Many attempts have been made at establishing sustainable Christian community. One of the reasons many fail is the tendency to become too internally focused. Search the internet for Christian community and what you typically find are groups hiding themselves away on compounds away from major population centers. God’s command to us was to be a “city on a hill, and a light to the nations” (Matt. 5:14, Isa. 42:6). Jesus engaged the community with His disciples through displaying a constant balance of engendering internal empowerment for the purpose of engaging in external mission. We propose to maintain that balance in two ways: 1) having ministries integrated into our communities, and 2) employing at the entry point of our centers a coffee shop or café where the community can gather for fellowship, but more importantly as a venue where we can naturally meet and greet the public, introduce them to our community, and share the love of Christ with them. The vision is to see the people who staff the businesses also spend time each day serving in the cafe and the ministries, to help all keep that critical balance of internal and external focus.
A New Model of Sustainable Christian Community
