I’m surrounded by people at church . . . so why do I feel so alone?

Resources for growing as a missionary disciple — personally and in your church/community

A Field Guide for Genuine Community

Surprise - whoever you are, you're a missionary! If you call yourself a follower of Jesus, God calls you his missionary. You may never go halfway around the world. You may not raise financial support. But because of God's gospel work in you, you are on mission: to people in your work, school, neighborhood, and those in need. As everyday missionaries, God has sent us to live out his Great Commission in the ordinary, normal, all-too-busy, and even most mundane moments of our lives.

“Life in the family of God is a daily act of worship. So let’s find a group of folks to go with us, and let’s pray for the Spirit’s help in difficult steps on this journey.”

  • “Are you longing for more authentic, biblical relationships with others? Then you must read A Field Guide for Genuine Community. Within a five-week framework, Pastor Ben answers our questions—and our excuses—about developing church connections in your own spiritual family. Through Bible study and pertinent questions, Ben teaches us how to intentionally build intimate and multigenerational discipleship groups that are actually fun to be a part of! Read it, apply it, and see how your church can become less of an organization and more of a growing organism where you can enjoy a deep and fruitful life together. .”

    — Jani Ortlund, Renewal Ministries

  • “If you’re done with the façade of community, tired of shallow relationships, and ready to give up on a Sunday-centric faith, this book is for you. I love the way that my friend Ben doesn’t just present a couple quick fixes or silver bullets to solve your discipleship woes. Rather, he pastorally introduces the concept of church as spiritual family, which is deeply needed for the Western church.”

    — Daniel Im, Beulah Alliance Church

  • “I’m thankful for this book—it demystifies the purpose of Christian community while doing honor to the complexities of it, and centers the grace of God as the unifying and liberating power we need to know it is real. Full of biblical insight and experiential wisdom, Ben Connelly’s Field Guide will help you pastorally understand and practically implement stronger and more relational closeness in your ministry context.”

    — Jared C. Wilson, Midwestern Seminary

  • “Jesus gave His apostles clear instructions to go and make disciples. They went and instinctively planted churches—but this was not to abandon Christ’s instruction to gather groups of believers as loving families who were all to realize their mutual responsibilities. They were not to be mere passive meeting attenders but to gather in vibrant communities, caring for one another’s life and spiritual growth. Ben Connelly has written an incisive, practical, and inspirational book that you will find instructive and motivational as you respond to Christ’s command.”

    — Terry Virgo, New Frontiers

Editable Sermon Outlines & Slides

We’ve created starting point sermon outlines and slides for you to edit and use for your church, training event, or group. Please do the good work of making these teachings “yours,” but also feel free to use these outlines and slides however they best fit your context and needs.

Group Discussion Guide and Video Resources

The first time your group meets to introduce the book, walk them through the section titled “Y’all” in the Introduction. It explains the structure of the book and the best ways to approach it. The Field Guide includes group discussion questions at the end of each week. For your members to be fully engaged, it’s best to individually read and reflect on that Week’s content before meeting each week. Below, you will find interview videos that can help introduce discussion in your group meetings.

Genuine Community Free Exercises

GOD’S STORY:
OUR DOMINANT STORY

This exercise serves to help you identify areas of disbelief and consider alternative narratives that reinforce these areas of unbelief. The goal is to encourage readers to question the stories they are believing in place of the story of God.

SHARING YOUR STORY

Create still-frame pictures representing different parts of your story and be prepared to talk your group through your story using these pictures. It emphasizes the importance of being honest and open, and states that the quality of the drawings is not important. The main purpose is to share your story with others.

JESUS IS THE BETTER _____

Choose biblical images from a list and write about that biblical person in the first column and how he/she did or didn't fulfill his/her role. In the second column, we should write a few words that describe how Jesus perfectly fulfilled the person’s role, in a way they never could, to the glory of God.

THREE PILLARS

Reflect on three key events that have shaped, influenced, and directed your life. Write about the event, the situations, or the people surrounding it, and explain how it shaped other elements of my life.

Community Resources and Articles

Featured
We Are a Spiritual Family
We Are a Spiritual Family

“Family” is hard. But if we look at the images God uses for His people in the New Testament, we see that He refers to the Church as His body, as a temple or spiritual structure in which God the Spirit dwells, and as a field. But by far the overarching metaphor for the Church is one of family.

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There Must Be Something More
There Must Be Something More

In fact, it is impossible to fulfill many of the Bible’s commands outside of deep relationship and shared life with other followers of Jesus. We are designed to be dependent on God and others. We need help reclaiming the depth of that dependence.

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Jesus is Both the Motive & the Goal
Jesus is Both the Motive & the Goal

Above all, life in the family of God is a daily act of worship. So let’s find a group of folks to go with us, and let’s pray for the Spirit’s help in difficult steps on this journey.

Read More →