DNA is the instruction used in the development and functioning of living organisms. For us, DNA refers to the guiding principles for the development and functioning of PDX20. We believe if you get the DNA right everything else will line up in place. DNA in essence is the values and the behaviors behind PDX20.
Our strategy is guided by this reality: 95% of our current church planting methods will roughly ATTRACT 40% of the population. This leaves 60% of the population being the focus of only 5% of our church planting efforts. Here at PortlandChurchPlanting.org, we want to put more effort in engaging this underserved and under-reached population.
Because of this, we are committed with planting a person or team with the gospel in 20-minute communities in order to see people come to faith in JESUS, and as a result, a new church birthed as God's missionary people live out the Kingdom values in their community.
Here is what we VALUE:
1. The Trinity: God the Father is a SENDING God. God the Son INHABITS a place with the presence of the Kingdom. He is God incarnated in the neighborhood. JESUS IS LORD and as Lord He sends His disciples into the harvest fields! God the Spirit. He comes alongside the disciple in power to live out the Kingdom in the neighborhood. He brings conviction as we serve as reconcilers in the place(s) we are planted. It is this TRINITY disciples are called to and it is the TRINITY which gives us the basis for our behaviors as disciples. We are CALLED to this and to the Godhead. It is His mission and we pray HE sends laborers into his harvest.
2. Commissioned from Jesus. We serve a missionary God who compels us to the harvest field.
3. Competent in and by Jesus. The life of Jesus instructs our beliefs and behaviors as we live as His called out people, trained by His words and informed by His actions as Kingdom citizens.
4. Character fashioned after Jesus. We serve as missionaries as we allow Christ to shape and form us into his own image. Character matters and we want to be a people becoming more like Him as we live in our 20-minute communities.
5. Context. The mission of the church is to identify where God is at work in our NEIGHBORHOODS, our work environments and the places we recreate in order to be the good news of the Kingdom of God. These are our places of influence.
Our Core Behaviors:
1. Go and make disciples who make disciples to the 4th generation.
2. Live as missional people with the gospel modeling the life of Jesus in our neighborhood.
3. With others, we multiply the mission by living in the power of the Spirit who Jesus promised would be our Helper, Counselor, and Guide.
4. Pray continuously to the Lord of the Harvest to send laborers and raise up laborers from His harvest field.
5. Multiply everything.
Portland Church planting (PDX20) is an emphasis to sow the gospel throughout 20-minute communities or walkable communities in Portland Oregon in order to see new believers made/multiplied and new churches formed/started.
PDX20's desire is to plant disciples with the gospel in these communities and pray to the Lord of the Harvest to grow His Kingdom while His people tangibly live out the Kingdom life in these communities (Luke 9,10). As a result, we believe new churches will be started (Acts).
PDX20 will work toward CATALYZING the following:
PDX20 will do the following to MOBILIZE church planting efforts in Portland:
Portland Church planting (PDX20) is an emphasis to sow the gospel throughout 20-minute communities or walkable communities in Portland Oregon in order to see new believers made/multiplied and new churches formed/started.
PDX20's desire is to plant disciples with the gospel in these communities and pray to the Lord of the Harvest to grow His Kingdom while His people tangibly live out the Kingdom life in these communities (Luke 9,10). As a result, we believe new churches will be started (Acts).
PDX20 will work toward CATALYZING the following:
- Local church planting centers and networks.
- Discovering and developing church planting teams (planters and team members).
- Implementing systems to increase church planting capacity
- Connecting mobilized partner churches with local church planters.
- Praying to the Lord of the Harvest to birth new churches as a result of sowing the gospel in 20-minute communities throughout the Portland Metro area.
PDX20 will do the following to MOBILIZE church planting efforts in Portland:
- As a missionary, grow in awareness of the need in 20-minute communities for potential new churches.
- Communicate needs to churches, church partners, coalitions, and church planting centers
- Provide experiences for partnering churches to orient themselves to the context of 20-minute communities in Portland.
- Help existing churches discover the evangelistic opportunities in 20-minute communities (under- reached people and under-reached affinity groups).
- Provide leadership training experiences for existing churches so that they can learn and become engaged in the progression of becoming a sending church in the church planting system.
- Seek to involve 10% of our existing local churches to either be sending or supporting churches for new churches in Portland.
