Introduction
The Godsend resource is designed to resource you and your team as you start new Christian communities. The videos on this website provide an alternative way of accessing the material that is covered in the book. They include an easy-to-download 15-minute combined video for each chapter. However, we think you will get most out of Godsend if you both read the book and watch the videos.
Godsend is structured around the missional journey. This is a map to help you on your way, but it is not intended to be prescriptive or to constrain you in your Godsend adventure. Sometimes we find that we’ve started midway around the circle, and we can then revisit some of the steps we might have missed. Indeed, each part of the journey builds upon the others – for example, when we start to share Jesus, it doesn’t mean we need to stop listening, loving and nurturing community. Of course, prayer and relationship with the wider church, should both be present every step of the way!
This is a revised version of Godsend and those who have accessed the material previously might be interested in what’s changed. We’ve created a pdf which you can download here. This will be helpful for those who were familiar with the original version or who have an older copy of the book. See how the numbering has been altered, which unit has been deleted, and which chapters have been significantly revised or consist of entirely new material.
How to use this site
You can click on any of the units within each of the seven sections described below – this will take you directly to that unit’s resources. You can then navigate around the resource using the ‘next’ and ‘previous’ buttons at the bottom of each page, or by using the menu. On each page you’ll find the following:
Each unit begins with a 60-90 second animation creatively introducing the theme.
To accompany every unit there’s The Guide in which Nudrat talks to the author of Godsend, Mike Moynagh, to and together they discuss some of the key points. These videos are about 10 minutes long.
Each unit has one or more stories to help bring the content to life. Practitioners share what the journey has looked like for them with the intention of inspiring and encouraging you on your Godsend adventure.
We are developing a community of Hub Enablers who use the Godsend materials within to support a number of teams on their missional journeys. Within the Church of England these learning communities are called Greenhouses, but we are keen to make them available more widely. If you want to download the videos for this purpose then you can click on this part of each unit to take you to the download page. We shall ask for your email so that we can send you more information about our Hub Enabler scheme.
First Steps
This first section of Godsend is a bit of an ‘Overview’ or introduction to the resource. It helps you think through your motivations for getting involved in the mission of God, and encourages you to travel the missional journey as a team, rather than a solo explorer. There’s also a unit that helps church leaders think through how they might release teams of people within their congregation to start new Christian communities.
Listen
Godsend begins with an invitation to join in with the mission of God. This section helps us to listen to the God, and to the people around us, so that we can discern what the first steps in our journey should be.
Love
Love is more than a fuzzy feeling! This section offers inspiration and ideas to help you discover ways of showing practical love.
Community
Relationships are integral to the Kingdom of God! This section helps you to think through how strangers might become friends, and how we can encourage relationships to deepen.
Share Jesus
As friendships grow and trust develops, opportunities to introduce people to Jesus and his offer of a richer life will emerge. This section provides helpful ways of doing this. We’ve also created a separate resource called Sharing Jesus for those who would like to dig deeper.
Church
As we share Jesus and explore discipleship with your community a fresh expression of church emerges right where they are. This section considers how church takes shape and explores the nature of this new Christian community.
Do it again
A healthy expression of church is likely to reproduce – and this final section helps to think through how we might travel along the missional journey with the prayerful intention of enabling it to happen all over again!
