Overview of Mission Alive

Purpose of Mission Alive

The purpose of Mission Alive is: "to discover, equip, place, and nurture church-planting leaders who will plant missional churches in suburbs, city centers, and poverty areas with unbelievers as the primary target."
 
Brief History of Mission Alive
 
The seeds of Mission Alive were planted in the spring of 2000, when Abilene Christian University gave Gailyn Van Rheenen a sabbatical to study missions in Churches of Christ.  During those six months Gailyn found that Churches of Christ tend to be inward focused. They lack processes to help searchers come to faith and grow to maturity in the Lord. Frequently they are more concerned with their distinctiveness as a religious group than with the central themes and theologies of the Christian faith. A need became apparent: The rebirthing of a movement through the spiritual renewal of older churches as they plant a generation of new churches. After studying processes of church planting in North America for three years, Gailyn gave up his position as a tenured Professor of Missions at ACU in December, 2003, for the uncertainties of beginning a church planting movement.     
 
Over the last four years Mission Alive has matured into an effective church-planting organization. Ten Christ-formed, outreach-focused churches have been planted. 
 Mission Alive has also teamed with Genesis Alliance, led by Sixto Rivera, to plant Latino churches at Highland Oaks (Dallas) and Highland Oaks (Plano). We are also cooperating with the Duncanville Church of Christ to plant another Latino church in either Grand Prairie or Oak Cliff in the Greater DFW area.
 
Un-churched and de-churched people are coming to Christ because of the incarnational, kingdom-focused strategies in these churches. They are planted to be externally-focused—distinctive, growing communities of the kingdom of God. 
 
Partnering churches who are either funding Mission Alive or one of our church plantings include . . .
  • Riverside Church of Christ, Coppell, Texas
  • Richland Hills Church of Christ, Ft. Worth, Texas
  • Preston Road Church of Christ, Dallas, Texas 
  • East Cobb Church of Christ, Marietta, Georgia
  • Kaufman Church of Christ, Kaufman, Texas
  • South MacArthur Church of Christ, Irving, Texas
  • Lakewood Church of Christ, Denver, Colorado
  • Singing Oaks Church of Christ, Denton, Texas
  • Southern Hills Church of Christ, Abilene, Texas
  • Duncanville Church of Christ, Duncanville, Texas
Mission Alive and our church plantings are also funded by a number of individuals who believe that the future of Kingdom growth will primarily be through church planting.
 
Ministry Tasks of Mission Alive
 
The three major tasks of Mission Alive are to recruit and equip church planters, provide church planter support, and work with churches to plant churches. 
 
  • Recruit and Equip Church Planters. God has gifted the leaders of Mission Alive with the ability to discover church planting candidates through a wide variety of relationships and cast vision for Christian service. These church planting candidates are evaluated in a Discovery Lab to determine whether they have the gifts and abilities to successfully initiate and nurture a new church; nurtured in a Theology Lab to develop missional understandings, formed by scripture, which guide and shape all practices of ministry; and equipped in a Strategy Lab with practical tools of ministry to develop a contextual working plan to plant a growing, Christ-formed church.  
  • Provide Church-Planter Support. Church planters should not work alone but within a network of support, encouragement, and equipping.  Mission Alive works with partnering churches to support and resource church planters, their families, and the developing church. This support occurs through weekly coaching and mentoring; monthly Planter Forums (meetings of church planters); and an annual Church Planters’ Retreat.   A Partnering Team is formed to help advise and guide the church-planting family. A Partnering Team is composed of a coach, spiritual directors, representatives from the Partnering Church and Mission Alive’s Director for Equipping. 
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  • Work with Churches to Plant Churches. God has gifted leaders of Mission Alive to connect with churches who desire spiritual renewal and creative outreach to their communities. Churches experience amazing spiritual renewal as they participate with Mission Alive in the joys and struggles of planting churches. They rejoice to see first-hand examples of reaching the unchurched and learn to apply patterns of community connection, journeying to Jesus, disciple-making, and leadership development to their own churches. Mission Alive believes that one of the best ways to renew old churches is by participation in church planting. 
Theological Orientation
 
Some specific theological orientations of Mission Alive are . . .  
 
  • Mission of God (Mission Dei). Mission flows from the character and nature of God. God is calling and sending us (church planters and leaders of partnering churches) to be instruments of his mission. Jesus said to his apostles, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21). 
  • Kingdom of God.  As Christ’s representatives, we give up our own purposes and aims as we strive to align our values with those of the kingdom of God (Matt. 5:20). We can then proclaim with authenticity the good news of the reign of God (Acts 8:12). We then, as messengers of his kingdom, see searchers and unbelievers “open their eyes and turn . . . from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins . . . .” (Acts 26:18). Like Jesus we pray:  “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). 
  • Incarnation. God calls us to model the incarnation of Christ. As Christ emptied himself (Phil. 2:3-8) and “dwelled among us” in “flesh” (John 1:14), we must live among the people we serve as we personally and compassionately minister.
  • Spiritual Formation. God calls us, messengers of his kingdom who embody his mission, to be transformed into his nature. Only then are we able to nurture Christians and seekers to also walk personally with God as they are transformed into God’s image (2 Cor. 3:18). New Christians are nurtured to become holy as God is holy (1 Pet. 1:15-16) and to love as Christ first loved us (1 John 4:19).  This transformation takes place both within the littleness of House Churches (cell groups) and in the bigness of a worshipping, celebratory community.
Leadership of Mission Alive
 
  • The board of Mission Alive is currently made up of ten leaders committed to the growth and transformation of communities through church plantings. Current board members include: Jerry Browder, Robert Chambers, Scott Ferguson, Ken Greene, Randy Harris, Mark Lowe, Terry Penn, Charme Robarts, Becky Van Rheenen, and Gailyn Van Rheenen.
  • The staff of Mission Alive brings different gifts to this ministry. Each member has a role he or she fulfills within the ministry and with our church planters. Current staff members are: 
Gailyn Van Rheenen, Facilitator of Church Planting; BA, MA, DMiss; Serves are Director of Mission Alive, Primary Theological Trainer, Resource Counsel for both Planters and Churches, Spiritual Guide, and Recruiter for Church Planters
 
Becky Van Rheenen, Facilitator of Church Planting (Director of Women’s Care); BA, MEd; Serves as the Primary Resource and Director of Church Planting Women, Works with Gailyn in Recruitment and Development of Church Planters.
 
Tod Vogt, Director of Equipping; BA, MA (Communication), MMiss; Serves as Coach and Coach Trainer for MA Church Planters and Coaches; Serves as Director of Spiritual Mentoring for Church Planters
     
Candace Vogt, Director of Support Services; BS, JD; Equips church planters to raise funds for church planting, provides administrative support for church plants, handles administrative matters for Mission Alive; and helps nurture children's ministries in church plantings.
 
John Cooke, Director of Planter Care; BS, MA, MRE, PhD (Psychology);  Oversees Assessment of Planters, directs care of church planting families
 
Contact Information
 
Mission Alive
P. O. Box 117575
Carrollton, TX  75011
 
972-939-4337