Our Missional Discipleship process is based off of the work done by Joseph Myers in his book Search to Belong along with the help of sociologist Edward T. Hall as well as the book Discipleship that Fits by Alex Absalom and Bobby Harrington. Myers and Hall identify four kinds of spaces in which we find a sense of belonging. Our process seeks to use all four of these spaces to make disciples of Jesus, as well as add a fifth space/context not in Myers or Hall’s work but found in Absalom and Harrington’s.   

Public space is about sharing a common experience in a larger space, like a public worship service, or if the church isn’t large, a regional or city gathering of some type. Biblically this was when they gathered in places like the temple, or where crowds gathered. Public Space can be defined in numbers as 75+. Public space is a place of Inspiration, Movementum, and Preaching.  

For Veritas, our discipleship in the Public Space is connected to our affiliations with the Church of the Brethren and the Ecclesia Network. We tie into regional and local events supported and sponsored by our connections with the Church of the Brethren and the Ecclesia Network.  

Social space is where people select a community – people with whom they want to go deeper – to belong to. In the congregational setting, this space is more like a mid-sized group of 20 to 70 people. Biblically this space is what the New Testament calls oikos, a Greek term typically translated “house” or “household.” It refers to the basic building block of ancient society, the household, and its close network of relationships, the extended family. Social Space is a place of Community, Mission, and Practice.  

Our social space gathering happens on Sunday mornings at HUB 450 (450 North Prince Street) at 10:30 AM. This social space gathering’s focus rotates through the three parts of our mission (To be family, Pursuing Truth with Honest Expression, Following Jesus into the margins).

What does our monthly gathering gathering rhythm look like?

1st and 3rd Sundays: Our focus on the first and third Sundays of the month is on being family. These gatherings could include food, the biblical one another’s, hiking, and doing life together as an extended family.

2nd Sundays: Our focus on the second Sundays of the month is on Pursuing Truth with Honest Expression. These gatherings could include musical worship, prayer, biblical message, small group discussion, bible study, and various communal spiritual practices.

4th Sundays: Our focus on the fourth Sundays of the month is on following Jesus into the margins. These gatherings could include determining to whom are we sent, prayer walks, serving together, and engaging in our missional contexts.

Personal space is where we connect through private relationships. Personal space includes the five to fifteen people whom we feel close to, whom we spend a lot of time with, like Jesus and the Twelve. This is a key area for discipleship to take place in a deeper way. Personal Space is a place of Closeness, Support, and Challenge.

For Veritas, our discipleship in the Personal Space takes the form of our Community Groups, which are groups of 5-15 who meet for community, prayer, Bible Study, and to be on mission together (developing a common mission focus, whether it is a neighborhood or a local non-profit, or a certain people group).

Transparent space is where we share experiences, feelings and thoughts. Intimate relationships are those in which another person knows the “naked truth” about us, without us feeling “ashamed”.  This is like the space Jesus had with the three, Peter, James and John. Transparent Space is a place of Intimacy, Openness, and Impact.

For Veritas, our discipleship in the Transparent Space takes the form of Micro Groups.   

Each group is made up of 3 people, typically the same gender, who commit themselves to 2 things: 1. Reading 5 chapters of the gospels each week. 2. Meeting together once a week/or bi-weekly to answer the questions: what is God saying to you, what are you going to do about it, and how can we pray for you?

Following the micro groups exploration of the 4 gospels (usually takes around 6 months) each group is encouraged to multiple into 3 groups to start the process over and/or stay together and develop a rhythm of life together entitled B.E.L.LS. B.E.L.L.S. stands for Blessing (Blessing three people each week. 1 from your church, 1 yet to be follower of Jesus, and one from either category), Eating (Eating with 3 people each week. 1 from your church, 1 yet to be follower of Jesus, and one from either category), Listening (committing to one period of time each week to listen to the Spirit), Learning (committing to one period of time each week to learn about Jesus) , and Sentness (journaling each week how you have alerted others to the universal reign of God through Jesus).

Divine Space/Personal Walk is about being alone with God, your Creator and Redeemer. This space directly impacts each of the other four spaces. It is hard to measure how someone else is doing in this space. Divine Space is 1-on-1 between myself and God. Divine Space is a place of Identity, Destiny, and Truth.

For Veritas our discipleship in this spaces takes the form of providing resources to encourage our community to be engaged in personal spiritual disciplines to help them grow as individuals.