Sojourners Missional Communities are one way that Woodland Hills is seeking to help our people to “Be the Church” – to actively be God’s Image-Bearers to each other and to those who are not yet followers of Jesus.
Being God’s Image-Bearers – the fundamental job of the church
We are told that God created and commissioned humanity to be his image-bearers (Genesis 1:26-27). If we are to bear his image, we must understand clearly who/what God is.
A simple summary of the biblical truth about God is that…
- God is a community – three persons bonded together into one inseparable unit (“family”).
- God is a community that expresses and actively lives out agape love toward each other.
- God is a community that lives out agape love among and for the sake of others that are not yet part of his family-community.
A Jesus-centered way of summing up our calling to bear God’s image might be:
- The Church is the Family of Jesus
- Learning and living out the Ways of Jesus
- Among and for the sake of those who do not yet know Jesus
- So that they might become part of the Family of Jesus
In other words, the Church is to be a “missional family” or a “family on mission” – a certain kind of strong, committed, intentional family-like community, that seeks to learn and grow in the character, values, and lifestyle that Jesus displayed and taught, in a manner that is seen by and impacts those outside the Church family and invites and draws them into joining this family.
In order to give people a doable way to live this vision out together, the leadership of Woodland Hills has created Sojourners Missional Communities as part of our broader discipleship and missions strategies. Our community members commit to engaging together in various practices of covenant-family community, mutual discipleship and spiritual formation, and missional service and outreach.
Serve at Frost Lake or Crossroads Elementary
We’re looking for volunteers for two groups focused on providing meals for kids in need from Frost Lake and Crossroads Elementary schools. We work with Every Meal, a local ministry addressing food insecurity within Elementary schools throughout Minnesota. Volunteers serve 1-2x/month during weekdays for 1-2 hours, staring this Fall.
In addition to food distribution, we’re also looking for after school tutors for Frost Lake!
For more info, contact Rachel at rachel.dengler@gmail.com.
Interested in finding out more? You can:
- Contact Kevin Callaghan (kcallaghan@whchurch.org) or Rick Yonker (ryonker@whchurch.org) who would be happy to connect with you to share more.
- Come visit a missional community gathering! Check out the calendar below to see when we’ll be gathering, and click a date to fill out the form if you’re interested in joining us! (If there are no gatherings listed below, check back soon as we add them frequently, or email Kevin or Rick!)
