Missional Communities
The mission of God is to restore all things to himself in and through the work and person of Jesus Christ. His chosen vehicle through which he is accomplishing that mission is the church. The church is the family of God called to together to himself and sent out on his mission. Missional Communities are the primary means through which Harambee/Soma mobilizes people together on mission and connects people to a caring community.
WHAT IS A MISSIONAL COMMUNITY?
A Missional Community consists of a committed core of believers (FAMILY) who live out the mission of God together (MISSIONARIES) in a specific area or to a particular people group by demonstrating the gospel in tangible forms (SERVANTS) and declaring the gospel to others—both those who believe it and those who are being exposed to it (LEARNERS). To clarify, a Missional Community is NOT primarily a small group, Bible study, support group, social activist group, or weekly meeting.
Our hope is that every person who is committed to the Harambee/Soma family and mission will be fully involved in a missional community and eventually the missional communities in a region will multiply and together form a new expression of Soma Communities.
Consider this… The life of the church as recorded in Acts 2:42-47 came as a result of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit into the lives of a people collectively committed to the mission of God. The description we read about in Acts was not the means of becoming a great church, but the results of God working through a people committed to him and his mission.
We believe God is still more committed to his mission being accomplished then us having our preferred church experience. Missional Communities exist to partner with God to further his mission in every part of our region.
EACH MISSIONAL COMMUNITY WILL:
1. Be led by a team committed to leading, shepherding, equipping and organizing a community on mission
2. Grow together in understanding and application of the Gospel to who we are (Identities) because of God’s work in and through Jesus
3. Live out the weekly Rhythms of a family on mission together (Story-formed, Listen, Celebrate, Eat, Bless and
ReCreate) – BE the church together throughout the week
4. Identify, equip and release new leadership to begin new Missional Communities
PATHWAYS INTO A MISSIONAL COMMUNITY:
1. Check out the list of MC’s on the
Harambee website to find one near you or you want to support the mission of
2. Talk to the MC leader about checking it out
3. Consider starting one in your area and start attending MC leader training sessions when available.
My Confession by Charin Youngren
Presented as part of our corporate worship on July 22nd, 2007
This is my confession to you:
I mess up and shift the blame. Owning up to my mistakes, taking shame, disappointment, or disgrace that comes with being the one at fault is the last thing that I do. Instead I make excuses, lie, become defensive and worst of all, blame others for my wrongdoing. Ifs, Ands, Buts fly out of my mouth, but I’m sorry, You’re right, and Please forgive me, are the phrases left hiding in the closet.
This is my confession to you:
I become jealous of someone and find pleasure when they fall. I compare myself to others and envy what they have, be it car, winning smile, or true zeal for Christ. Then when they fall, I get a sick satisfaction out of seeing them disgraced. Instead of caring for them and offering to help bear their burdens, I just kick back and mock them, so glad that it isn’t me who looks like the fool.
This is my confession to you:
I get hurt and hate. When someone hurts me I feel like I am justified in hurting them back. I become oh so bitter, vengeful, and proud. My head is full of spiteful comebacks, backstabbing remarks, and foul words to throw at them. Turning the other cheek is a joke where my feelings are concerned. Loving and forgiving are the absolute last things on my mind. Hate and my own glory are the first.
This is what I confess to you:
Even though my list by no means stops there, God in His compassion stepped in the midst of my cowardice, envy, and merciless state of being, and washed me white as snow. Christ chose to wrap this shaking, vile, insecure, malicious and resentful child in His arms of grace and say, “My child I forgive your sins, come, follow me.”
Milk & Honey Cafe
Exodus 3:7-10: "The Lord said, 'I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have hear them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land and into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with Milk and Honey--the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hiivites, and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.'"
Milk & Honey Cafe will be opening in September as an espresso cart. We are currently seeking volunteer help from experienced baristas, financial support, and artistic/design help. If interested, please contact cafe manager Tamara Franceschina at tamara@harambeechurch.com. Currently our hours will be centered around Sunday Services, special events, and during the
HCDA after school time.
Our hope is to build it out fully by next year, having it function as a full coffee bar serving light food items. We are seeking help with design and construction. During that time we hope to be open on a more full time basis, extending our services to correspond with the Harambee venue,
HCDA events, and regular hours for the general public. We also hope to expand our volunteer opportunities to all, with a special focus on job training for youth."
Mission & Vision
Mission
The Harambee Café exists as a socially responsible neighborhood café to further the mission of Harambee Community Development Association. We seek to build and engage community by creating a gathering place to enjoy affordable, fresh, and locally produced snacks and drinks in a creative environment that educates, inspires, and invites our community to share in our commitment to seek mercy and justice for the oppressed, embrace diversity, empower people to positively transform lives, and to cultivate and support the arts.
Vision
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How You Can be Involved
We are currently seeking somewhat experienced baristas who are interested in people and relationship building to make our team. If you are interested, please inquire before August 15th. These team members will volunteer to serve before and after services on Sundays, during the week from 1:00-6:00 to support HCDA after school programs, and during various other weekly events and special occasion.
We are also seeking financial support. We have yet to raise another 2000$ to cover our cart operation expenses. For build out, we need to raise roughly 50,000$ dollars. If you are interested in financial sponsorship of an item, a monthly contribution, or a one time gift, please contact the church office.
We are also looking for support in areas of people and contacts. If you are in fields such as plumbing, construction, fundraising, accounting, or restaurant service, we would love your donation of time and resources.
If you have any further questions, please contact Danelle Dillon (cafe manager) at danelle@harambeechurch.com.
Classes
Another important aspect of Biblical discipleship includes classes that study a specific subject over a distinct duration of time. Harambee classes include...
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Youth
Jr. and Sr. High (13-17 years): While we are a young church and do not have a lot of junior and senior high students, we believe that everyone should be integrated into the church community.
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Counseling
In a healthy church body, believers walk through life together supporting each other through life’s joys and pain. Sometimes issues arise within a person, between people, or between a person and God, which require a more intentional level of help. These may include marriage and family issues, spiritual issues, anger, depression, addictions, etc.
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Children
When we look back on our lives we remember people. When we look back searching for who has helped shape us, many faces come to mind. Many hands go into the making of a human life.
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Liturgy
Lit-ur-gy: Late Latin liturgia, from Greek (koine) leitourgia public service, leitourgos public servant. 1) a Eucharistic rite. 2) a rite or body of rites prescribed for public worship. 3) a public service, the public service of God, public worship, belonging to the people.
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Women
Throughout the book of Proverbs there are two types of women who are characterized: the wise woman and the woman of folly. In Proverbs 3:13-16, wisdom is personified as a woman, and in Proverbs 31 the abstract is made concrete in the description of one woman’s life.
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Serving
For Christians, serving the body of Christ, be it the local body of Harambee, regionally or globally, is part of our worship of God. Thus, we encourage our members to joyfully use their gifts both inside and outside the Harambee Community for the mutual edification of the body.
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