Plan for Missional Engagement

Igreja Vivendo em Cristo (Living in Christ Church)

By
David James Dawson
MC506: Leading a Missional Church
Spring 2014
Fuller Theological Seminary
Dr. Karen Parchman
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction.......................................................................................................................4
Section 1 - Who: Historical and sociological analysis of IVC............................................5
Section 2 - Where: Description of IVCs socio-cultural and religious context of
mission............................................................................................................................10
Cultures and religions present in context of Curitiba, Brazil................................10
Personal Evaluation of attitudes of IVC towards those of other cultures and other
faiths....................................................................................................................14
Section 3 - What, Locally: IVC as a missionary people of God in its local contexts.......15
Social mosaics that are natural bridges of outreach of IVCs surrounding
communities.........................................................................................................15
Congregation's missional orientation to its communities, state whether
introverted, extroverted, or a combination of both...............................................18
Suggestions about those positive and negative elements found in both the
congregation's and the communities that affect the ministrys missional outreach
.............................................................................................................................20
Geographic Community.............................................................................20
Program Community..................................................................................21
Relational Community...............................................................................21
Section 4 - What, Globally: IVCs partnerships: church-to-church connections,
organizational standards relating to partnerships, and ecumenical relationship............21
IVCc inter-church and inter-denominational, cooperative endeavors.................21
How IVC cooperates in its denominational mission partnership..........................24
2
Section 5 - Where do we go from here and why should we go there?: IVCs Missional
Ecclesiology....................................................................................................................26
Theological: A Missional Ecclesiology for IVC.....................................................26
Praxeological: Congradulations and recommendations.......................................31
Conclusion......................................................................................................................34
References Cited............................................................................................................36
Appendix A......................................................................................................................39
3
INTRODUCTION
This paper is a a Plan for Missional Engagement for a Igreja Vivendo em Cristo
1
,
as it represents the people of God. IVC is located in Curitiba, population of 3.5 million
2
,
a bustling metropolis with the typical civic energy of a large Latin American city.
Located on the high costal plateau of Southern Brazil, Curitiba has a subtropical climate
where it rains half the year
3
. But what it lacks in agreeable climate the city makes up for
with culture and infrastructure, being considered the cultural and ecological capital of
the country. The goal of this paper is to help this faith community comprehend its
current role in the missio Dei. Practical ideas will be presented to encourage this
church to engage in Gods work in the world in a more holistic way.
IVC is currently in the middle of a challenging six month struggle since our former
rental building was put up for sale. Since then we have moved to provisional facilities at
a Youth With a Mission base. Holding our meetings at lent classrooms has taken its toll
on our already small membership, bringing us from an average of 70 to 40 participants
for Sunday Worship services. About half of these are from the YWAM base itself, so our
congregation has significantly dwindled.
At the same time we have seen a remnant committed to meeting together for
prayer and communion during the week and we are holding on to a prophetic word
given to our church at the beginning of this transition. The word stated that our church
was going to pass through a situation where we would feel like we were losing ground
1 i.e., Living in Christ Church, hereafter referred to as IVC
2 G1 Brasil, August 29, 2013, "Populao brasileira ultrapassa marca de 200 milhes, diz IBGE",
(Brazilian Population Passes 200 Million Mark), http://g1.globo.com/brasil/noticia/2013/08/populacao-
brasileira-ultrapassa-marca-de-200-milhoes-diz-ibge.html (Accessed March 18, 2014)
3 Cesca, Heliberton, "A cada dois dias, um choveu em Curitiba no ltimo ano" (Last year it rained in
Curitiba one out of two days), Gazeta do Povo, December 25, 2011,
http://www.gazetadopovo.com.br/vidaecidadania/conteudo.phtml?id=1205428 (Accessed March13,
2014).
4
and moving backwards. The positive aspect of this prophecy was that this situation
would be like the pulling back of a catapult. We are standing on the word that through
this difficult time God is launching us into a new season of vision, fruitfulness and
influence in our city and beyond.
Section 1 - Who: Historical and sociological analysis of IVC
IVC was planted by pastor John Hwang who was sent out in 2003 with a team
from a church in Corvallis, Oregon associated with the Calvary Chapel Association
based in the U.S. The church was launched through several weeks of street
evangelism and weekly Bible studies in a rented facility in downtown Curitiba. Thus,
the initial thrust behind the birth of this community was financially backed by one
North American sponsor church.
Initially my wife and I had moved to Curitiba to work with another churchplant.
But within the first months of the Calvary Chapel teams landing in Curitiba we joined
the work. During the first two years a community of mostly youth was formed around
the founding pastors strong teaching gift and frequent street evangelism
outreaches. In 2005 when an opportunity to pioneer a new Bible College in a
neighboring city arose, the founding pastor gave me the opportunity to take over as
senior pastor.
At the time I took over there was a church membership of around 30 with weekly
sunday service attendance averaging 50. My leadership style was extremely
different than the founding pastor. The founding pastor was an exceptional expositor
of Scripture who attracted lots of youth and university students. Often he would hold
5
question-and-answer conferences regarding Scripture which would be open to
participants of all denominations. Within the two years he was in Curitiba our
founding pastor had already gained notoriety as one of the best Bible teachers in
town. I also have passion and gifting for teaching but use a much more interactive
and participatory style, i.e., pedagogical. Instead of crafting masterful sermons, my
abilities lie more in developing environments which are conducive to collaborative
learning.
In the subsequent years IVC has been characterized by a membership made up
mostly of young families. Economically our congregation is mostly middle-class with
a quarter coming from the Non-profit religious sector, mostly working with Youth With
a Mission. My wife and I have worked with YWAM ourselves for twenty years.
Consequently, there has always existed a strong level of participation and
partnership between IVC and this parachurch organization.
A few times our church has come close to creating a local community base. For
the most part, however, the members of IVC come from various parts of the greater
Curitiba area commuting to Sunday services. That said, from 2006 to 2013 IVC did
move towards a somewhat more cohesive local presence. About a third of our
congregation live in neighborhoods on the north side of of downtown.
Over the years most of IVCs membership have migrated from other evangelical
churches, predominantly Pentecostal. This is not to say that there havent been any
conversions. We have consistently attracted members from other churches (without
any form of soliciting) and a handful of new converts annually.
6
I believe there are two primary points of attraction which draw the majority of
those who come from other denominations to IVC. The first motive is our churchs
informal membership policy. Many members of our congregation come from what
they consider to be a legalistic church culture. In these contexts service, attendance
and financial contribution were coerced from the pulpit. Tabs were kept on who was
fulfilling these obligations and those who was not.
I consider IVCs second point of attraction to be our less aggressive and public
approach to the exercise of Spiritual Gifts. The largest Christian demographic
besides the Roman Catholic Church in Brazil is the Pentecostal movement. The
majority of transfer growth to IVC has come from this movement. IVC identifies itself
as Pentecostal regarding the existence and exercise of spiritual gifts as present
realities in the Church. That said, in public worship services at IVC spiritual gifts are
exercised in a more personal and private than typical Brazilian Pentecostalism.
Those who need prayer for healing or other needs can receive prayer before or after
service times by individuals from IVCs leadership team.
On this note, I believe it is worth mentioning that regarding the exercise of
spiritual gifts IVC is substantially less conservative than the Calvary Chapel
Association to which it belongs. Within the Calvary Chapel churchplanting
movement there is a level of diversity regarding doctrine and practice. Some warmly
debated issues in the Calvary Chapel Association at present are the exercise of
spiritual gifts, female leadership and the emergent movement. I do not believe that
our church is at odds with Calvary Chapel doctrine and values, but I would
characterize our community as on the liberal side of this spectrum.
7
Our church leadership consists of three teams. First, IVC has a board which
deals mostly with financial decisions. Second we have an eldership which
supervises all other ministry decisions and departments such as childrens ministry,
hospitality, cleaning, etc. Third is our discipleship group leaders team made up of
couples and individuals who organize and conduct small groups in homes or other
venues.
As senior pastor my role consists mainly of presiding over the board, leading the
eldership and discipleship teams, crisis counseling for the general congregation and
teaching Sunday services. The assistant pastor supervises the worship ministry and
together with his wife oversees financial and legal logistics. The church provides a
salary for both pastors - full time for senior and part time for assistant - and all other
ministry is performed by unpaid volunteers.
We have no missions department because we see Gods Mission to reveal
Himself and redeem all of Creation as the center of who we are as a community and
all we do. Although we develop practical projects to manifest Christs Kingdom, our
main focus is forming disciples - individually and collectively - who understand and
endeavor to fulfill their missional vocation.
Over the past three years the public worship ministry of IVC has made a
substantial move towards decentralization. Teaching and worship ministry have
been delegated on a consistent basis. At least once a month someone from the
congregation or an outside speaker does the Sunday service teaching.
It has always been my goal as senior pastor to develop an egalitarian church
culture which emphasizes the priesthood of all believers
4
. The core of ur
4 I Pet. 2:9
8
programmatic vision is intimate, informal meetings during the week and a general
meeting on Sundays. However, it has been with difficulty that we have formed
leaders for small-group ministry and growth has been slow.
Currently we are looking for a new rental location. Our primary vision for this
facility is a new Arts and Language center
5
. Our purpose is multifaceted but there
are three primary factors. First, our church believes that it is called to Curitiba city
proper which is an expensive property cost area. By forming a for-profit business
our community will be able to establish a permanent physical presence in a central
neighborhood of the city.
Second, our church wants to effectively influence the greater metropolitan area
as well as the local neighborhood. So often a local church is seen as an economic
dead zone by neighborhood dwellers as well as city government. By creating a
business we contribute to the local economy as well as providing a service for the
city at large. The proceeds from the classes would be divided between the teachers
and the rest reinvested into the center itself. As far as the church use of the facility,
this would occur primarily on Sundays because our main emphasis for meeting as a
community during the week is at home fellowship groups. We don't envision
financial profit beyond the developing of the center itself and providing a part-time
income for the teachers.
Third, our community is made up of many members whose creative abilities are
underused in the ministry our church seeks to operate. By creating and Arts and
Language center we provide a context for more members of our community to
engage in addressing a social need of our city. Primarily, the social need we
5 See Appendix A-i
9
desire to address is the sedentariness and isolation of children in metropolitan
Curitiba. We desire to provide a space where children and parents can interact with
other families while participating in educational and otherwise enriching activities.
We have begun to communicate with potential investors but have done so along
philanthropic lines. So far we have only solicited pro bono investments but we are
open to soliciting investment for profit in the future.
Section 2 - Where: Description of IVCs Socio-Cultural and Religious
Context of Mission
Cultures and Religions Present in Context of Curitiba, Brazil
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to immigrate to what is now Brazil
during the seventeenth century. The social institution which formed the Brazilian
people more than any other was cunhadismo, the indigenous custom of
incorporating foreigners through intermarriage
6
. Diverse european colonial powers
used this practice to recruit labor and establish their claim to territories where
specific tribes were located. Both the europeans colonizers and the indigenous
population also mixed with the African slaves
7
.
Curitibas demographic constitution is the result of the multiplication of those
three basic ethnic groups of which the general Brazilian population is composed:
Indigenous, European and African
8
. Southern Brazil, however is more characterized
by later waves of European immigrants. Within this context, Curitibas unique
6 Ribeiro, Darcy, 1995, O Povo Brasileiro: A Formao e o Sentido do Brasil. So Paulo: Companhia das
Letras, 81
7 Ibid., 96
8 Encontra Paran, Sobre Curitiba (About Curitiba), http://www.encontraparana.com.br/sobre-curitiba.htm
(Accessed April 24, 2014).
10
culture is formed by Polish, Ukrainian, Italian, German and Japanese immigrant
colonies. The fact that these immigrant communities tended to maintain much of
their ancestral cultures can be observed in Curitiba today.
The population of Curitiba consists of 77.4% white, 18.2 % brown, 2.9 % black
and 1.4% yellow and indigenous
9
. The last phrase uses the specific terms I found in
an official source for the demographics of Curitiba. Its interesting to note the
ambiguity of the terms and politically incorrect connotation in my native North
American culture. On the street the observable fact is that Curitibas population
consists primarily of European descendants
10
.
On to a discussion of Curitibas religious demographics. Similar to all Brazilian
cities Curitiba has a large percentage of Roman Catholics. Three of the four
municipal holidays come from the Catholic liturgical calendar: Good Friday, Corpus
Christi and Our Lady of Light, patron saint of Curitiba
11
. Until Brazil was declared a
republic in 1889 the official religion of the country was Roman Catholicism. The
practice of other religions was only permitted in a private domestic setting. Religious
freedom only came to the country in 1890. According to the most recent national
census, Roman Catholics consist of 73% of the population with
Protestants, termed Evanglicos, at 15.41%
12
. 67.6% of Brazilian Evangelicals are
Pentecostal. Research done by Catholic leadership in Curitiba shows a steady
9 IBGE, Paran - Curitiba. 2014. Cidades@ (@Cities), http://cidades.ibge.gov.br/xtras/perfil.php?
codmun=410690 (Accessed June 6, 2014)
10 Ibid.
11 Wikipdia: A Enciclopdia Livre. 2010. Memorial a Nossa Senhora da Luz dos Pinhais (Our Lady of
Light So Jose dos Pinhais Memorial),
http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_a_Nossa_Senhora_da_Luz_dos_Pinhais (Accessed June 4, 2014).
12 Revista Catlica Aratos. 2000. Igreja Catlica Romana em Curitiba (PR): estruturas da
territorialidade sob o pluralismo religioso (Roman Catholic Church in Curitiba, PR: territorial structures
under religious pluralism), http://br.monografias.com/trabalhos917/igreja-curitiba-territorialidade/igreja-
curitiba-territorialidade2.shtml, (Accessed June 4, 2014).
11
decline as a result of religious pluralism and the inability to break out of a caricature
of ceremonial traditionalism. The largest religious group in Curitiba after the Roman
Catholic Church are the Evangelical Christians
13
.
Of particular interest regarding the religious demographics of Curitiba is the
history of Lutheranism
14
, which began in Southern Brazil in 1824
15
. During the
period when Roman Catholicism was the only religion permitted in Brazil, marriages
performed by Protestant clergy were not recognized by the state. Children born to
marital unions non sanctioned by the Catholic Church were considered illegitimate.
The status of Protestant families only changed in 1863 when non Catholic clergy
were given this right. These conditioned contributed to the Lutheran church
becoming a self-sustaining community. In addition to being spiritual leaders,
Lutheran pastors were counsellors on legal matters, teachers of liberal arts and
doctors. For the next two centuries the Lutheran church largely considered itself an
ethnic church catering to german immigrants and their descendants. This
characterizes the identity of the Lutheran Church in Southern Brazil to this day
16
.
Other immigrants also formed religious communities in Curitiba which remain
highly influential to their ethnic groups. Similar to the Lutheran example, these
religious organizations cater to specific ethnic demographics in the city. The largest
of these ethnically oriented religious communities in Curitiba are the Ukrainian
Orthodox and Greek Orthodox of Antioch Churches.
13 Ibid.
14 For a synopsis on the history of Christianity in Brazil see Appendix A-ii
15 Lenz Csar, Elben M. 2000. Histria da evangelizao do Brasil; dos jesutas aos neopentecostais
(History of the Evangelization of Brazil; from the jesuits to neopentecostals). Viosa : Ultimato, 2000.
16 Ibid.
12
The only estimate I could come up with for the muslim population in Curitiba is
1,500
17
, which however seems much too low. These are mostly Lebanese, followed
by Palestinians and Syrians. The largest Mosque is a mile from my home which I
pass every day as I take my children to school. The Muslim Society of Paran is
also located at this Mosque
18
. A study in 2010 estimated that around 1000 jewish
families live in the Brazilian state of Paran, the majority in the capital Curitiba
19
.
Most of the jewish community in Curitiba practice a conservative, orthodox form of
Judaism
20
.
I have mentioned some of the more prominent ethnic religious communities, the
other religious communities present in the city are less ethnically centered. These
would include Latin American Spiritism. This form of Spiritism sharing many
fundamental concepts with nineteenth century North American Spiritualism
21
. As
books on mediumship became available in the Caribbean and Latin America they
struck a chord with existing traditions of ancestor worship and trance possession in
pre-existing Native South American and African religious systems
22
. The last
religious communities with significant representation worth mentioning are Gnostic
and Buddhist.

17 Instituto Brasileiro de Estudos Islmicos, 2007. Sociedade Muulmana do Paran faz 50 anos
(Muslim Society of Paran turns 50) http://www.ibeipr.com.br/noticias.php?id_noticia=138 (Accessed
June 4, 2014).
18 Ibid.
19 Federao Israelita do Paran, 2010. Os judeus no Paran (The Jews of Paran)
http://www.feipr.org.br/judeuspr.aspx (Accessed June, 4 2014).
20 For more information on Jewish immigration to Curitiba, see Appendix A-iii
21 Wikipedia. 2014. Espiritismo (Spiritism) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espiritismo (Accessed June 4,
2014).
22 Ibid.
13
Personal Evaluation of attitudes of IVC towards those of other cultures and
other faiths
Ethnic background has not been an influential factor in how the members of our
congregation form their own circles of relationship. Our church has never
consciously attempted to reach out to any specific ethnic or religious community in
the city of Curitiba. Our attitude has resembled that of Brazilian culture in general -
to acknowledge and celebrate cultural differences on a superficial level. In order to
maintain peace between different cultural groups Brazilians tend to maintain
caricatures instead of addressing deeper, potentially problematic issues
23
.
Our faith community is surrounded, particularly because of our central location in
the city, by the largest concentration of ethnic diversity in our metropolis. So often
our attitude as a community has been one of passivity towards other religious
communities. This has been true whether our neighboring religious communities are
of a Christian tradition or other. For our congregation, the idea of reaching out in
dialogue to Buddhist, Muslim or Spiritist communities would be much more inviting
than reaching out to other Christian traditions. Perhaps our passive attitude towards
other significantly different Christian traditions in our city is that we judge them all to
be nominal believers. Perhaps our community hasnt sought dialogue with these
other Christian groups because we assume that they arent interested in spiritual
things at all. This has often been the rhetoric of Protestantism in Latin America as I
have experienced it. I should qualify here to say that I refer specifically to Christian
traditions such as Roman Catholicism and Greek Orthodox. Regarding Latin
American Spiritism, which considers itself to be a stream within Christianity,
23 For elaboration on Brazilian race relations see Appendix A-iv
14
Protestants in Brazil would not categorize them by a nominal stereotype. At least we
admire Spiritists for their belief in and search for supernatural expressions from the
spirit world.

Section 3 - What, Locally: IVC as a missionary people of God in its

local contexts
Social mosaics that are natural bridges of outreach of IVCs surrounding
communities
Social mosaics are the geographic, programatic and relational communities
which surround our ministries. A church leader determines where these mosaics exist
by asking, Where are our people monday through friday?
24
. As disciples of Christ,
church members should be moving out into their individual worlds. The sacred versus
secular divide created by the Enlightenment has eroded the understanding that the
world belongs to God. Natural bridges of God are where people play, work, connect,
etc
25
.
One natural relationship bridge which exists between the members of our
congregation and the outside community is family. Our congregation consists primarily
of young families who relate frequently to other parents whose children attend the same
schools. Several families from our church have children at the same school.
Another natural relational bridge our community experiences in connection with
family is that of weekend gatherings with relatives where non-believers are often
present. A frequent sociological analysis of Brazilians is that they are divided into a
24 Parchmen, Karen, 2014, MC506 Course Shell, Lecture 6 - Furthering Your Churchs Mission Locally,
p. 1
25 Ibid.
15
passive majority and an active minority
26
. Thus Brazilians generally characterize their
own culture as non-confrontational. This makes discussing matters of faith with family
members often proves a sensitive matter. A natural bridge into the community would be
offering workshops on conflict resolution.
Business is another aspect of life in Brazil which provides another context of
interrelating with non-believers. Brazil has the third largest number of entrepreneurs in
the world representing 27% of the population
27
. A large percentage of our church
community is self-employed whose informal work context is conducive to building
relationships. Individuals in our church who work in creative fields such as design,
photography and music tend to use informal networking. Communities of Practice
28

could be a useful framework to use for relationship building between entrepreneurs in a
particular field.
In larger corporate work environments specific opportunities for relational
development exist in the form of employee retreats, training events and lunch / coffee
beaks. Several members of IVC also participate in the network of leadership and team
development consultants associated with the Leadership Development Seminar
29
.
Offering these consulting services to companies where members of our congregation
are employed is a potential natural bridge of relationship.
26 Folha Online. Santos, Milton. 1999. Nao Ativa, Nao Passiva (Active Nation, Passive Nation)
http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/fol/brasil500/dc_3_2.htm (Accessed June 5 2014)
27 Exame.com. 2012. Brasil o terceiro maior pas em nmero de empreendedores (Brazil has third
largest number of entrepreneurs worldwide) http://exame.abril.com.br/pme/noticias/brasil-e-o-terceiro-
maior-pais-em-numero-de-empreendedores (Accessed June 4, 2014)
28 COPs are Groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and
who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis. Wenger,
Etienne; McDermott, Richard A.; Snyder, William. 2002. Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to
Managing Knowledge. Boston: Perseus Books Group. Kindle Edition. (p. 4)
29 See page 29 of this paper
16
Leisure contexts also provide opportunities to build relationships. In terms of
physical activities, the priority of men and women in our congregation is health.
Therefore, athletic pursuits such as running, cycling and martial arts are most popular in
our church membership. Stronger still among the leisure activities of the men in our
church are artistic areas of art, particularly music, visual and culinary arts. The women
of our church use social media to connect for dialogue on home decoration, cooking,
child raising, health and fashion.
Another means of connection between the women in our church and the outside
community is in regards to social needs such as family counseling. The need for
marriage and child raising counseling is an issue which links the women of our church
to women of different faiths in the city. This pursuit should be as strong among the men
of our church because of our biblical call to family leadership. These connections are
especially important for Brazilian men because of the growing change of gender roles in
families here
30
. Brazilian men are feeling the pressure to participate more actively in
raising children and helping with domestic administration
31
.
Lastly I will mention college, university and other informal educational contexts
such as workshops and seminars attended by the members of our church. A third of our
church members are in full-time college and two-thirds are involved in some form of
adult education.
30 Sade Plena, Lled, Maria Jlia, 2013. Homem com h minsculo: historiadora expe o declnio do
macho contemporneo (Man With a Little H: Author Exposes the Decline of the Contemporary Macho
Man),
http://sites.uai.com.br/app/noticia/saudeplena/noticias/2013/12/11/noticia_saudeplena,146734/homem-
com-h-minusculo-historiadora-poe-a-nu-o-declinio-do-macho-conte.shtml (Accessed June 5, 2014)
31 Ibid.
17
Congregation's missional orientation to its communities, state whether
introverted, extroverted, or a combination of both
IVC leans more towards a Culture Affirming community orientation than a
Counter Culture orientation
32
. Our teaching ministry focuses on bringing application to
the home and marketplace lives of the congregation. Our community does not withdraw
mentally from society at large. Our church is a refuge from the world in the sense that
we nurture and train our members for further missional engagement. However, there is
a lack of distinction between the lifestyle of our congregation and the non-believing
world
33
. We engage in the culture which surrounds us primarily in terms of
consumerism not as agents of influence. Our church needs to find the balance
between Counter Culture and Culture Affirming which is ideal for missional activity to
flourish
34
.
Here I will evaluate IVC in n light of the Johnsons 5 Fold Taxonomy of
Congregational Self-Identity
35
. Like the Survivor Church, IVC has shares the view of
Brazilians in general Brazilian that the situation of their nation is overwhelming. As a a
teaching pastor I must constantly work against a general tendency in the population
towards fatalism regarding justice and inequality. At IVC we seldom mobilize
collectively to translate crises in the society into causes like the Crusader Church. We
are engaged emotionally and mentally in the social issues of Brazil and Curitiba, but our
approach resembles more that of the Servant Church - helping individuals quietly and
32 Counter Cultural - separatist/exclusivist (no mission). Culture Affirming - Live no differently than
broader culture (no mission) (Parchman, Karen E. 2014. MC506 Leading a Missional Church, Course
Shell, Lecture 6 - Furthering Your Church's Mission Locally, Fuller Theological Seminary, p. 2)
33 Only 11% of non-Christians researched in the U.S. said they perceived Christians lifestyles as different
from the general population (Parchman, Karen E. 2014. MC506 Leading a Missional Church, Course
Shell, Lecture 6 - Furthering Your Church's Mission Locally, Fuller Theological Seminary)
34 Ibid.
35 See Appendix A-v
18
faithfully. The two profiles which least represent IVC would be the Pillar Church and
Pilgrim Church. Our church draws families and individuals from around the metropolitan
area of our sprawling city of 3 million. Our church culture is formed around three pillars
which influence both our priorities and practices. We value Gods truth revealed in
Scripture, we enjoy Gods love for humanity and we participate in Gods Mission to
incarnate His Present and Coming Kingdom. In this sense we have never effectively
taken responsibility for a local neighborhood. Nor have we ever been formed around
the history of a particular cultural group (ethnic, national, mainstream our subculture) in
our city
36
.
Approaching next the four categories elaborated in Roozen et al.s Varieties of
Religious Presence
37
, I make the following observations. The most similar description is
that of the Citizen community. IVC shares the Activists view that the primary sphere of
Gods redemption is the world, and that humanity - in the form of a Spirit-empowered
Church - is His vehicle of choice to that end. However, similar to the Citizen community
IVC seeks to participate in this redemptive work primarily through the spheres of culture
and education rather than politics
38
.
Suggestions about those positive and negative elements found in both the
congregation's and the communities that affect the ministrys missional outreach
Geographic Community
39
:
36 Ibid.
37 See Appendix A-i
38 Ibid.
39 The geographic, programmatic and relational communities which surround a church are the starting
point for describing and assessing the social mosaics which are its natural bridges of outreach to the
surrounding community (Parchman, Karen E. 2014. MC506 Leading a Missional Church, Course Shell,
Lecture 6 - Furthering Your Church's Mission Locally, Fuller Theological Seminary. p. 1)
19
Most of the existing natural relational bridges between members of IVC and the
outside community are not geographically centered. However, since we are in the
process of moving to a new facility this is an opportunity for our church to prayerfully
and observantly develop new plans to be a friend to the local neighborhood.
Program Community:
The three main programmatic focal points of our church are the weekly public
worship services, home fellowships in homes and the Arts and Language Center. We
are looking for a central location to attract participants in the Arts and Language center
from around the metropolitan area
40
.
Relational Community:
IVC has sought to provide a hospitable context where people from the local
vicinity can come and experience the Kingdom of God
41
. We have not been as effective
at getting into our neighbors boats as Jesus did with Peter. It is important to make the
distinction between the two. Most of our congregations relational circles are not
geographically centered. Our close friends dont live near us, and if they do it is by
chance rather than resulting from such proximity. Although this makes centralizing our
church locally, building on these relational circles can result in a web of local impact
across the city.
40 For more information on IVCs home fellowship network, see Appendix A-vi
41 Parchman, Karen E. 2014. MC506 Leading a Missional Church, Course Shell, Lecture 5: Missional
Ecclesiology and Introduction to Interpretive Leadership
, A Neighborhood Parable, Fuller Theological Seminary
20
Section 4 - What, Globally: IVCs partnerships: church-to-church
connections, organizational standards relating to partnerships, and
ecumenical relationship
IVCc inter-church and inter-denominational, cooperative endeavors
One of the most unique characteristics of IVC is its relationship with Youth With a
Mission. YWAM is committed to train and send missionaries, "Into each sphere of
society to fulfill the Great Commission by reflecting Gods character and principles in
their everyday work"
42
. Therefore our relationship with YWAM provides opportunities for
holistic engagement including physical, social and spiritual attempts. Our church has no
official connection to YWAM, only partnerships where the church provides physical
space and other resources for particular projects. The YWAM missionaries who are
members of our congregation work with other denominations and organizations in the
city - Christian and non.
The primary reason for IVCs partnership with YWAM is the fact the senior pastor
is an active member of YWAM. There is a strategic benefit for a pastor to also be part
of a parachurch organization. Ministries that are locally and relationally intensive tend
to have an element of exclusivity. Focusing intensely on a local sphere limits broader
engagement. Within this category I would include local churches and other local
community based type ministries such as an orphanage, school, or mercy ministry
operation. Parachurch organizations are less locally and relationally intensive.
Relational and local exclusivity are key strengths of a local church. A local church
appeals to people by being a covenant community with certain relational and
42 UofN Kona, 2014, About Spheres of Society, http://www.uofnkona.edu/about/about-the-spheres-of-
society-2/ (Accessed June 5, 2014)
21
geographical boundaries. Ralph Winters research is a key resource on the potential for
synergy between local church and parachurch organizations
43
.
My primary involvement in YWAM is via an annual YWAM school called Ministry
Development Seminar (MDS) which I founded and direct. This seminar runs six weeks
tuesday to friday nights. Our team is also involved in ministry consultation and one to
four day seminars, mostly around the metropolitan area of Curitiba but increasingly in
other parts of the country as well. Our training programs represent holistic engagement
because we prepare believers to exercise their faith through spiritual, physical and
social efforts. Half of the MDS team are also members of the IVC congregation. Our
programs are held at parachurch organizations, local churches and businesses.
A group of women from our congregation and other churches pioneered a
womens prayer meeting for the private Lutheran school. Several families from IVC
have their children at this school. Through this meeting healthy interdenominational
relationships are being developed. This prayer meeting represents a social
engagement as these women pray for the continued excellence of the school which
serves both their children and the larger community.
Our worship band is involved in events at other churches periodically through the
leadership of our talented worship pastor. Pastor Tlio, who is also assistant pastor, is
a well-known worship leader and musician in our city. Through him our worship ministry
is able to play at other churches and IVC regularly receives musicians from other
churches as well, generally from the Baptist denomination.
43 Winter, Ralph D. 1973, The Two Structures of Gods Redemptive Mission.
http://www.pathwaysinternational.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/The-Two-Structures-of-Gods-
Redemptive-Mission.pdf. (Accessed June 5, 2014). Pasadena: Presbyterian Center for Mission Studies
22
Lastly and more recently, over the past two years IVC has developed a
partnership with a house church movement based out of Los Angeles called The Study.
The Study grew out of a churchplant where my with and I served 13 years ago and with
whose leadership we always maintained close contact. IVC is in the process of
adopting The Studys innovative house church service format for our home fellowships.
The long-term results of this are still to be seen. Initially our church has had some
difficulty embracing the new home fellowship format, but Im hopeful for the future.
How IVC cooperates in its denominational mission partnership
Unfortunately in this respect I feel IVC has much more room to grow. Calvary
Chapel in Brazil is very loosely organized and the churches are few and spread far
across this vast country. Perhaps part of IVCs lack of stronger ties to and partnership
with our denomination is my own lack of relationship with the other pastors. Pastor
Tlio is much more gregarious and extroverted than I. Through Tlio good relationships
have been maintained with a handful of other Calvary Chapel churches in neighboring
states. I have maintained sporadic meetings with the pastor of the other Calvary
Chapel in our own city.
Part of the reason for the lack of partnership with our sister church in Curitiba is
that when it was planted a significant number of IVCs membership left to join it. In a
sense we went through a mild church split although we never recognized it as such in
order to not create more ill will. However a level of competitiveness and lack of desire
to invest in relationship has unfortunately existed between our churches. At this point
though so many of the church members who would remember the history between the
23
two Calvary Chapels in Curitiba are no longer present in either churches. For this
reason Im confident that if the other pastor and myself can build relational unity we can
build joint ventures.
As far as international connection between IVC and Kingdom endeavors
overseas, there is also much room to grow here as well. The only form of annual
missions trip where IVC engages with other denominations and ministries overseas
happens through those missionary couples in the church such as my wife and I who do
annual support-raising trips. During these trips my wife and I participate in conferences
and minister at churches and missions bases of diverse denominational/organizational
backgrounds. It has occurred to me that it would be great to involve our church
somehow in these types of activities. For example every year in Los Angeles my wife
and I organize an event called Caf Brazil to network and promote ministry in Brazil.
People from diverse denominations and organizations participate. The problem is that
involving the church in our our U.S. trips could undermine the purpose of spending
quality time with our North American partners.
IVC has been involved in sending individuals or teams on short-term missions
trips. Generally an individual member of the congregation gets a vision for such a
project and rallies support. Our church tends to employ a somewhat hands-off
philosophy regarding interdenominational/interorganizational mission partnerships. The
leadership regularly encourages an apostolic spirit from the pulpit. Then those who
respond with vision are given access to church resources and opportunities to solicit
help from the congregation. One downside of this approach is that many of those who
respond with vision are not able to rally the congregation around them to form teams
24
and raise support. In these situations our leadership usually doesnt intervene based on
a kind of sink-or-swim leadership development paradigm. The idea is that leadership is
the whole ball game. If a project doesnt get off the ground its because the primary
leader lacks ability, experience or calling. We often let potential project pioneers know
at the beginning to expect this type of approach. However, this approach frequently
leaves the ministerial entrepreneurs disappointed with a lack of support from both the
leadership and the congregation.
IVC is definitely not insular towards receiving influence from other denominations
and organizations. Besides our own weekly Bible studies most of our communities
Christian input comes from sources outside our denomination (books, music, podcasts,
etc). In part this is because as senior pastor my denominational/organizational
background is diverse. As the son of an itinerant missions leader, I experienced a wide
range of ministry contexts and traditions. I come from a mosaic background of several
denominations and organizations myself. From the pulpit and in personal conversation
the majority of the theology I reference comes from outside our denomination. I believe
this rubs off on our congregation as a whole.
Section 5 - Where do we go from here and why should we go there?
Theological: A Missional Ecclesiology for IVC
In order to define what the Church is - both Universal and individual - what is
happening in the life of Christian churches must be observed and explained in light of
Scripture
44
. We come to a definition of church by identifying the predominant concept of
44 Veli-Matti Karkkainen. An Introduction to Ecclesiology: Ecumenical, Historical & Global Perspectives
(Kindle Locations 44-46). Kindle Edition.
25
Church throughout history
45
. At the same time our definition must be flexible enough to
take into account the dynamic contextualization that has occurred throughout church
history. Of particular importance at present is the emergence of the Church of the
Global South. A Colossal ecumenical failure occurred when a formerly world
Christianity became Westernized
46
. Whereas Western Imperialism thwarted the
culturally contextualized nature of the gospel, Christianitys current trend towards Non-
Western growth affords an opportunity to remedy this error
47
. The fact that no one
human language is viewed as more spiritually valuable as a means of communication
demonstrates that the Christian faith has no cultural favorites
48
. Through translation the
gospel message is inevitably reconstructed and the rejection of cultural uniformity is
implicit
49
. Miroslav Wolf gives the most adequate simple definition of church: the
presence of Christ amidst the gathered community
50
.
The church is a creation of God which materializes in the lives of Christs
disciples as they gather in local communities to discern the contextualization of the
gospel in their time and place
51
. By faith, local churches are communities of Gods
missionary people
52
. It is as local churches are edified towards participation in Gods
mission in the world that they turn into who they already are by faith
53
. In other words,
participating in the missio Dei is the process by which a local church discovers and
45 Van Engen, Charles E. 1991. God's Missionary People: Rethinking the Purpose of the Local Church.
Grand Rapids MI: Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition, 1025.
46 Greenman, Jeffrey P., Green, Gene L., Global Theology in Evangelical Perspective: Exploring the
Contextual Nature of Theology and Mission, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2012. Kindle Edition, 253
47 Ibid., 276
48 Ibid., 306
49 Ibid., 389
50 Veli-Matti Karkkainen. An Introduction to Ecclesiology: Ecumenical, Historical & Global Perspectives
(Kindle Locations 44-46). Kindle Edition, 1485
51 Van Engen, Charles E. 1991. God's Missionary People: Rethinking the Purpose of the Local Church.
Grand Rapids MI: Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition, 179.
52 Ibid.
53 Ibid.
26
fulfills its destiny. This destiny is not only an action but an identity, not only a matter of
doing but of being. Participating in the missio Dei means becomes a community of love
which draws all men to reconciliation with God
54
. The local churchs relationship to the
Kingdom of God is being a representation of Christs rule over their faith community in a
particular area
55
as well as His rule over the entire cosmos
56
. This mission of the local
church in the world is patterned after that of Christ Himself
57
.
Each member of a local church must be encouraged to discover and fulfill their
God-given calling. All disciples of Christ have a general calling as members of the
priesthood of all believers
58
as well as individual callings to fulfill divinely preordained
works
59
. These individuals see themselves as sent by God to specific contexts in time,
location and sphere of influence
60
. Any form of crossing the boundary between the
Kingdom of God and the system of this fallen world is an act of engagement in mission.
When we speak of mission, we refer to the transcendent mission of God to reveal
Himself to all mankind, reconcile the willing to Himself, redeem all of Creation and
demonstrate the righteousness and beauty of His Kingdom.
A missional church understands the Kingdom of God as both a present and
future reality. As we submit to Christ's Kingship on earth we are a contrast society
61

which glorifies His righteous ways and attracts men and women to His rule and
adoption. We are focused both within and without. Our inward focus is inspired by the
54 Ibid., 1448-1458
55 Ibid., 1553
56 Ibid., 1722
57 Ibid., 1835
58 I Pet. 2
59 Eph. 2.10
60 Frost, Michael, 2011,The Road to Missional: Journey to the Center of the Church, Grand Rapids:
Baker Books, Kindle Edition, 271-272
61 Lohfink, Gerhard. 1972. Jesus and Community: The Social Dimension of Christian Faith. Philadelphia:
Fortress Press, Kindle Edition, 1532.
27
mission to be the "City on a hill"
62
which Christ commissioned us to embody. Our
outward focus is inspired by two primordial factors. We reach out following Christ's own
example of engaging the lost world. And we reach out serving the desire of God
revealed in all of Scripture that He be known among the nations in singular glory.
A missional church understands the principle of incarnation as expressed by both
the individual disciple and the community of believers
63
. The incarnate Christ fulfilled
once and for all the mission of atonement for the sin of mankind for all eternity. The
community of believers adds nothing to Christs atonement, but we are called to live
lives of witness as living sacrifices in His image
64
. The local church meets with the
purpose of encouraging missional engagement outside of these meetings. Unless the
purpose of the meeting of the community of believers is explained it will intuitively be
understood to be useless
65
.
A local church is a community which understands God's transcendent redemptive
purpose for humanity, creation and history. This community is committed to the health
and unity of the Universal Church of Christ on earth whose witness testifies to the glory
and righteousness of the Eternal Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom is understood as
both a present and future reality, inaugurated by Christ in His first coming and to be
consummated at His second coming.
As the holy called apart priesthood of believers, the Church is part of the
Kingdom but does not encompass it. God's Reign is expressed in the autonomous
witness of the Holy Spirit among unbelievers. God's Reign is expressed in His
62 Mat. 5.14
63 Jo. 17.18,20-23
64 Rom. 12.1
65 D. Scott Cormode "The Missional Church and Leadership Formation" (Craig Van Gelder, ed.) Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans 2009. Page 102
28
redemptive purpose for the natural world. God's Reign is expressed in the extent of His
people's witness in every sphere of society on earth. The witness of God's people (the
Church) is accomplished through His people, but is not contained by His people
individually or collectively. The Kingdom of God must break out into every realm of
society among every people group until the end of time.
Taken from Acts 2:42, the primary task of IVC is to teach the revelation of God's
truth in Holy Scripture, to pray for specific direction and empowering of the Holy Spirit,
to celebrate the free gift of salvation through Christ's sacrifice and to fellowship as a
contrast society in this fallen world
66
. A transcending emphasis in all we do is the
exhortation of all the saints to discern and fulfill their unique call to participate in the
Missio Dei until their pilgrimage on this earth ends.

Praxeological: Congradulations and recommendations

The leadership of IVC must hold the following two tensions together: Our
ministry is to equip the people of God to engage in the mission of God outside the
church, but we are to do it by using the time that we have with those people when they
are at church or engaged in churchly activities."
67
.
The following is a set of next steps towards bringing IVC into greater participation
in the missio Dei. Our congregation needs to develop new abilities in order to engage
its context. I have applied Roxburghs 4 leadership steps towards becoming missional
map-makers.
66 Acts 2.42
67 D. Scott Cormode "The Missional Church and Leadership Formation" (Craig Van Gelder, ed.) Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans 2009. Page 102
29
First we must assess how society has changed around us rendering modern
church paradigms obsolete
68
. We must realize that our church has mostly been
operating on an attractional model and come to grips with the pros and cons of this
approach
69
. Our church must be taught that, particularly in our generation, local
connections are more meaningful than being card carrying members of global
institutions such as denominations or missions organizations
70
. We must focus locally
with a vision to generate global impact in the process. Instead of concentrating on
bringing people into our church programs we must reengaging as a church in our local
contexts on the basis of what God is already doing there
71
.
At the same time, we must realize that that attractional church models do exert
significant influence on the unbelieving community. Many church small group programs
are overly introverted. However, there is generally an intrinsic organic potential in small
group meetings for the inclusion of non-believers. The experience of Christian
community is generally contagious and expansive even if the participate are completely
uninitiated in missional philosophy.
Our congregation must focus on redeveloping its core identity
72
. We must realize
that our church is not a bounded set where individual members share the same social
circles
73
. As a congregation we must reject the illusion of unity based on equal reasons
for participation. Through constant dialogue we must discern the unique motives which
draw each member of our church community. Our unity must be based around
68 Roxburgh, Alan. 2009. Missional Map-Making: Skills for Leading in Times of Transition. Jossey-Bass.
Kindle Edition, 2498
69 Ibid., 2498
70 Ibid., 2526
71 Ibid., 2573
72 Ibid., 2605
73 Ibid., 2620
30
embracing this diversity. In order for missional engagement to be possible, the
leadership of IVC must develop trust, initiate conversation
74
and introduce biblical
narratives in order to inspire new experiments in promoting the Kingdom of God in our
local context
75
.
Third, in order to be a missional community IVC must organize itself socially
around not only values but practices
76
. In order for this to happen our church would
have to be convinced of the power of simple habits held collectively by a community to
transform the society around them
77
. The two primary practices should be identified as
part of IVCs particular gifting and calling - hospitality
78
and learning
79
. We must
celebrate both our organic, informal ability to express hospitality and our passion for
education.
Fourth, our church leadership must realize that one way communication from the
stage in our church meetings is not where missional engagement happens
80
. Our
leadership needs to focus on identifying the conversations happening in our members
lives outside our church programs. If we can discern which conversations might lead to
missional engagement and encourage our members to pursue them, our church can
more effectively influence the neighborhood
81
.
On overview of each section leads me to finalize with the following practical steps
towards greater missional engagement by Igreja Vivendo em Cristo. Prayerfully, our
leadership needs to form a plan for how the Arts and Language Center will function
74 Ibid., 2696
75 Ibid., 2727
76 Ibid., 2772
77 Ibid., 2812
78 Ibid., 2968
79 Ibid., 3072
80 Ibid., 3205
81 Ibid., 3237
31
financially. The foundation we set in the next six months will affect the projects long-
term future.
This paper merely mentions the importance of our churchs participation in the
modern Christian ecumenical movement
82
, but a comprehensive plan must be
implemented towards this goal. First our leadership and general congregation must be
discipled from the pulpit at our general meetings regarding our call to contribute to the
witness of the Universal Church of Christ. This instruction must include guidelines
regarding nonnegotiable doctrines versus nonessentials and love as the primordial rule.
Our leadership should seek Gods direction regarding which meetings of Christian
communities and Christian leaders in our city IVC should be participating in.
The individual members of our congregation must be taught to identify the social
mosaics which exist in their lives. We must articulate that IVCs primary strategy for
local impact is through its individual members not through the presence of programs at
a central location. Our local impact will happen primarily through the spheres of
relationship developed by the individuals of our congregation.
As senior pastor I believe that the missional bridge IVC should focus on in the
next year should be the Arts and Language Center. We should identify similar
organizations and projects in the city independent of religious affiliation. This will be key
to entering our city versus retreating into the attractional and insular paradigms which
have characterized our church in the past.
CONCLUSION
82 Page 30, paragraph 1
32
The process of completing this Plan for Missional Engagement for a Igreja
Vivendo em Cristo has been challenging and rewarding. Leading a Missional Church
has been a class full of helpful interaction with other spiritual leaders who desire to
further the cause of Christ in its entirety. Through the perspectives of my colleagues I
have seen the inconsistencies and ambiguities regarding the vision I am leading my
brothers in Christ toward.
The missio Dei is so vast and comprehensive that a plan for one Christian
communitys participation in it cannot be contained in a paper. I pray that the lessons
regarding Christian community learned in this paper serve me as I continue my work in
Curitiba, Brazil at Igreja Vivendo em Cristo.
33
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www.gazetadopovo.com.br/vidaecidadania/conteudo.phtml?id=1205428
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Cormode, D. Scott. 2009. The Missional Church and Leadership Formation (Craig Van
Gelder, ed.). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Encontra Paran, Sobre Curitiba (About Curitiba),
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Frost, Michael, 2011,The Road to Missional: Journey to the Center of the Church,
Grand Rapids: Baker Books, Kindle Edition, 271-272
Greenman, Jeffrey P., Green, Gene L., Global Theology in Evangelical Perspective:
Exploring the Contextual Nature of Theology and Mission, Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity, 2012. Kindle Edition, 253
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34
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Instituto Brasileiro de Estudos Islmicos, 2007. Sociedade Muulmana do Paran faz
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noticias.php?id_noticia=138 (Accessed June 4, 2014).
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Revista Catlica Aratos. 2000. Igreja Catlica Romana em Curitiba (PR): estruturas
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PR: territorial structures under religious pluralism), http://br.monografias.com/
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35
Veli-Matti Karkkainen. 2002. An Introduction to Ecclesiology: Ecumenical, Historical &
Global Perspectives (Kindle Locations 44-46). Kindle Edition.
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Pasadena: Presbyterian Center for Mission Studies
36
APPENDIX A - Elaborations
i. Initial Classes offered at Arts and Language center:
i. Sports/athletics: Jiu Jitzu, Le Parkour
ii. Arts: Graphic Arts (Drawing and Painting), Photography
iii. Music: Vocal, Guitar, Drums and Piano
iv. Cuinary: Intro to Continental Cuisine with Emphasis on Event Management and
Field Trip to Paris to work with YWAM restaurant.
ii. The history of Christianity in Brazil can be separated into three phases. From the
16th to 18th centuries Catholicism introduced the faith to the South American
continent. During the 19th century - the great century of Protestant missions - what
would be categorized as mainline denominations today began to plant churches in
Brazil. During the 20th century the most remarkable factor in Brazilian Christianity
has been the rise of Pentecostalism. In 1910 two Swedish missionaries planted the
first Assembly of God church in the country, which has now grown to the nations
largest church outside Roman Catholicism.
iii. Jewish immigration to Southern Brazil occurred as a result of persecution, war and
prejudice in Europe, around the year 1880. The Jewish families which established
themselves in Curitiba became entrepreneurs in agricultural commerce. They took
care to preserve their ethnic identity in marriage, sending their children back to
Europe to find a Jewish bride or groom if necessary. During the first and second
37
World Wars the wives of prominent Jewish pioneer immigrants in Curitiba organized
themselves to offer help to Jewish refugees which began to arrive in Curitiba,
(1917). As this organization grew the need and opportunity to start a Synagogue
presented itself and it began in 1920, also located till present a mile from my home .
iv. Our church has largely embodied the common Brazilian ethos of cultural color
blindness. Brazilians deal with racial and religious tensions in a very different way
than North Americans. Brazilians tend to use a lot of ethnic slurs openly which
would be offensive and rude in my native United States. Although unconsciously,
Brazilians seem to use this behavior to mask real prejudices and divisions in their
population. Whereas North American's often think and feel similar things, the status
quo is generally to maintain external politeness and respect. Brazilians deal with
this in a totally different way. They openly tease each other for biological differences
as well as cultural traditions. This is done in a non-serious way, but it masks serious
issues. An ethical value of color blindness is in error because it does not express
the character of Father God. Scripture teaches us that God desires that not only
individuals but nations (Mat. 28:19) be discipled. This indicates that people groups
will be discipled while retaining their collective biological and historical identity.
Trying to transcend cultural or ethnic differences isn't the overarching biblical value,
rather recognizing and embracing diversity. I believe that our both our local church
as well as Brazil as a nation need to stop dealing with ethnic diversity on a
superficial level. The congregation of IVC needs to take a closer look at how ethnic
and religious diversity affects our communities and seek the Lord on how He wants
us to address them.
38
v. Dudley, Carl S., & Johnson, Sally A. 1993, Energizing the Congregation: Images
That Shape Your Church's Ministry. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press (104ff).
i. The Survivor Chruch tells of the crisis (mostly internal) it has weathered. It is
reactive to the crisis of an overwhelming world.
ii. The Crusader Church never tires of seeking out issues and championing causes.
It is proactive to translate crises into causes.
iii. The Pillar Chruch is anchored in its community and feels a distinct responsibility
for it. It takes civic responsibility that embraces the community.
iv. The Pilgrim Church tells of the movements of cultural groups in its history, in
counterpoint to the pillar's sense of being rooted in a place. It cares for extended
family or cultural groups.
v. The Servant Chruch goes about the work of helping people in need with a quiet
faithfulness. It provides support for individuals who need help"
vi. IVC plans to continue to encourage the growth and multiplication of home
fellowships which meet during the week. This is our primary current and future
strategy to mobilize the members of our congregation to reach out to their local
communities. In itself this is not a particularly creative strategy. Where we hope to
be creative is in encouraging home fellowship leaders to identify particular areas of
interest - hobbies, sports, social needs - which they can use to draw their neighbors
into a an environment where they can be exposed to the gospel and the Kingdom of
God.
39
40
41

42