MINI-COURSE: Explore the ‘Pastoring Neighborhoods’ Paradigm Shift

[Reimagine Curator]

MINI-COURSE: Pastoring Neighborhoods

 

A Self-Study / Team-Planning Course

 

Compiled and Contributed to by Phil Miglioratti 

From Lynn Cory's 'Neighborhood Initiative'

 

Synopsis

 

A self-study for Church Leadership who are seeking a biblical paradigm-shift that results in a ministry-transforming impact in their neighborhoods.

 

A team-study for churches eager to integrate prayer with discipleship that leads to evangelism with neighbors and at work or school.

 

#Pastors #Church #Ministry Leaders #ChurchPlanters #Prayer Champions #Discipleship  

 

Syllabus

 

Six strategic recommendations based on and restricted from six ‘Neighborhood Initiative’ text books written by Lynn Cory…

 

An experienced pastor, pastoral coach and community outreach consultant…

 

With a grand vision: “Taking the whole gospel to the whole city, one neighborhood at a time.”

 

(as you proceed...)

 

• Read sequentially, or
• Assign each participant a different book to report on, but
• Utilize the resources for study, discussion, planning, and implementation (see below)

 

 

Source Text 1      “What Happened to the Grassroots Movement of Jesus?”

 

 

“Jesus modeled a plan for His disciples and us to follow, which Luke lays out in his Gospel. One might say that what Jesus initiated morphed into something that resembles the very religious institution and leaders who continually stood in opposition to the advance of the Lord’s kingdom.

 

Lynn Cory gives an eye-opening account of what turned the Church away from Jesus’ grassroots movement and offers helpful suggestions to align us with the Lord’s Great Commission once again.”

 

>>>Think~Pray~Plan~Step Forward>>>

 

Return to your first love by recentering the life of the church on life in Christ …

 

Repent: change your ministry mind-set to refocus on Jesus’ teachings and ministry, confess any idolatry or self-centered distractions …

Reunify in missional prayer (intercession for others) - care (serving, blessing, advocating) - share (showing and telling the Gospel).

Resources:

• Dallas Willard – “How to Love Your Neighbor as Yourself”
• Grassroots: The Biblical Foundation

 

 

Source Text 2     “Combat Prayer”

  

 

“Anthony Rodriguez has partnered with Lynn Cory since the inception of Neighborhood Initiative in 2008 and has been a vital part of this good work. God has used Anthony in furthering the work of bringing the Kingdom of God on earth through interceding for the ministry of Neighborhood Initiative and other movements. This booklet is essential in advancing the Kingdom of God through the ministry of loving your neighbors. Lynn highly recommends this booklet to pastors and leaders.”

 

 

 

>>>Think~Pray~Plan~Step Forward>>>

 

Recruit a prayer team to ask (questions), seek (strategy), knock (pursue open doors)…

Revision the entire congregation to pursue a prayer-care-share lifestyle.

 

Resources:

• Prayer Points – Bulletin Insert – .docx – .pdf
• Prayerwalk Bookmark – .pdf

 

 

Source Text 3       “Jesus' Secrets”

 

 

“The intention of this book is to help us uncover many of Jesus’ secrets for advancing His kingdom—His reign and rule—that are often overlooked. My hope is that your eyes may see into the invisible realm of Christ in order to take hold of His secrets. They are available to anyone God will grant eyes to see.

 

All too often, we who desire to see Jesus’ kingdom advance resort to methods, programs, or our own strategies, which often have a very short shelf life, rather than what Jesus put forth in the Gospels about how His kingdom advances.

 

 

>>>Think~Pray~Plan~Step Forward>>>

 

Reassess what has been abandoned or ignored.

Dare to unlearn outdated methods and no longer effective traditions.

 

Resources:

• Mission Guide: How One Church Shifted Ministry Paradigms   – .pdf
• Recorded Live:  Lynn Cory Interviewed About “Jesus’ Secrets  
• Discover/Deploy Jesus Secrets

 

 

Source Text 4        “The Incarnational Church: Catching Jesus’ Radical Approach for Advancing His Kingdom”

 

 

“Imagine pastors and leaders in every city working together to bring the love of Christ and His kingdom to every neighborhood. What if pastors embraced Jesus’ Whole Church and genuinely demonstrated love and concern for one another?

“What if followers of Jesus in every community worked together to model Jesus’ love and bring His kingdom to their neighborhoods?

“This is what the Spirit of God is initiating in our day, moving local congregations forward in becoming one body that loves the Whole Church and its neighbors.”   - Lynn Cory

 

“This new movement is often referred to today as “neighboring.” However, The Incarnational Church points out that it is more than just neighboring, the Lord is enlisting His “Whole Church” in every city to love its neighbors and bring His kingdom into every neighborhood. The definition of radical is “going back to the root” or relating to the origin. It is the intent of the book to take us back to our roots, back to doing what He commanded His first disciples to do…back to the model that Jesus set forth for us in His three years of ministry…to become incarnational and fulfill His great commission. The Incarnational Church is a leader’s resource that gives real-life examples plus practical steps to get you started in your city, church, and neighborhood to live out the life of Jesus right where He has placed you. The Incarnational Church is about getting back to the most foundational and organic way God has designed for His church communities to live.”    – Dr. Glen A. Taylor, Lead Pastor, Vineyard Pasadena Community Church, Pasadena, CA, Adjunct professor of Hebrew and Old Testament, Talbot School of Theology.

 

          

>>>Think~Pray~Plan~Step Forward>>>

 

Reimagine future Church...

 

A radical perspective of the Church as many and varied expressions of the Body of Christ,

 

Relating  together in blessing their community.

 

Resources:

• Bruce Zachary – “Practical Steps On Becoming A Neighboring Church”
• This is Discipling, This is Church! ~>scoll to 3rd section of videos
• Become an Incarnational Church 

 

Source Text 5        “Neighborhood Initiative and the Love of God”

 

 

 

“Imagine your congregation bringing the love of God to every neighborhood. What if each of your homes became centers for the loving ministry of Jesus? What if every one of our neighbors then began to experience the extravagant love of God? People would say, “I want to have the kind of love they have!” and Jesus would be pleased. Through the love and power of the Holy Spirit, we can and will see this in our day. Neighborhood Initiative is for those who want to join a Jesus revolution of love in our cities, neighborhoods, families, workplaces, and schools.

 

Neighborhood Initiative and the Love of God seeks to provide resources and encourage people to make lasting relationships with their own neighbors, allowing God in His timing to bring about opportunities to love them and impart the message of the gospel. The book answers why neighborhood ministry is important and how those in the Church can get started in their own neighborhood right now.”

 

 

>>>Think~Pray~Plan~Step Forward>>>

Recenter "love your neighbor"...

as the mission-vision-passion of every ministry and activity.

 

 

Resources: 

• Lynn Cory – “How to Develop a Neighborhood Ministry”
• Developing a Neighborhood Ministry Handbook – .docx – .pdf
• Neighborhood Initiative Introduction  
• Neighborhood Initiative Core Values 
• The Neighborhood Initaitve Reset

 

Source Text 6       "The Kairos Adventure: Neighboring in God’s Timing"

 

 

‘Be a part of a grassroots move of God where you are laboring with Him as He changes the lives of those in your own neighborhood. Can you imagine what it would be like if Jesus’ Church in every neighborhood joined the Father to touch the lives of those in their community? The Kairos Adventure is for believers who want to experience God, right where He has placed them, in a fresh new way and see Him at work in the lives of those in their neighborhood. Join Him on an adventure of a lifetime.

 

“Designed for daily reading and is chock-full of inspiring stories, the anecdotes will allow you to learn from other’s experiences and help you better relate to and care for people in your own neighborhood. Each story is coupled with an insight drawn from that neighborhood experience and followed by an opportunity to reflect and respond.

"The reader will learn how to live the kairos life, experiencing divine appointments with God, so that there is no need to try to make something happen with neighbors. God wants to invite you into what He is already doing in your neighbors’ lives.

“The book encourages readers to make lasting relationships with their own neighbors, allowing God in His timing to bring about opportunities to love them and impart the message of the gospel so they will become a disciple of Jesus.’

 

 

 

>>>Think~Pray~Plan~Step Forward>>>

 

Reprioritize equipping the saints to do the work of the ministry of bringing the love of God to our neighbors.

 

Resources:

 

Leading a Kairos Life

• Leader’s Guide – .pdf
• Participant’s Guide – .pdf
• Begin the Kairos Adventure

 

 

Source Text 7        “The Mark of the Church: Becoming an Answer to Jesus’ Prayer for His Church”

 

 

 

“Back in the 1970s, during the Jesus Movement, a small yet powerful book circulated widely among Christians—The Mark of the Christian by Francis Schaeffer. Its message deeply challenged believers to examine how they related to one another. Schaeffer’s “mark” referred to Jesus’ New Commandment:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” (John 13:34–35)

The Mark of the Church draws inspiration from Schaeffer’s work but expands the focus to the entire Church within a city. Rather than centering on a single congregation, it explores how a united Church—across congregations and denominations—can transform a city through love and unity.

The book highlights how the early Church powerfully impacted culture because of their love for one another, contrasting that with the often independent nature of pastors and churches today. It offers practical insights to overcome common divisions within the modern Church.

One key question the book raises is:   "What kind of impact would a unified Church have in our city?”

Leaders from Fresno and Clovis, California, share powerful testimonies of what happens when churches in a city genuinely love one another, becoming a visible answer to Jesus’ prayer for unity. The images in the book illustrate this love and unity in action.

The book also emphasizes the power of united prayer and calls pastors and believers to reflect on their obedience to Christ, the Chief Shepherd who is building His Church. For those sensing a call to lead citywide Church movements, the book offers wisdom and encouragement for the journey ahead.

 

 

>>>Think~Pray~Plan~Step Forward>>>

 

Reset the mindset for worship + fellowship + discipleship + stewardship

to benefit ministry to/in/for neighborhood & citywide impact

 

Resources:

• Lynn Cory – “Becoming A Community Of Neighboring Churches”
• 75+ Insight & Ideas blogposts
   

 

 

Study Suggestions 

 

 

     * Pray As You Read

          >>> My cues to prompt me to pray ___

 

     * Ask Questions

          >>> I will build a list of questions that come to mind as I read/discuss ___

 

     * Make Notes; Copy Quotes

          >>> My preferred system of capturing notes and important quotes is ___ 

 

     * Study and Discuss With Learning Partners

          >>> I will invite ___

 

     * Set Action Plans In Motion

          >>> I will ___ in order to hold myself/my team accountable  

 

     * Invite Your Team/Group/Church to Pray For/With You

          >>> I will build a prayer team/prayer/initiative by ___

 

     * Invite Pastors/Leaders of Other Churches to Study Along With You

          >>> I will share this self-study with ___ and invite them to pray together

          
         ➡️Print this worksheet

 

 

 

Resources @ Reimagine. Network

 

• >Spotlight onLynn Cory’s books: 

• >Phil Miglioratti Interviews Lynn Cory: 

• Podcast: Lynn Cory Unpacks "Neighboring"
• Grassroots: The Biblical Foundation
• The Neighborhood Initaitve Reset
• Become an Incarnational Church
• Begin the Kairos Adventure
• Discover/Deploy Jesus Secrets

__________________________________________

 

Discussion Questions

 

• Guide to Navigate the unLearning Process

 

• What is the core idea behind this book?
• Who in our church needs to read this book/quote/idea?

 

• What biblical passages do we need to review and then renew how we apply them in our ministry?

 

• Agree/Disagree… (with that quote/idea) and explain why

 

• What? … is your take-away from this quote/chapter/book/video/story?
• So What? … are the implications for our ministry?
• Now What? … should we do to adopt/adapt this insight/idea?

 

• In what ways are we expecting neighbors to adapt/adopt to puri church culture?
• Do we have a clear understanding of what is required biblical and what is our preferred culture and customs?
• Are we willing to learn about but also learn from our neighbors and neighborhoods?

 

• What will we need to retire as we pursue neighboring?
• Who do we need to invite into the process?
• How should we inform our members of the work we are doing by the leading of the Holy Spirit?

 

• How will neighboring revise the way we pray?
• What is our mission? Vision? Passion? … and what should be our sign(s) of success

[Reimagine Curator]

MINI-COURSE: WORKSHEET for Pastoring Neighborhoods

 

My Think~Pray~Plan Course Commitments

 

 

     * Pray As You Read

          >>> My cues that prompt me to pray ___

 

 

 

     * Ask Questions

          >>> Questions that come to mind as I read/discuss ___

 

 

 

     * Make Notes; Copy Quotes

          >>> Capturing notes and important quotes ___ 

 

 

 

     * Study and Discuss With Learning Partners

          >>> I will pray for names to invite ___

 

 

 

     * Set Action Plans In Motion

          >>> Action steps I/we are accountable for___

 

 

 

     * Invite Your Team/Group/Church to Pray For/With You

          >>> Steps to build a prayer team/prayer/initiative ___

 

 

 

     * Invite Pastors/Leaders of Other Churches to Think~Pray~Plan With You

          >>> I will invite these individuals to join me in this journey ___