by Sharon Howard
Coordinator for Care
My heart leapt as I listened to Nate, Alan, and David dialog on their fifth podcast about churches being development centers. How beautiful it would be to watch the Spirit of God breathe fresh life into our churches through small communities of people:
who process life’s challenges openly with each other, intentionally helping each other see how the Good News of Jesus being our Savior is for every day of our lives;
who rejoice together at the ways God is transforming them through trials;
who are attempting to take risks to follow Jesus on mission together using their unique stories and gifts to see God’s image restored in their broken communities;
who live out the truth before each other demonstrating what being a Jesus-follower looks like—waking every day knowing their calling is to partner with God to see His Kingdom come to people wherever God has them.
I love to think of Jesus’ church alive and on mission, but as I heard the podcast I had an even deeper passion rise up in my soul! What might happen if we would welcome the Spirit to breathe Gospel-saturated community not just into our churches but right into each of the households that make up those churches! Whether it is parents with their kids, or roommates, or friends doing life together, or a husband and wife, what opportunities each of us have to use our God-given natural connection to be (in the words of Paul Tripp) “redemptive communities.”
God has designed our households to be safe, loving training centers! Leaders of household are in a powerful place to shape a Gospel-saturated community and to demonstrate what it looks like to wake up every day available to Jesus. We can be part of His Big Story of seeing the transforming power of the Gospel brought to those in our households through trials and through letting God stretch families as we live on mission together. In those places we can process everyday trials/limitations, frustrations, joys, and celebrations while in each of these circumstances, help each other run to our Savior in prayer to ask Him to speak the truth of the Good News of Jesus over us again and again!
Some suggestions for leading your household towards being Gospel-saturated communities on mission:
Parents or leaders ask the Spirit to personally grow you and your household to see hardships, trials, and celebrations as chances to point each other to the truth of all that is ours in Jesus and to let it transform us! Practice putting the words of the Gospel into everyday language.
Set aside intentional gathering times as a household—at meals or bedtime or car trips—where you talk about the challenges and celebrations of the day. Lead the way by sharing your own honest challenges or brokenness and need for a Savior. Take time to thank God together for ways He is changing you and rooting your souls more and more in the love of Jesus.
Practice with your kids/household to see challenges as part of the way God wants to bring His redemption closer. Help them know what it would be like to humbly participate in what God is doing through the trial. Humble yourself and let your children pray over you as a leader when you are struggling.
Take time to equip your children/household to have eyes to see people in their day as ones needing to know the love of Jesus. Pray for them by name.
Take intentional time at meals or as you drive—or better yet walk—through your town to tell stories about ways each of you sees sadness or brokenness in people around you. Pray together for Jesus to come and save lost people. Stop to interact or pray with people.
Brainstorm together on creative ways you as a household can bring the presence of Jesus to your neighbors or friends. Pray about specific people together. Invite other families to go on mission with you. Use your home for welcoming people to witness what a loving community looks like. May we demonstrate to the next generation what communities of Jesus followers on mission can look like.
When you gather together with your church, share testimonies of what you see God doing and invite others to join you!
Would you join us in welcoming the Spirit of God to come and breathe life into our churches AND into our households?
May we be part of raising up generations after us who have tasted the reality of the Gospel impacting and transforming them daily and may we know the joy of living out our call to share that good life-transforming news with those God has placed around us!