Formation Brief
Three Conversations;
One Formed Community.
Introduction
This Formation Brief assists churches and networks seeking to center the life of the church on the story of Scripture. When the church is at the center of its own formation, God’s Word serves the mandate of the Great Commission, unifies the whole church around a common pursuit of maturity, and establishes the church as a healthy and rooted faith community.
Because locally led, church-centered formation focuses on strengthening capacity within each local congregation, it equips the church to continue growing, teaching, and multiplying disciples in the future.
Mission: Participating in God's Purpose Together
Key Question: What is the mission of your network? Who has God called you to reach? Tell us about your network and the mission God has called you to.
Foundational Passages: Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 1:6-8
Core Projects:
- Project 1: Network Narrative and Mission — Describe the history and mission of your network.
- Project 2: Mission Map — Draw or mark a map of the people groups God has called you to reach. Describe your strategy to reach them.
God calls us to serve His mission: to participate in God’s purposes in His world. The work of theological formation supports the work of the Great Commission. In this conversation, we want to explore how to approach formation in a way that helps advance God’s plan to reach the nations with the Good News about Jesus.
- Core Mission: What is the mission of your network? Who has God called you to reach? Tell us about your network and the mission God has called you to.
- Mission Obstacles: What are the urgent needs of the people and community God is calling you to reach? What obstacles exist to the spread of the gospel among these people? Tell us about the pressing needs and challenges you face in this work.
- Biblical Mission: How do you understand the biblical mandate of the Great Commission? Tell us what you believe about God’s mission in the world.
- Mission Strategy: What is your plan to accomplish the Great Commission work? How do you approach the work of spreading the gospel, establishing healthy churches, and training leaders at a local, regional, and global scale? Tell us about your strategy.
- Formation as Mission-Focused: How should the work of theological formation rightly relate to the biblical mandate of the Great Commission? Tell us about your vision for how formation serves the mission of God.
- Partnership and Prayer: How can we pray for your mission situation? How can we partner with and support you in your mission work?
Church: Keeping God's Church in the Center
Key Question: What is the makeup and structure of your church network? Who are the key leaders? Tell us about your church, network, or organization and its key leaders.
Foundational Passages: Ephesians 3:7-13
Core Projects:
- Project 1: Formation Partners — Identify the churches, networks, and organizations that need to be involved in this work. Identify a plan to unite them in this common purpose and discuss how you will keep the church at the center of your strategy.
- Project 2: Key Leaders — Identify key leaders who need to be involved in this work. Reflect on their ministry roles and determine how you will deploy church leaders to accomplish specific formation functions.
God calls us to belong to his church: to experience a loving Christian community. Like the many parts that make up a human body, the work of theological formation requires the many members of the church to function as one body. In this conversation, we want to explore how to approach formation in a way that involves the whole church and Her leaders.
- Connected Church: What is the makeup and structure of your church network? Who are the key leaders? Tell us about your church, network, or organization and its key leaders.
- Church Concerns: What are the urgent needs of the church in your context? What personal and ministry obstacles do your leaders face? Tell us about the pressing needs and challenges in your church network.
- Biblical Church: How do you understand what the Bible teaches about the Church and Her role in God’s mission? Tell us what you believe about the identity of the Church and its responsibility in God’s mission.
- Church Strategy: What is your plan to prioritize the church in your formation work? How are you establishing the church in neighborhoods, cities, regions, and throughout the world? How are you developing and deploying key leaders? Tell us about your strategy to keep the church central.
- Formation as Community-Owned: How should the work of theological formation serve your church and network? How do you envision the whole church participating in and being shaped by this process? Tell us how you would approach formation as a community endeavor.
- Partnership and Prayer: How can we pray for your church and its leaders? How can we partner with and support your church network?
Formation: Engaging God's Word for Transformation
Key Question: How are Christians and churches in your context maturing in the faith? How do you measure Christian maturity? Tell us your current approach to maturing disciples.
Foundational Passages: Hebrews 5:11–6:1; 2 Peter 3:14-18
Core Projects:
- Project 1: Specific Needs — Describe the needs of believers and churches in your community. Identify the challenges they face and the ways you can help them mature.
- Project 2: Formation Plan — Identify what Scripture content your community will engage first. Consider how working through these stories will serve the formation needs of your church.
God calls us to mature in our faith: to grow as Christians in truth and godliness. Like a plant that grows and produces fruit, the work of theological formation can help Christians and churches become strong and healthy, living in ways that are pleasing to God. In this conversation, we want to explore how to approach formation in a way that helps churches and disciples fully mature in the Christian faith.
- Christian Maturity: How are Christians and churches in your context maturing in the faith? How do you measure Christian maturity? Tell us your current approach to maturing disciples.
- Spiritual Challenges: What are the urgent needs Christians face as they grow in their faith? What obstacles make it hard for Christians and churches to grow to maturity? What specific theological issues and challenges does the church face in your context?
- Biblical Maturity: How do you understand what the Bible teaches about spiritual maturity? Tell us how you understand the role of Scripture in the maturity and growth of the church.
- Formation Strategy: What is your plan to help Christians and churches grow to maturity? How do you describe the characteristics of Christian maturity? How are you establishing believers and churches in the essentials of the faith? How do you use God’s Word in that process?
- Formation as Theological: How should you engage the Scriptures in a formative way that leads to the maturity of believers and churches? Tell us your plan to make formation a deeply theological process rooted in God’s Word.
- Partnership and Prayer: How can we pray for the spiritual growth of Christians and churches in your context? How can we partner with and support you in this establishing work?
Summary of Formation Brief
Key Question: At this point in time, how will your church or network approach the work of theological formation? Tell us about your plans.
Foundational Passage: 2 Timothy 2:2
Core Project: Formation Brief Summary — Summarize your discussions in a simple and usable form. This summary, written or recorded, will serve as a guide for your community’s formation work. Make it brief enough to be usable and detailed enough to provide direction for churches and their leaders.
- Mission: What is your overall mission strategy to reach the people God has called you to reach?
- Church and Leaders: What key churches and leaders will you incorporate in this work? How will you approach formation in a way that trains and multiplies trainers?
- Formation: How will you engage God’s Word in a way that builds formation capacity and matures believers and churches?