LiveDifferentChurch.org

Before the church was an institution, it was a movement. Before the church became a building and a collection of programs, it was a mission to people. Before Christianity was a religion, it was a relationship with Jesus Christ. Our aim is to rediscover that church in our times and in our communities. Our mission is to tell the story of Jesus; to share his good news with a world that is aching for purpose, community, transcendence, and a moral center.

We can't do that from the isolation of our church building sanctuaries. Gone are the days when people came to our doors looking for these answers. We must, as Jesus himself, enter into the world, and share our hope through word and action. We don't want to indoctrinate people with religion, we want to capture their spiritual imagination with the person and story of Jesus. And while we can tell that story, we actually think its more important to live it.

The d3 logo is shorthand for "different to the power of three." It's a reminder of simple things we can do to build community and live out our faith in daily life. We believe it is time to relearn the ancient and simple ways of incarnational mission, and to that end, we set before ourselves these challenges:

 3 Blessings
Bless three people every week: One person within our faith fellowship, one person outside our fellowship, and a third of your choice.

 3 Meals
Each week, share a meal with three people who are not members of your household: One person within our faith fellowship, one person outside our fellowship, and a third of your choice.

 3 Disciplines
Make a weekly practice of at least three core faith disciplines:
1. Find a way to worship God.
2. Learn something new about Jesus.
3. Spend more than a few moments in prayer.

Three blessings, three meals, and three disciplines. A simple way of living like Jesus. These represent our commitment to building community, to growing spiritually, and to sharing the journey. As we mature in our faith, God may call us to a deeper level of service.

Going Deeper

The first three components of the d3 challenge represent the things any believer can do to participate in Christ's mission to the world around us. But among missional people, Jesus will always be raising up missional leaders. Such leaders assume greater responsibility for others, and to them we extend three additional challenges:

 3 Strands
Connect your household with two others for encouragement, conversation, care, and accountability. Using this mini-community as a foundation, reach out to friends and neighbors, building extended community in genuine and intentional ways.

 3 Steps
Implement an incarnational ministry via these three steps:
1. Engage people.
2. Connect them into community.
3. Assemble those who turn to Jesus.

 3 Places
Practice this incarnational ministry within three spheres of life: Your home, your workplace, and in a “third place” within the community. Third places are those rare but important spaces within a society where people go to seek and grow their community connections.

For the inspiration for d3, we are deeply indebted to some very good Christian teachers and writers. We've included links here to some of their books:

The Shaping of Things to Come

The Tangible Kingdom