Learning Again… Everyday People On Mission In The Places We Live, Work, And Play
We confess we are learning again. Learning what it means to courageously join God in his mission of redeeming the world — one Dallas-Fort Worth neighborhood, workplace, amusement park, school, movie theater, and pub. — In reality one friendship at a time.
That was the rally cry of the recent Forge Dallas Summer 2018 Leadership Gathering at host site Valley Ranch Baptist Church in Coppell, TX. Forge Dallas is part of the greater Forge America missional movement with eighteen hubs around the country and eight countries worldwide. Their hope is to see the reign of God revealed in the everyday places women and men live, work, and play.
Alan Hirsch, Forge Mission Training Network Founder writes, “We want to take this adjective missional — and make it a living reality in the lives of Christians everywhere. ALL Christians, whether suburban or urban, blue collar or white collar, have already been sent by God on a mission and they have tremendous kingdom potential in the here and now of their current situations.”
Forge Dallas is a growing collaboration of everyday missional practitioners from all walks of life. This eclectic cohort of school teachers, social workers, stay at home parents, real estate agents, IT professionals, corporate trainers, business leaders, medical professionals, and pastors hold in common their love of Jesus and resolve that they are “sent” of God to the places they live, work, and play. (John 20:21)
Jim Mustain is the Director of Forge Dallas and Loving Community a faith based community organization based out of Lewisville, TX. He says that, “Forge Dallas, which came to the Metroplex in 2010, plays such an important role in our communities and churches. Through it’s missionary training residency and other events and resources it both inspires and equips people to live out their ‘sent-ness’ in the everyday places they live, work, and play.”
Jim and his wife Sharon represent one of these “missional expressions”. It takes on the form of empowering community members who volunteer in local schools, senior adult homes, partnering with city government and the business community, and training churches to engage their communities. Loving Community’s eight community initiatives serve under the mantra of “being good neighbors by connecting people into relationships and serving the needs of the community.”
Forge Dallas currently has 76 alumni of their local 5-month Missionary Residency program which is led by Kevin Davis of McKinney, TX. These alumni represent ten geographical areas (and growing) in the metroplex which are currently developing relevant missional expressions in their communities and contexts with the hope of bringing a little heaven to earth!
To learn more about Forge Dallas, connect to a local gathering or missional practitioner, become part of the missional movement, or gain more insight about training opportunities including one day events, church speakers/consultants or the upcoming missionary training resident program check out the website at www.forgedallas.org or contact Jim Mustain jmustain@forgedallas.org or Kevin Davis kdavis@forgedallas.org.
