Outward and integrated

This is an important piece of the jigsaw; movements cannot exist unless there is an effective process of spreading. In the case of the church, spreading involves going out from where we already are and becoming embedded in the culture wherever the 'going out' takes us.

Outward and Integrated

Jesus told the eleven, 'Go and make disciples of all nations ... teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you'. (Matthew 28:19-20) That must include teaching them to go and make disciples that will in turn 'obey everything I have commanded you'. It's not a single-generation command; it must be handed on to the next generation and the next and the next. It must be obeyed by every generation of disciples.

And Paul (who understood this command of Jesus very clearly) said that he had learned to become all things to all people. What did he mean by this? He meant that amongst Jews he would be Jewish, amongst Greeks he'd be Greek, and in Rome he'd be Roman. Why? So that by all possible means he might reach some. (1 Corinthians 9:22)

Reaching people therefore has two parts - going out and going deep, outward and integrated. We reach people by sharing the gospel, the good news that Jesus has conquered sin and death and is alive! But people are not always willing to hear this from strangers, they are far more likely to listen to people they trust, people who are like them and live amongst them.