Once formed, a DNA group focuses on the following:

DISCIPLESHIP

1. Reminding each other of new Identity in Jesus Christ (a child of God; an ambassador of the King; a servant of the creator of the universe; a learner who is being made whole).
2. Admonishing and teaching one another to obey Jesus’ commands. (Matthew 28:18-20; Colossians 3:15-17)
3. Training each other to serve. (Ephesians 4:11-3)
4. Living a disciplined live.

NURTURING

1. Listening to each other’s stories and to the Holy Spirit; carefully and empathetically directing each other to truth. (John 16:7-15)
2. Checking one another’s passions: How are you doing? Who are you loving well? Not so well? Where are you living in fear? What can we celebrate with you? What are you struggling through? (Romans 12:10,15)
3. Praying with and for each other. (Romans 12:12; Ephesians 6:18; James 5:16)

ACCOUNTABILITY

1. Encouraging each other to live out beliefs through making goals and helping each other fulfill them. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
2. Reviewing the past week.
3. Speaking the truth in love in regard to areas of sin (Ephesians 4:14-16), correcting and rebuking with God’s Word when necessary. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

PATHWAYS INTO A DNA GROUP

• If your church already has groups like this, tell your Area Missional Community leader you’d like to join a group.
• If your church doesn’t offer DNA groups, find two friends who want to form one with you. Tell your Missional Community leader or an elder you are starting one and ask for accountability.

Jared and Laura, in listening for God's call in their life, were pulled toward London, England. They passed Discovery Lab with scores that indicated a high likelihood they could successfully plant a church once they had more experience under their belts.
​
Kairos helped them secure an apprenticeship with Ethos Church in Nashville, where they could learn how healthy growing church systems function. During that season, the call shifted from London to the Northwest, the heart of post-Christian culture in the US.

 ​When a planter moves to a new city to start a church, we call it parachuting in. It takes time to settle into a new place, build relationships, learn the culture, and allow the dream and plan for the church to form within the new context.

Jared says, " We were going from Sunday-centric Christianity to Sundays being secondary at best. We were going from thousands of Christian relationships to almost none."

The Kings knew there would be challenges in making such a big move, but Seattle was looming large in the future and they needed a plan.

They attended their first Kairos Strategy Lab before moving to Seattle. And their plans looked great on paper. They were able to dream big, to think through the theories of what they hoped to accomplish, to give shape to their dream and make it a plan. Sure, it was all theory, but it was solid theory.

With all their tools in place and a team enthusiastic about moving with them, they moved their family north.

But there comes a place in every story when boots hit the pavement, when expectations crash up against reality, when a person's strength and faith are put to the test.

​To be continued . . .

Once upon a time, a man decided to plant a new church in a new city. All his plans went better than expected and in no time a booming church had grown up with no problems and little effort.
The End​

 
Recently a group from our church attended the Discipleship.org conference. We engaged with about 1,400 other “Discipleship First” folks to be encouraged by brothers and sisters from around the world and to hear the ways they grow disciples who make disciples.
 
Here are 5 key points that I walked away with from the conference:

1. What’s your end result? Not every discipling process has the same end goal. Some processes focus on becoming an essential learner and doer of the word. Others focus on helping people be firmly rooted in faith. Others help with specific problem areas of life. Still others are aimed at those super disciples who are going to change the world. Know who the people are you will disciple and what you want to see Jesus accomplish in their lives for that specific period of time.

​2. The Word of God is powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword (Hebrew 4:12). Make engagement with the Bible a central feature of your discipling process. What scriptures will you memorize together and why? What biblical readings will focus your attention?

3. The discipling leader sets the stage. As a discipler, you are inviting others to learn from your life. You determine the time, place, and the content. If they’re not willing to work with your schedule, they may not yet be ready to engage that level of discipling.

4. Discipling is best done in groups of 3 to 5 people of the same gender. The focus is on obeying scripture and reflecting on the interaction between scripture and doing. Being small in number and gender specific allows a greater flow of interaction, confession and accountability.

5. Any plan is more effective than no plan. There were 18 tracks at the 2018 Discipleship Conference, each led by a group with disciple making as their goal. Here are 3 of the plans presented:​

1. SOAP journaling method:  Scripture to read and write (about 10-minutes worth), Observations (what do people notice?), Application (what will they commit to do?) and Prayer (what do they need to pray to obey?)
2. HEAR journaling method by Robby Gallaty: Highlight, Explain, Apply, and Respond.
3. DBS (Discovery Bible Study). A simple discussion format that reads the text 3 times, then asks what it says about God, people, and what will we commit to do? 

What struck me is that discipling doesn’t need to be hard; it needs to done! Who will you disciple?

​A friend of mine introduced me to the acronym BHAG: By the Hand of Almighty God. In their book, Built to Last (1994), James Collins and Jerry Porras defined a BHAG (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal) as “a long-term goal that changes the very nature of a business’ existence.” These are the type of goals that change history, like when John F. Kennedy said, “that this Nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth.”

Like a vision drives a country, I believe a BHAG is what ultimately drives a church.

BHAGs are meant to shift “business as normal.” BHAGs are nearly impossible to achieve without consistently working outside of our comfort zone. They require a commitment and confidence that moves us to persistent effort, over decades, even when the odds seem impossibly stacked against us.

The only way a church, or any organization, can pursue a BHAG dream is with a long-term plan that ties together mission, vision, and decisions into action. Without such organized, systematic planning no BHAG will survive.

Since 2009 Kairos has been helping churches think strategically about their future through a strategic planning process called StratOp. StratOp employs a series of insightful tools to help churches gain perspective on their own reality, strengths and weaknesses, and ultimately to immediate and long-term decisions that will move them towards progress on their BHAGs.

It is the persistent application of effort towards a plan that ultimately drives us towards the BHAGs God has set before us. No, we’re not doing this by our own strength or will. God is in charge. But He still asks us to do the hard work that needs to be done as He energizes the results.

If you are interested in the StratOp process, contact me at sgranberg@kairoschurchplanting.org.

Being a spiritual mentor does not equal being a religious leader. Mentors are not necessarily managing the direction of the church itself. The reality is they are leaders, but maybe look different from what you expect. It’s important to know the traits of spiritual mentors, these individuals are valuable in the development of the disciples within your congregation.

Here's a more accurate picture of what a spiritual mentor looks like: