Mission Groups are a place for people to discover and use their God-given gifts in service to Jesus Christ and others. The discerning and exercising of these gifts is meant to be a normative part of the Christian life and essential for the functioning of the Church (i.e. Matthew 5, Romans 12, I Corinthians 12 and 13). We believe that every Christian is gifted by God and called to lead at the point of her/his gifts.
Therefore, the mission group functions by shared leadership. Each mission group member is enabled to discover and exercise their gift in a role that is necessary for the healthy functioning of the group. The shared leadership role exercised by each member is not a full expression of that person’s giftedness. It is an expression of a gift needed by the group. The following list describes the basic leadership roles needed in a mission group:
- Moderator: This person oversees the flow of the meeting by keeping track of the time
and seeing that each group member exercises their leadership role. - Worship Leader: This person prepares the worship component of each meeting.
- Study Leader: This person suggests study resources in consultation with the group
members. When a resource is chosen, this person prepares questions and moderates
the discussion or the study material for each meeting. - Spiritual Director: This person receives and makes brief comments on members’
spiritual reports. Spiritual reports typically include a brief description of the person’s
experience of practicing the agreed upon spiritual disciplines along with a joy (high) and
challenge (low) since the last meeting. The Spiritual Director also provides ongoing
support and accountability to the members for the agreed upon daily spiritual practices
and prays regularly for each member. The Spiritual Director chooses another person in
the group to receive and comment on his/her spiritual report. - Mission Leader: This person leads the discussion and planning of mission related items
while also helping to hold up the “bigger picture” of the group’s calling by keeping the
group energized an involved with the mission. - Pastor/Prophet: This person raises and helps confront hard questions or difficult issues
encountered by the group while also providing a nurturing presence – speaking the
truth in love. - Communicator: Sends out information related to the life and mission of the group.
There are other gifts and shared leadership roles (i.e. Fund Raiser, Intercessor, Community Builder, etc.) that may be important for the group to include as the group discerns and follows its mission. Not all the roles need to be filled by separate people before the group can function. If there are fewer people than leadership roles, one person may exercise more than one gift. However, it is essential that each member discern and exercise a shared leadership role. At the beginning of a mission group’s life and at points along the way, members need to discuss the various roles to see which role is right for each person. This usually involves “trying on” a role for a period of time to see if it is consistent with a person’s gifts and calling. It is not recommended to simply rotate roles, because a person should never be forced to exercise a particular role. Rather, it is best to take the time, energy, prayer, and discussion to discern how the group members will “try on” and exercise the various shared leadership roles.
-Jim Melson, Cornelius Corps, New Community Church
