Cityreaching is a recent emergence of leadership that takes a citywide perspective on the role of the Church in mission and ministry.
Please comment below with a complete job description and/or with specific objectives-values-gift/skills that describe/define critical core competencies for this strategic role in citywide collaboration.
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IT SEEMS TO ME . . .
•Cityreaching is a moving target. Every city/community has similarities but also significant distinctives that make constructing a job description difficult, maybe even distracting or even dangerous.
•It would be more effective to construct a “role“ description that focuses on the calling from God to serve the Church in its calling to love all people by living and proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus in the community.
•Cityreaching, in my opinion, needs to be more about coordinating than controlling – processing relationships than promoting resources, empowering/equipping rather than scheduling events.
IT SEEMS TO ME . . .
We have yet to see a city where a cityreaching leader or team gives their full attention to serving the Church by coning alongside the myriad of good work already expressed by various congregations.
Most cityreaching is coercing one-size-fits-all involvement rather than coaching leaders to build relationships that produce Spirit-prompted, Spirited-gifted, enterprises.
Cityreachers are called to serve the Church by:
•Communicating the work of the whole Church to all Church/Prayer/Evangelism Champions.
•Connecting those champions into first-name-basis relationships.
•Convening Church leaders and ministry champions in safe, interactive, facilitated conversations.
•Collaborations then develop (super)naturally.
Cityreaching is a unique combination of “great” biblical actions and here is a new equation to integrate them>>>
IT SEEMS TO ME . . .
A cityreacher must decide between building an organization or catalyzing a movement.
An organization seeks to lead city-wide decision-making, consolidate city-wide events-activities-ministries, and is expected to produce and/or provide programing resources. The emphasis is almost exclusively on high profile leaders. Organizations tend to communicate top-down and like associations create ever expanding rules, regulations, and expectations for their members.
Movements are fluid and flexible, allowing them to respond to needs rapidly. Movements value each participant (person or group) as important, unique, and already serving useful function. The objective is to connect ministries (congregations, agencies) to others with the same affinity focus or vision. Movemental (an Ed Stetzer term) leadership functions more like a facilitator than a director; a coach who serves by:
IT SEEMS TO ME . .
Every city champion needs to identify, disciple (enable them to envision the "city"), then partner with these strategic sets (often functioning as small groups, ministry teams, congregational associations, affinity networks, etc.). Assist them to identify their calling in the Church's mission to the CIty and point them to the resources they need to accomplish their task.
This is similar to the job description I had when I started a movement and network in the Chicago area.
City Reacher Job Description
The purpose of this job is: To contribute to reaching the city of _________ with the gospel by discipling people, developing laborers and leaders, and recruiting, growing, and developing a leadership team made of leaders working within every major grouping of people.
Accountable to:
The City Leadership Team, Personal Donors, Local churches
IT SEEMS TO ME...
A Cityreacher who intends to serve a City Gospel Movement is needed to: