Home Outreach Leaders Articles for Outreach & Missions Top 10 Reasons Missional Communities Fail

Top 10 Reasons Missional Communities Fail

3. Launching with too few people.

One critical mistake many missional communities make (and I’ve made several times) is launching with less than 15-20 people in the core group as they are starting the new MC. Why, you may ask? Because a missional community needs to exist as an extended family of 20-50 people, living in the social dynamics of a group that size. The reason mission works so well with this size group is that new people who don’t know Jesus are welcome to hang out, observe, form relationships, but they can also be semi-anonymous if they choose.

Because of the number of people, they don’t feel uncomfortable if they don’t fully participate or are simply in observation mode when the “family” has spiritual time together. There is a certain gravitational pull to these group dynamics; it really brings people in. However, if you have fewer than 15 people, you’ll almost inevitably default to the social dynamics of a small group 6-12 people), where it’s very personal, everyone shares, and is very inward focused. That’s not terribly comfortable for someone who doesn’t know Jesus! We’ve found that at 15 people, there is a shift in these dynamics.

The last thing I’d say on this is that it is possible to get around this in probably two scenarios: If the leader of the group is an outstanding people gatherer. In other words, they could start a missional community with six people and next week there would be 25 people there … they just have a gift. They are one of the few exceptions to this rule. Or if you have a veteran missional community leader who has done a few MCs, has seen them grow and multiply and truly knows what they are doing. They have learned to steer and navigate the social dynamics of an extended family even when there aren’t enough people to comprise an extended family.

4. The missional community isn’t part of a larger, worshiping body.

Church plants might be able to get around this (though in many cases they can’t either), but the reality is that life on the missional frontier isn’t easy. It’s incredibly exciting, an amazing adventure, and it’s worth every ounce of prayer and effort you put into it, but it really is hard. Because of that, it’s really important that missional communities regularly cycle into a worship service with a larger group of people (more than 75 people) at least once a month (but no more than three times a month) to be reminded they are part of a bigger story, to hear how God is working in places other than just theirs, to hear teaching/preaching for the wider community, to take the sacraments together, and to worship with one, unified voice.

Another way of putting it: The scattered church gathers in order to scatter. Even another way of putting it: We gather together so mission is sustainable. Missional communities that operate alone will eventually wither and fall off the vine because it’s generally too hard to sustain apart from a wider community.

5. Missional community leaders who aren’t held accountable.

MCs are built on the principle of “Low Control/High Accountability.” If your leaders aren’t willing to be held accountable, this is a spiritual problem (i.e. also a discipleship issue) and it will come back to bite you. Missional communities aren’t the place you want the rebellious renegades of the church leading. The mission is simply too important. If they refuse to be held accountable in whatever leadership accountability system you have, don’t let them be a missional community leader. Eventually, whatever is toxic in them that refuses to let them submit to someone in authority will eek out into the rest of the group and the toxicity will spread. Be clear on what accountability looks like, what those rhythms look like, what the expectations are, and make sure you follow through on these expectations as the person holding them accountable.