Living on God's Mission

"Mission" is the heartbeat of life in The City Church. Mission is neither an option for you to choose or reject; nor a "one-week-per-year activity" for you to carry out on another continent. Mission is a way of life. It's living out our God-given identity. It's the purpose God gives his people, and it happens in everyday life: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt 18:18-20). In The City Church, we believe that mission happens everyday, locally and globally, and through church planting.

Everyday Mission

In the gospel, our identity is one of missionaries. "Missionaries" are not just the individuals live in another country; you're just as much a full-time missionary as they are; you're just sent to Fort Worth instead of China or Africa. And like a more traditional missionary, God has given you a mission field: your family, neighborhood, workplace, gym, and other places in Fort Worth you spend time. These are the "people group" or the "tribe" to which God has sent you. In The City Church, mission happens everyday, as we learn to do things we normally do, with "gospel intentionality." We ask, "how can I live out the gospel and build relationships with this aspect of my life?" So for example, instead of eating lunch alone, we eat with others; instead of watching a football game or sitcom with your family, we invite neighbors over for dinner and to watch with us; etc. We build authentic relationships with others; we invest in our communities; we love our neighbors. That's everyday mission in The City Church, and that's the God's call and mandate for every follower of Christ.

> Click here for resources on everyday mission [coming soon]


Local Mission

In addition to the mission field God has placed you in, every Village in The City Church spends time on mission together. On Scattered Sundays and other times throughout the year, we serve and love neighbors, in our neighborhoods and/or with some great local organizations. Birthed out of the passion for local mission, we started ForTheGoodOfFortWorth.com in 2011. This non-profit organization helps folks - in our church and beyond - discover areas of need in our city that fit your passions and skills, then connects you with organizations who are meeting that need, and/or trains you to begin your own.

> See our calendar for upcoming local opportunities, or contact us for more info

> Learn more about ForTheGoodOfFortWorth.com here

 

Short-Term Global Mission

We are called to "be God's witnesses... to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). We believe the best way to do this is to live out our gospel identities in a small number of intentional locations around the world. Focusing on a couple places allows us to spend as much time there as possible, and to build the strongest relationships we can, as members of the family of God across cultures and continents. Rather than landing in one city one year, another the next, and so forth, focusing in allows us to send multiple City Church representatives to those places each year. We serve using our vocational skills, talents, passions and giftings to help transform the country, and to start Villages. We dare you to find a talent or vocational skill we cannot use in making a global impact.

  • Please be in prayer as we discern our second global mission location: in the early days of The City Church, we're asking for prayer, opinions, and input as we hear God's voice on where else we're headed in the world. Please let us know if you have thoughts on this. Thanks!

> See our calendar for upcoming global opportunities, or contact us for more info

 

Long-Term Global Mission

July 2010-July 2011, The City Church family sent out our first global missionaries, Mike and Meredith Dunbar, to Bogata, Colombia. They served with Resourcing Christian Education International, at El Camino Academy. In addition to both teaching classes, immersing themselves in the city, and getting involved with local families, Mike was the high school principal and Meredith was the school nurse. It was an honor to see The City Church's people expanding their mission from Fort Worth into other parts of the world. And it was a joy for those of us remaining in Fort Worth to support Mike and Meredith, in prayers, finances, and other support, as an extension of our own body.

> Read Mike and Mer's blog, where they posted regular updates of their life, work, and mission in Bogata


Church Planting

It should be no surprise that as a "church plant," The City Church believes that starting new churches is the best way to redeem a city, whether Fort Worth or otherwise. It should also be no surprise that the manner in which we want to start churches is to start new Villages, in Fort Worth and beyond. Rather than plant a church by starting a "Sunday event" and hoping people show up, we train folks to start new "communities on mission" where church life is lived out and where disciples are made. Then, when there are multiple Villages in a given area, the "church" naturally emerges, rather than being forced into that area. We commit no less than 10% of our annual budget toward starting new Villages and churches, and toward training called and qualified individuals to lead new gatherings in neighborhoods across Fort Worth and the world.

Here are a few of the churches we've helped plant, with funding, training, and/or supplies:

> Contact us for more info on church planting