May 2015

        May was a big month for Robert’s huddle because of the Discipleship and Mission Workshop.  Things had started to come together as far as what we were going to share and how we were going to share it.  Everyone in his huddle had a part to share/teach.

One thing that we had learned was the value of a huddle beyond the discipleship of leaders.  We realized (and not without having been told at least two times/ways) that we could use a huddle as a vehicle for processing information as well.  We had been put in huddles in the workshop that we had gone to and Jarred and I had been in huddles for the pilgrimage.  So, we planned to use a huddle for the attenders of the workshop so they could process what they were learning and really pause to see what God was telling them about what they were learning.

We had about 20 people show up to the workshop that were not already part of a huddle/MC.  We had another 10 or so people come that were part of a huddle and 6 of those people lead the processing huddles over the two day workshop.  The huddles were a major selling point for the people who had never heard of huddles/MC.  There was a lot of challenging information shared that overwhelmed a lot of people.  When they were able to take a step back and focus on one or two things they felt God was telling them, they felt more empowered.  

         After it was all said and done, we felt it had been a successful first jab.  We learned some things about what worked and what didn’t.  We also realized that for some time, as a church, we should probably do this workshop quarterly so that everyone had a chance to come.  It took 10 people to run the operation not counting worship.  Next time, for the same size group it should hopefully take only half the man power.

         In our MC, two major things happened.  First, Rhonda’s girlfriend started to become more a part of the family.  They invited us over to their house a couple of times for drinks.  Mari wanted us to do a block party for the Fourth of July so she and Katy headed it up.  The two of them invited us to play in a softball league with them.  Courtney, Jon, Jarred and I signed up to play.  There was no one else from the neighborhood that was in the league but we were building in to Rhonda and Mari’s networks.

The next big thing that happened was that Kelsey moved in with Jon and Katy.  This became a big deal because for the foreseeable future, the three of them were getting some intense practice at doing life together.

Kelsey was quickly turned into a 3DM junky while living with Katy and Jon. 

        Finally, Jarred and I went with my family to Michigan for my brother’s graduation.  On our way back, we visited Roger’s church and then spent all day with him and his family.  They were preparing to launch an MC and had spent the better part of a month trying to nail down their mission-vision.  It was again so refreshing to meet people and quickly connect with them because of being able to speak the same language.  Never before had we met someone and then hung out all afternoon on their couch in the same day.  It felt like family.

As always, we would love to hear about what you are doing with missional communities in your context. Please feel free to share in a comment below. Also, if you have questions about anything we are doing, feel free to ask and we will get back to you as quickly as possible! Thanks for following along. 

Love, 

The Irby's