John Burke on From Assimilating to Creating Community

The second speaker in our main session this afternoon was John Burke of Gateway Church in Austin, Texas. I have heard John speak a number of times but this time he was addressing the need for having some intentionality about how we lead people along a pathway of growth and mission. Here are my notes:

“How do people go in 3-4 years from…lost to leading?”

We have to stop thinking about assimilation and start thinking about process

Create relational momentum – missional communities
– attitude: can help or kill mission; people can sense how we feel about them
– language: we’re good at language of mission but not language for mission

Serve your neighbors with your neighbors
– serving into your neighborhood

Create “Come As You Are” Learning Space
– Jesus creating spaces in the midst of people’s lives