the course with the theme of the city: our home now, the world that is. Week 8 closes the course with the theme of the eternal city: our heavenly home, the world that is to come. In between we will look at how the gospel changes our hearts (weeks 2 and 3), changes our community (weeks 4 and 5), and changes how we live in the world (weeks 6 and 7). (GIL)
We will read & engage texts from 10 key components of “the story of God” – beginnings & fall, sinful humanity, a people of God, exodus & law, the person of Jesus, the works of Jesus, death & resurrection, the mission & power, the life of the church in the Spirit, & life in the end.
The Story-formed Way was designed to both lead people through the basics of the Gospel and provide a foundational structure for the key doctrines of Christianity. If you are taking a mixed group of believers and unbelievers through it you will better establish the believers in the foundations and show them how to have Gospel conversations with Unbelievers. At the same time, the unbelievers are exposed to the Gospel and will learn how to share it themselves once they come to faith.
The other bonus of this activity is that it provides a variety of stories through which to see the Redemptive work of God thus giving the believer many different forms to engage in Gospel Conversation. For example, when dealing with someone struggling with financial provision, one could share the story of God feeding the Israelites in the wilderness and ultimately pointing to how Jesus is the bread of life that most deeply satisfies. Then go on to show that if God would give us his very best to meet our deep spiritual hunger, why wouldn’t he also give us everything else that we need. The more Biblical Stories we know, the more versatile we become in engaging in Gospel conversations. (GCM)
3. Vision sharing gatherings. January 28, February 11 & 25, & March 11 & 25 we’ll gather to eat, hang out, share the vision of Restore, & field & ask questions.
If you are interested in checking out any of these studies or gatherings please contact me at mikehanafee@resdetroit.org or 971.246-4165. We’d love to talk to you & answer any questions you might have!
