Missio Dei | Fort Collins, CO

• Ryan Couch
• Feb 15, 2010
• Series: Church Profiles

Planter Profile:

Briefly describe your story of your call to plant a church

I began to sense the call to church planting as a young Bible College student. After serving in a few church plants as an intern and assistant pastor my wife and ventured out to plant a church in a small rural town in Central Oregon. After 8 years of successfully planting and pastoring Calvary Chapel in Prineville, OR. my family and I moved to Fort Collins to plant another church and it is now my desire to help young men to achieve their dreams of church planting.

What were the biggest challenges you faced in planting your church (and/or currently facing)? 

Leaving Oregon and our family, friends, and wonderful church community was very difficult. It was a huge step for us to leave all that security behind but the Lord is making it very clear that our small sacrifice is going to pay huge dividends for His Kingdom.

How did you become involved with Acts 29? What have been the biggest benefits of being in the network? 

I began to read, listen and follow Mark Driscoll several years ago. When we decided to leave Oregon to plant in Colorado, Acts 29 seemed like a very good fit for us as our theology, vision, and goals are the same. Some of the biggest benefits have been the great friends I have met (Russ McKendry, Hunter Beaumont). They have both been a great source of encouragement and help. Another benefit has been the familiarity many have with Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill church which has given us immediate respect and traction.

What advice do you have for men who are wrestling with the decision to plant? 

1. Make sure you are called to pastor.
2. Make sure you are called to be a planting pastor.
3. Don't let anything or anyone dissuade or discourage you once you determine 1 and 2.

How do you pastor your family? 

I disciple my family first of all by faithfully following Jesus personally. My wife and I pray together daily. My children and I pray together daily. We spend time dialoging about about the Bible, theology, life, Jesus and the gospel almost daily as we go about our day. I attempt to model the gospel to my wife and children by being quick to admit my faults and ask for their forgiveness as well as the Lords.

How can we pray for you? 

The joining of the two groups will present some challenges please pray for humility and God's perfect plan to be accomplished. Pray for provision. Pray for God's favor as we desire to engage this city with the gospel.

Church Profile: Missio Dei
Launch Date: January, 2010
Location: Fort Collins, CO

Mission, Vision, Values of Church

Mission -

To join God on His mission of redeeming the world back to its original created goodness (Genesis 1:31, Luke 11:2, Revelation 21:1-5). This is accomplished by loving God in Jesus (love), connecting people to Jesus (live), and transforming our world through Jesus (legacy).

Vision -

It is our vision to plant gospel focused, Jesus centered, missional churches in Fort Collins, the 1-25 corridor, and across the world. Our focus will be powerfully fulfilling the Great Commission by making disciples of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:16-20).

Core Values -

To glorify God by loving Him in Jesus (love)

To enjoy community with other Christians (live)

To transform our world with the gospel (legacy)

Churches are designed by God to be instruments of renewal in the world, not only renewing individual lives but also renewing cultural forms and structures, helping to make all that is crooked in our world straight.

Therefore...

We desire to be biblical – This means that we want everything we do to be shaped around the Word of God. We do not want to be driven by a movement or the opinions of men. It also stresses the fact that we want our services to emphasize the preaching and teaching of the Scriptures in an accurate, compelling, and relevant manner. This also means that we are constantly learning and growing and when given sufficient Scriptural evidence we are willing to change because we understand our finite understanding of theology and church practice.

We desire to be evangelical – This means that there are certain truths that we will not let go of, that is the tenets of the historic Christian faith. This would include the Person and work of Jesus Christ, the Trinity, the inerrancy and authority of Scripture, the gospel as the only means of salvation, and a literal heaven and hell.

We desire to be theological – This means we desire know God as He desires to be known. Theology is the study of God. As a community The Bridge is committed to knowing God and making Him known. At The Bridge we recognize that our sole purpose for existence is to bring God glory, and we believe that this can only be accomplished by rightly relating to His Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore our desire is to make Jesus famous. He is the Senior Pastor of the church and every decision should be made with one criterion; does it bring people into a greater knowledge of Him? Being theological means that our passion is to bring people into a proper understanding of the God of the Bible so that they can know Him intimately and follow Him properly. Therefore we are committed to teaching/preaching the Scriptures because this is the primary place that God reveals Himself to us. This would also include our times of corporate worship, which will be centered on music that is both theologically sound and meaningful to the people of our city. We believe that worship is not just the songs we sing before the sermon on Sunday; worship is our entire life, everything we do should be worship unto Him (Romans 12:1-2).

We desire to be relatable – This means that while our message will never be compromised our methods will be fresh and culturally relevant. We will hold tightly to those things that are not debatable but we will hold loosely to those things that simply cause division and are counterproductive to our mission. Like Paul we desire to become all things to all men that we might by all means save some (1 Cor. 9:19-23).

We desire to be missional - This means that our ministry will be outwardly not inwardly focused. While the church certainly needs to be equipped and engaged for their mission (Ephesians 4), it also needs to be set free to live amongst the world and not have their lives defined by the 4 walls of the church. As a missional church we refuse to isolate ourselves from the world. Our focus instead will be on taking the gospel to the world that Jesus said is ready for harvest (John 4:35). This being said, we also understand that not every activity of the church corporately or the Christian individually has to be soteric. There is redemptive value in feeding the poor, clothing the homeless, comforting the afflicted, and cleaning up the community. While we should always be ready to tell people about the gospel, it is counterproductive on both fronts to awkwardly slap the gospel onto these efforts. The essence of being missional means that we understand that we are on mission with God. Jesus was sent by the Father and now He has sent us as His missionaries (John 20:21). We have been commissioned to continue the mission of Jesus to redeem the world from the repercussions of sin and death (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

What is your philosophy of community in your church and what does that look like practically in your church? Of evangelism? 

My philosophy is that community must be gospel centered and flow from our "common" connection to Jesus. Practically this means that when we gather together (both formally and informally) for community we must continually point each other to Jesus and the gospel. In formal gatherings this will be come very easy through worship, preaching, and sacraments. In informal gatherings this will be more of a challenge but it can happen very naturally as we live life together.

What are some examples of God's grace that you have seen in your life and/or the life of your church? 

Well besides the obvious gift of grace I receive from Jesus daily and the fact that He uses me at all I have seen God's grace in bringing some amazing people around us to help plant the church, including our worship leader who showed us some rental properties and through conversation decided to come on board with us. As well as a local church planter who has decided to join his core group to ours to create synergy, momentum, and critical mass in the early stages of the church plant.