NEXTSTEP WEEK 1

Who Are We?

NextStep_Week 1.mov

This week we will start with answering the question: Who are we?

Human beings have many important things in common. Nevertheless, each person is unique. People have different personalities, temperaments, histories, talents, giftings, callings, and destinies.

Life gets very frustrating when we try to become like everybody else. We do best when we discover who God created and called us to be and then live our lives with that as our primary focus. Nobody can be everybody. Nor should people try to be everybody.

“Everybody is somebody, nobody is everybody.”

The same is true of churches. Most Bible-believing churches have a lot in common. But not all churches are called to emphasize the same things or “do church” in the same ways.

God has given each church family its own unique calling and destiny. Each church should develop its own culture, “personality,” philosophy of ministry, and way of “doing church” that expresses God’s vision for that church.

Instead of trying to be like every other church, each church should discover, walk out, and fulfill its unique calling and destiny, and do so with excellence.

Who has God called Manna Church to be? Who are we?

A Vision To Change the World

Our Vision

We believe our Manna Church mission is to glorify God by equipping His people to change their world and by planting churches with a world-changing vision.

Equipped for Ministry vs. Ministered To

There’s a huge difference between “equipping His people” and “ministering to His people.” The Bible teaches that God has a calling on your life, that God has placed gifts and talents in your life, and that God wants to redeem your past to propel you into your future.

Therefore, we don’t just minister to you; instead, our priority is to equip and empower you to be the person that God called you to be and to do what God called you to do.

We Plan to Accomplish This By:

Helping God’s people discover their individual gifts and callings, creating an environment where these may be developed, and deploying God’s people into their world to be salt and light. Our Small Groups are designed to help accomplish this goal.

There are many different versions of what “discipleship” means out there in the body of Christ. But, of this we are sure—Jesus was the best disciple-maker on the planet. Jesus built people. Jesus mentored people. In other words, Jesus discipled people. And He chose to do this in small group settings.

As a result, we believe Small Groups are where you grow spiritually. Small Groups are the best environments where you can discover and develop your gifts and calling. That’s where you can be deployed into your world to be salt and light.

Helping God’s people build strong families and creating a community where individuals may find fulfillment and expression regardless of age or marital status.
Planting churches with the same vision both domestically and abroad.

Manna's Emphases and Applications

Jesus Himself instructed us to embrace three fundamental values. We see these values expressed in the following Scriptures.

The Great Commandment

Matthew 22:34-40 (ESV)

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

The Great Commission

Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV)

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.”

We Do Three Things

Love God—Inspiring Worship Experiences
Love Each Other—Life-Giving Small Groups (everything is a Small Group at Manna)
Love the World—World-Changing Outreach

Our Perspective: One Church, Many Locations

Church is people—not a place, an activity, or a method.
Church is anywhere and everywhere people gather in His Name.
If you want to multiply people, multiply groups.

Our Strategy

Manna Church has developed a Multiply Strategy for reaching the World.

At the beginning of human history, God gave us a mission: “Go forth and multiply.”

Genesis 1:27–28 (ESV)

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth…”

(see also Genesis 12:1–3; 15:1–7; 17:1–7)

Of the early Church, we read over and over that God multiplied their numbers.

Acts 6:7 (ESV)

And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem…

Acts 9:31 (ESV)

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

Acts 12:24 (ESV)

But the word of God increased and multiplied.

Multiply is the math of God; multiply happens when our “adds” add.

With a Multiply strategy, we can reach people anywhere and everywhere they can and will gather.

Manna's Multiply Definitions

Our Multiply Strategy is comprised of City-Sites, Multi-Sites, and Micro-Sites.

City-Site: a Manna Church location with 100–1,999 people in attendance for weekend experience(s); may have Micro-Site and/or Multi-Site extensions.

Multi-Site: an extension of a City-Site.

Micro-Site: a gathering of people who are committed to glorifying God by helping to equip people to change their world. It embraces Manna’s three values and keeps our name, logo, and Growth Track. (Those who start and lead Micro-Sites will have received additional training through another Step in our Growth Track—MultiStep)

Manna’s Military Highway Strategy: We plan to plant a City-Site or a Micro-Site near every US military base in the world, starting with the Army bases. We also plan to plant City-Sites and Micro Sites wherever people go when they leave military service or move to a different area.

Technology: Paul used the technology of his day to reach people (letters to the churches). Manna will use and develop the technologies of our day (video, the Internet) to help fulfill our mission.

Benefits of Manna's Multiply Strategy

Multiply = more.
More leaders being developed.
More opportunities for people to serve and to discover and develop their gifts.
More opportunities for members and guests to connect with our church family.
More people being reached for Christ.

With this Multiply strategy, we can reach people anywhere and everywhere they gather: in prisons, in bus stations, in school, before school, after school, in the jungle, in the penthouse apartment of a high-rise in New York City, and down on the street among the homeless.

Going Deeper

In what respects is Manna Church different from church environments you may have come from or heard about?
What aspects of “Who we are” do you find most interesting and inspiring?

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