Convergence Columbus: Part One Gaining Momentum
Mobilizing A Missionary Movement
The Convergence Columbus project is in motion and gaining momentum as we continue to place one hand after another to the flywheel … turning slowly it gains a little more speed with each rotation.
Our team continues to grow each month as those committed to being a part of Convergence Columbus join us. Slowly, one by one, they make their way into our lives and enter into the conversation.
Working diligently to recruit others, we invite them into our leadership huddle to be discipled in a missionary approach to activating new church startups. Once a part of the group, we explore together what missional life and ministry looks like and how we can live it out. And the really cool thing is there’s still plenty of room for more to join us.
It is an aggressive plan as over the next 10 years our goal is to start 27 new churches throughout the city and into the surrounding areas. These Gospel Communities are designed to reach people living in the many villages of Central Ohio’s University District. They are people who work at one of the universities or have been greatly influenced by the culture and worldview propagated through our institutions of higher learning.
We find these individuals in neighborhoods all across Central Ohio. They are the:
faculty and staff of the 54 places of higher learning around Greater Columbus
business men and women serving in the villages of these schools
people who have graduated from these institutions and are now serving in local education circles, government offices, and employees of local businesses
The thread that ties them together is a common worldview and a rejection of organized religion. Along with the dismissal of organized faith has been an exclusion of Jesus Christ and the Gospel message He has given to the church.
Our hope is to patiently bring Good News to their doorstep as we endeavor to mobilize a missionary movement of people: those living as one who is sent out to their neighborhoods, marketplace, and work space.
27 Strategic Communities
To help you grasp the breadth of our plan, we have created a series of maps so you can visualize a network of Gospel Communities across the Columbus area. We will share them with you in each edition of the newsletter over the next few months.
The 27 strategic villages in Central Ohio are where we will mobilize a missionary movement to seek and save those who are lost (even those who have no idea they are lost).
One thing you learn when moving to Columbus are the invisible boundaries that create the ebb and flow of daily life. Most notable of these boundaries are those things that happen inside and outside the I-270 loop.
And yes, our maps are set up as inside and outside the I-270 loop showing proposed areas to establish a Gospel Community. In this issue we are looking at our plan for inside the loop.
Inside the I-270 Loop
Inside the loop we have 12 of the 27 villages for Gospel Community startups. These are all areas with a high population of people who have achieved at least one Master’s Degree or earned a Doctorate in their field of study. It’s where the people, who work in or around one of the 54 institutions of higher learning, actually live.
locations we've begun establishing a new church
locations we hope to establish a new church
Consider This
There are two important things we hope you will prayerfully consider as you read each part of this series:
Are you a possible Missionary Church Planter?
We will equip you for a missionary approach through a missional life and ministry. Contact us and let us know; we'd love to hear from you.
Could you be a Sustaining Support Team Member of the Bennetts?
This enables us to give ourselves fully to recruiting, training, deploying, and reviewing with missionary church planters. If you are interested, go to giving.ag.organd make a Faith Promise today. Have questions? Contact us and we will be glad to answer anything you need to know.
Thanks so much for your prayers and support!