The Attractional and Missional Church Models: Part 2

by Darren Rusco

In part 1, I laid out the typical missional plan of an attractional church model along with a bunch of problems I see with it. At Open Spaces we are experimenting with another model. We didn't invent this. Many people around the world function this way and more and more are joining in. I call it the missional model and it goes something like this:

• The starting point: It's not a Sunday gathering - actually that can come at the end. It starts with a believer who intentionally makes genuine friendships with unbelievers. That sounds simple, but most believers can't identify a space where they have unbelieving friends. By "friend" I mean someone you know well enough to party with or have dinner with, where deep conversations are had. Most Christians have "acquaintances" - people to whom you say hello from across the street - but friendship is too often reserved for other Christians. But to make disciples is to make friends with unbelievers.

• Missional philosophy: Unbelievers discover Jesus through friendships with believers. This is what it means to be on mission with Jesus. It may sound too harsh but it should be said: if you are not making disciples then you are not on mission with Jesus.

• Missional execution: A believer identifies a space they can enter where new friendships with unbelievers can be made. It is normal for spiritual conversations to arise as one of may topics of conversation. If someone is curious about spirituality and wants to investigate Jesus in a deeper way, you can lead them through that discovery process. If not, it's good to have a new friend. This does not need to lead to an invitation to a church service, nor should it lead to some sort of project friendship with a hidden agenda. You need to be in a place where you genuinely want a friendship with someone, sort of like Jesus did. In time, new microchurches are formed around the new believers. The new disciples become disciples who make disciples.

• Discipling or making disciples: In this model, making disciples refers to making a friendship with and unbeliever where they can discover Jesus through their relationship with you. Making disciples is a "pre-salvation process of discovery" not a "post-salvation process of maturity".

I think this model solves a bunch of problems the attractional model can't confront:

• If a believer is willing to make a friend, the model is not threatening. Because of the relational equity of a friendship, it's actually quite easy and normal to have spiritual conversations with an unbelieving friend. I've actually learned that the expectation of a believer inviting an unbeliever to a church service is quite intimidating and awkward for both parties. This is because in reality, the invite is going towards an acquaintance, with whom there is no relational equity. It's much easier to invite an acquaintance over for a coffee and no agenda than it is to a church service!

• The mission of the church is in the hands of the entire church - the people of Jesus. Mission, then, is dependent on the willingness of believers to make friendships rather than on the quality of a church service.

• Because the model will never depend on the gifts of one person, if and when movement happens, the ceiling becomes much higher - the movement is not connected to the brand of a personality or the location of a building.

• The overwhelming majority of people who follow Jesus did so through a trusted friendship. This model simply puts the believer in that setting. Remember, whereas it is fine for an unbelieving friend to join in a gathering of believers, this is not the agenda. What a relief for both parties!

• In this model, personal calling has no limits. Because the church service is not the center of the model, there is no demand on people to serve the service. So the believer has space to dream big. (In part, this is why we call our organization Open Spaces Project.)

• Because the church service is not in the center of the model, the resources (money, time, and energy) can go towards the mission. Because microchurches are formed from new followers of Jesus, money does not need to be applied to buildings and salaries. Rather it can all go to mission. (More on this to come in a future post about Open Spaces upside down financial paradigm.)

• This model gives a home to people who are wired with a more apostolic, evangelistic, or prophetic DNA. These three types have a hard time in the attractional model because the leading voice is usually a teacher who sets up a teaching center.

All of this fits within an even broader kingdom concept of identifying five common components of a gospel movement in the New Testament and throughout history. The movement of gospel doesn't start with a church service, it begins with Christians willing to engage the culture. More on that coming up!