Sojourn Missional Matrix by Gospel Delta

SOJOURN COMMUNITY CHURCH MISSIONAL MATRIX

PURPOSE The Missional Matrix1 is a grid that we use to demonstrate how the missio dei (mission of God) should inform how we engage the world around us. As missional disciples of Jesus, the work of the gospel should infect every area of our lives. Therefore, we pray that we would never quarantine what God is doing in us, from those that God has put around us. In light of this prayer, we desire the gospel to infect every sphere of our city with hope, joy, and redemption.

SUMMARY Mission begins with incarnation. God sent His son, Jesus, to the Earth to take on human form and live within the culture. Jesus came to identify and interact with the world that He created. But more importantly, He came so that the world could be restored to a right relationship with God. In the same way, we are also called to live indigenous lives and dwell amongst our culture to restore all things to God through Jesus Christ. Incarnation is the idea that we are sent by God to dwell in a specific place, at a specific time in history, for a specific purpose (Acts 17:26). Therefore, to think and act like a missionary sent by God, we must be willing to think about how God desires us to share the gospel right where we are at all times. We must learn about our culture, identify with the people in our culture, and engage our culture with the gospel of the Kingdom. We desire for each believer in Sojourn to engage the culture through the following grid, which we call “The Missional Matrix.”

THE MISSIONAL MATRIX Location We live in a specific location for a reason. Therefore, our first missional opportunity presents itself on our block, in our neighborhood, and in our city. We desire to look for ways that we can share the gospel in word & deed with our neighbors. This may involve throwing block parties, inviting neighbors over for dinner, or helping a neighbor work on a household project. We desire to know our neighbor’s names, stories, and lives.

Vocation Every true disciple of Jesus is in full-time paid ministry. God just chooses to route our paychecks through different sources.2 We believe that the gospel renews everything, including our workplace. The people of God are called to bring gospel renewal to business, politics, education, science, media, and the arts. If you are a businessman, you are a business missionary... Called to reveal the glory of God in 1 2

Created and written by Joseph Turner, Lead Pastor of Sojourn Community Church Quoted from Soma Communities, Soma School Notes, www.somacommunities.org/learners/soma-school/ © Sojourn Community Church | Houston, Texas | www.sojournhouston.com

your business. If you are an artist, you are an artistic missionary... Called to reveal the glory of God in your artwork.

Recreation Everyone has hobbies, passions, and pleasures. We desire to engage in recreational activities with intentionality. Perhaps you can join a local running group, take an art class, or get involved in a local non-profit that is committed to a good cause. The idea of living on mission through recreation is to expand our social network. Most contemporary Christians don’t have non-Christian friends to share life with. Recreation is a great way to intentionally engage people who are far from God. Jesus was accused of being a friend of sinners, would we be accused of the same? I sure hope so.

Restoration Long ago, the rebellion that took place in the Garden of Eden caused sin, death, and destruction to enter the world. The self-seeking nature of mankind has caused thousands of years of violence, oppression, and injustice to saturate the pages of history with suffering, brokenness, and poverty. Our God, being a compassionate Father to the poor and marginalized, has called us to be a people of light in a world of darkness. As ambassadors of Christ, we are called to be ministers of reconciliation in the Earth (2nd Corinthians 5:18). Therefore, we desire to push back the darkness in our world by addressing issues of injustice, serving the poor and needy, and caring for the marginalized in our city and world. This could involve working with a local ministry that feeds the homeless, mentoring under-privileged students, or raising awareness of issues of injustice such as human trafficking.

Multiplication The foundational call to a missional life in the New Testament is found in Matthew 28:19 when Jesus commands His followers to “make disciples of all nations.” This command is most commonly known as the Great Commission. It is “Great” because it is incredibly vast and all encompassing. Through this one command we learn that Christ desires to turn the world upside by developing and deploying disciples throughout the Earth. Therefore, the primary thing we should be concerned about in the church is making and multiplying disciples. At Sojourn we do this primarily through multiplying Fight Clubs, Missional Communities, planting new churches, and partnering with church-planters around the world. Everyone in Sojourn is encouraged to engage in these venues of multiplication because we believe that everyone in Sojourn has a part to play in the Great Commission.

APPLYING THE MATRIX TO MISSIONAL COMMUNITY We desire that every Missional Community in Sojourn engage in mission by using the matrix as follows. 

Every Missional Community should reach out to the people on the block or in the complex in which they meet (Location).

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Every Missional Community should encourage each other to be on mission at their place of employment/education (Vocation).

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Every Missional Community should be intentional about recreating together. Perhaps at a local coffee shop, gym, concert venue, pub, or park in order to become a regular (Recreation).

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Every Missional Community should serve in at least one mercy ministry project a month. Perhaps with Habitat for Humanity, Free the Captives, Ronald McDonald House, Star of Hope, Etc (Restoration).

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Every Missional Community should “be born pregnant.” Meaning, every Missional Community must begin with a leader and an apprentice. The apprentices will be expected to start their own Missional Community within 6 to 12 months. Also, each Missional Community must partner with/adopt a missionary overseas to pray for and engage in relationship with (Multiplication).

Note: Some Missional Communities will be stronger in a particular area than others. Perhaps one Missional Community might gain a lot of traction with their neighborhood and another might gain a lot of traction reaching out to local artists at a concert venue. The Missional Community will need to use discernment in terms of which area they should invest the majority of their time, energy, and resources. We don’t want to create a checklist of rules for the Missional Community to follow but a set of guidelines to help steer the group in the right direction.