Getting beyond small talk with our neighbors can be challenging for various reasons. In this episode, we will talk with the Chief Field Officer for Communitas International, Kevin Johnson, about how he has connected with neighbors more meaningfully. We will discuss a practice he calls Holy Smokes that has become a regular rhythm of life for him. It is based on the philosophy that we are all beloved by God and bear the Image of God within us.

If you want a copy of the sample Holy Smokes questions Kevin mentioned in the podcast, email Leon.Longard@gocommunitas.org.

If you have a question about anything we have covered in the first two seasons of "In The Room With Communitas North America," send it via email to Leon.Longard@gocommunitas.org. We will consider it for a question and response program we are planning for January. If you record your question as a 60-second or less audio clip and attach it to the email, we may use it as part of the podcast.

In Communitas, we see Life Transforming Communion with God as one of the essential functions church. This does not always take the form of the traditional elements that come to mind when we think of "church." In this episode, James and Leon discuss some of the different expressions of creative communion with God that they have seen practiced in various faith communities.

In this show, we shared a couple of resources that can help us think of how to experience Communion with God in new ways. One is Sacred Pathways: Discover Your Soul's Path to God by Gary Thomas. The other is When You Come Together: Challenging the Church to an Interactive Relationship with God by Amy Anderson.

Also, we plan to have our first Question and Response episode at the end of Season 2. If you have a question regarding anything discussed in this podcast's first two seasons, send an audio recording of your question to leon.longard@gocommunitas.org.

In Communitas North America, we see Life Giving Mission as one of the essential functions of the Church. We promote life and life-change in our missional pursuits and look outward to serve the needs of our neighbors. Mission is not a “program” or a “trip” but the essence of our identity. God, through Christ, commissions God’s people, the Church, to go into the world to demonstrate and tangibly express God’s presence and loving intention for all of humanity. In this episode, we talk with Brent Colaw about how his missional faith community in Bakersfield, CA, has expressed itself in mission.

In Communitas, we believe that Community, Communion, and Mission are the essential functions of a faith community in whatever form it takes. In this episode, we bring back Dianna McCartan of Communitas Twin Cities to talk about how they have built community among people from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.

Is church exclusively about gathering in a building, singing songs, listening to a sermon, and praying together? Or is there a more expansive vision for how God gifts the church for its mission in the world?

In Ephesians 4, Paul wrote of five gifts God gave the church to further His mission: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shepherds, and Teachers (APEST). In many contemporary American churches, there is a heavy emphasis on Shepherds and Teachers to the point that we neglect the other three gifts. Jeff Shaffer and Kayla Peterson have initiated a new program with students at Westmont College to mentor students in all five of these gifts and empower them to live out their faith according to their giftings. In Communitas, we are creating opportunities for these students to continue working in their gifting areas after graduation.

In this episode, Jeff and Kayla discuss their work and how we can grow in understanding our APEST giftings.

Loneliness has become a significant epidemic in America. Ironically, one of the most lonely places can be our neighborhood as people return from work and lock themselves in their houses with little or no connection to the people next door. In this episode, we talk with Troy Cady, a veteran Communitas missionary to Europe who now lives on the north side of Chicago. He and his wife decided to spend their Friday evenings on the front porch as they moved into their new neighborhood. What has happened over the years has been a fantastic story of creating a true community in their neighborhood.

Often when we think of discipleship, we think of a list of classes and programs we offer people. Microchurches and missional faith communities offer the opportunity to do the life-on-life discipleship Jesus modeled. In this episode, we will talk with Greg Ellis about his recent experience leading his microchurch on a one-year journey reading through the Bible and how it affected the lives of the people involved.

A common question among missional and microchurch leaders is how to disciple children. In his new book, Righteous Brood, Hugh Halter shares great insights about raising stout-hearted world-changers from his years of experience as a missional church leader and the story of his own family. In this episode, we will talk with Hugh about making the mission of God a family story.