Strategic Missional Principles: Relational

There is a pretty neat video floating out there on the internet. (Thanks to Grady over at Missional Space for posting it.) It is a well explained “first step” in the thought process that some traditional churches are taking into the Missional mindset. It argues pretty well the non-programmatic principle argued for here. It also begins to show the second Missional principle that replaces programs: relationships.

That being said, it is just a first step. After all, it is a simplified version of Missional. Check it out, and then read on:




What is missing here is relational starting point. Missional begins and ends with relationships. The video above begins with a building, but that is just one option (and maybe not the best one!) Instead, we should begin with the relationships that form the church, not the mortar.

Everything in the Missional strategy is built on relationships. W. Oscar Thompson expressed the kernel of this idea so well all those years ago in his must read: Concentric Circles of Concern. Everything in life is about relationships. That is the way God made us. It is really all about who and not what you know. Why should the Kingdom of God be any different?

The relationship between God and His church. The relationships between the members of the body He puts together to expand His church. The relationships between the believers and unbelievers in a community. The relational networks connecting every single person in a city to everyone else. These are the highways upon which Missional living and Missional strategy operate.

So, if that is the case: How do we discover and develop the right relationships for a movement to develop and blossom? That is the third principle…

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