Forge America

I was stoked to discover today that Forge are kicking off in the US.

Originally an initiative out of Australia, driven in large part by the work of Alan Hirsch and Mike Frost, who get so many mentions on my blog I’m fearful they might think I’m stalking them.

I’m not...really I’m not...I just think that between them they have the best handle on what it means to be missional in the West in the 21st Century, so it’s worth keeping a close eye on what they have to say.

My noodlings about Mission”Al”
My noodlings about Frosty

Forge America describe themselves like this:

Forge is an innovative mission training network that seeks to equip Christian leaders for mission in a first world setting.

Forge recognizes the enormous cultural shifts that have occurred in the world over the last few decades and is committed to developing leaders who can live and serve incarnationally, who have a holistic view of life and mission and who are able to re-think church structures recognizing that one size does not fit all.

Forge encourages the dreamers, entrepreneurs and the risk takers in our churches to boldly seek new expressions of church and new approaches to mission so that we can be genuinely connected to the heartbeat of our communities.

The Forge dream is to see both new missional communities birthed and established churches encouraged refocusing on the task of mission within their communities

Forge has emerged at a time when it is widely agreed that we find ourselves in a new mission context. In our present cultural climate most experienced evangelists and missionaries recognize that intentional mission responses and church planting is the most effective approach. Forge is a bold initiative that specifically addresses these challenges by linking experienced mission practitioners with emerging missional leaders. Forge aims to focus its energy on developing leadership that can understand the missional challenge and proactively develop strategies, approaches and teams, to be able to take the church onto new and uncharted ground.

You may want to check out the forthcoming Forge Missional Imaginations Conference in April, hosted by Wheaton.

Forge’s National US Director is fellow Aussie, Kim Hammond

As a double whammy bonus on this post, here’s a great little interview with Alan conducted by Andrew Marin of Love is An Orientation, and a link to Churchplanters conference where Hirschy gives a great lecture on the whole Missional deal....it’s really worth taking the time with a coffee to listen to this presentation if you want to get some perspective on this missional business (you have to give ‘em your email address)