Christian Cohort Living

Families who are embedded in a community and actively seeking ways to serve the Lord and build strong family and church share that in common with other families trying to do the same thing.  Trouble is, these families may not be in the same church or move in the same circles, so they never make contact.

There’s another need to meet - linking entrepreneurial Christian families so they can support one another in ministry project, pray for each other and grow from their fellowship.  Like iron sharpening iron, these families will find they spiritually respond to each other and are more vitally active in the service of the Lord because of their fellowship.

Not only ministry families, but lay families need to be involved in the cohorts.  They become valuable to each other in many ways:
    - prayer support
    - encouragement
    - practical help in mission projects
    - information
    - providing services and
    - providing job opportunities
    - co-laboring on mission/ministry projects

Now ask yourself, wouldn’t you like to live in a community where you have a group (cohort) of Christians you can call upon when you have a need, pray with, and who are gung-ho to do missions and ministry projects and impact the community for Christ.  You may be semi-retired and be thinking “I’d just like to live in that kind of community.”  That’s the Christian Cohort living I’d love to see emerge.

Embedded Christians

There is in our community a man who made his fortune in restaurants.  Now he has sold them and spends his time planting churches and helping others do the same.  I sat with him not long ago and talked about church planting in this new day.  He tells people to move into a community and settle down there.  Then go out and get a job, any legitimate job.  Work in fast food if you have to.  With your Christian lifestyle and work ethic, you’ll be managing the place in six months.  Do what you have to do to make a living.  Then do what you have to do to bring together that core group to start your church.

His approach is not only entrepreneurial, but also includes Christians being embedded in their community.  Our greatest goal should be to insert into a community called people who are trained and connected, then help empower them to support themselves while doing viable and vital ministry through existing small churches and/or through planting new house churches. 

We want Christian families to become embedded in their communities.  Many people today never make a place for themselves in their neighborhood or community.  They are present only as a resident and only as long as their jobs keep them in that location.

While we recognize the necessity of being mobile, we should also seek to become contributing members of a community.  We should seek to know our neighbors and introduce them to Christ.  And we want to know and fellowship with other Christian families.