First stop on the road trip, The Open Door, a missional community located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This is a great group of folks who are truly seeking to live out the missional vision in their location. By the way, the choice of the word location was not accidental. B.J. Woodworth, forever after to be known as BJ, said that what makes The Open Door missional is just that—location.
As a church without a building that meets in a Mennonite community center with a café, among many other service initiatives, the members of The Open Door are taking Christ to the streets in their neighborhood. Meeting for Bible study in coffee shops, homes, businesses, and doing ministry in other “Third Place” locations shapes The Open Door’s ministry. As BJ put it, “If we had our own church building we wouldn’t meet the people we meet.” And as you’ll see by the pictures of their Sunday evening gathering for a meal, worship, and communion, the church reflects an urban mix of predominantly young families and singles.
It was fun speaking with BJ, John Creasy, the assistant pastor, and other core leaders (Eileen, Chris, Alison, and Jen) about what made The Open Door a special place. While a definition of missional was not forthcoming, (one in the group rejected the term missional as “trendy”) they could agree that a passion for service in Christ’s name created a missional ethos. The Open Door’s missional ethos was, they felt, the major means of creating authentic disciples of Jesus Christ—far more so than any intentional discipleship training. From the group’s perspective, creating disciples was an “organic” process where disciples were grown through involvement in the community of faith— especially through service.
As for the kind of leadership that creates authentic disciples, the group consensus was authenticity. Another phrase that was a close second and really caught my attention was permission giving. On this point, the lay members of the core group that we met with at a bar specializing in Belgium beer, were emphatic. BJ and John permit folks not only to use their gifts, but also to “just be” when that’s what they need. This is a far cry from the approach of most of us pastors—we know God loves our flock, and we have an especially detailed plan for their lives.
Finally, The Open Door with around 100 attendees is already thinking about giving birth to a new community. They even have a potential church planter in their group. And just when might they a launch a new church? When they have 150 in attendance, or perhaps sooner—if they discern God’s leadership. Given this community is possesses such a strong missional ethos, training folks to be missional disciples might just slow down the discipling process.