Common Questions

We launched in Ladysmith, VA, but we’ve prayerfully designed this to be a movement that is open-source and able to support God’s leading beyond our geographical reach.

We see this spreading city to city, state to state, nationally, and then globally.

If you feel called to micro-churches in a disciple-making movement framework, then we will work with you to provide coaching, resourcing, support, and accountability for the local mission where you live.

We will be working on a platform with courses for training and team-style communication in the coming months that supports this vision.

Here are some ways you could join us:

1. You can run at disciple-making with us by simply joining our movement and adhering to our beliefs, values, culture, policies, and procedures.

2. You could join us for a season and then launch off into your own unique network and disciple-making expression.

3. You could have us coach your existing church on implementing this framework and vision. No strings attached.

4. Note: At the end of the day, we’re going to give everything we can away, hold it loosely, and allow God to use it in whatever capacity He desires.

Are you a current pastor or part of an existing church? If so, we would consider it an honor to help you integrate anything we do into your existing ministry. Why? Because we just want to see disciple-making catalyzed into every believer’s everyday life, be it in our movement or in another’s.

• We empower individuals to become disciple-makers—disciples who train others—through small gatherings and 1:1 mentorship, resulting in micro-churches as a byproduct, not as a premeditated church-planting strategy.

• Our vision prioritizes small, disciple-focused groups that vary in style—some resemble intimate house churches, others mission-driven teams—encouraging a missionary mindset over consumerism, with flexible yet guided formats.

• Disciple-makers lead others to Jesus, fostering groups that multiply by splitting for growth or intentional outreach, aiming to replicate themselves and combat stagnation, as inspired by 2 Timothy 2:2.

• The ambitious goal is mentorship across four generations of disciple-makers, shifting from merely leading groups to deeply investing in a chain of multiplication—an uncommon, transformative challenge in modern church culture.

• Over time, this multiplication could spark broader networks and movements, which we support through an open-source, decentralized approach, enhancing disciple-making’s impact nationwide and globally.

If you’d like to think about this further, then read on below:

As a community, we help individuals become disciple-makers (disciples who make disciples).
There will be some 1:1 meetups for discipleship and mentorship, but much of what we do is through small gatherings that result in micro-churches.

We do not plant churches.
We make disciples, and micro-churches are the byproduct of this.

The vision is pretty simple: keep the gatherings small and dialed in on disciple-making.
Each looks different and operates a bit differently, and we love that.
Some feel more like an idyllic house church, and others feel more like a missions team leveraging a huddle around their focus of outreach. (Keep in mind we want our entire community to have a missionary mindset, not a consumer one.) We encourage hosts and leaders to dream big on where and how the gathering takes place, but we also have some guiding criteria and make some suggestions that we’ve seen work best.

Let’s think big picture for a moment:
Imagine you as a disciple-maker. You begin leading people to Jesus for the first time; you also find some people who have just been waiting to be invited into disciple-making. Your group develops, forms, storms, norms—it’s not all Hallmark. But at some point, you see multiplication by needing to divide due to growth or choosing to divide as a goal to make room for members to run at more intentional disciple-making. Working ourselves out of a job is always the job—as in, replicate yourself by raising up the people around you as capable disciple-makers who can then run with their own groups and desire to be sent out. (Fighting against the temptation to settle for a holy huddle or a comfortable but plateaued group of friends is an ongoing challenge.)

For all disciple-makers, we desire to see them disciple unto the 4th generation. And we do recognize that this is a hard goal to reach and is, unfortunately, uncommon in practice. Meaning, the goal is not simply to lead a gathering, then see your individuals launch out and simply lead another gathering of new individuals (that would clearly still be amazing), but the idea is to shift not just into a disciple-maker role but into a mentor-of-disciple-makers role, where you are involved in their lives of disciple-making, even into the 3rd and 4th generation of multiplication of disciple-makers. The whole idea is derived from 2 Timothy 2:2, where we see there was a concern for making sure the message made it to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation. If we’re honest, this is not a normal way of thinking in the church… most of us have hardly ever seen mentorship, let alone had a concern for people beyond our immediate group, but this is the high challenge/high invitation we have to rethink disciple-making into a mentoring role and have the concern of seeing our efforts make it generations deep and go far beyond us.
Basically, anyone reading this could disciple a group of people that gradually multiplies into many groups of disciple-makers, who then over time multiply into far more groups, and repeat—all while we still are investing heavily 4 generations deep into the primary disciple-makers and inviting them to do the same for those they disciple.
It’s a wild concept and a game-changing one.

Beyond this, some individuals, when ready, will have vision for other expressions of not just micro-churches, but also networks and movements. We are all for that, although we don’t think this should happen hastily nor is it for everyone. We tend to think the more open-source, decentralized, and generous we are with helping launch other new movements, the more healthy and effective we will see disciple-making become across our country and globe.

A great explanation of all this is by reading Contagious Disciple Making by David Watson.

• Outreach isn’t just big annual events; we define it as ongoing, intentional acts of love and generosity to share Jesus and build relationships for discipleship.

• We see outreach as a constant missional lifestyle—solo, in teams, or leading—tailored to your rhythm (weekly, monthly) and passion (e.g., cookouts, foster care, justice).

• Micro-churches may focus on niche outreach or support members’ individual outreach efforts, balancing classic structure with mission-driven action.

• Every other month, gatherings shift from Bible study to discussing personal disciple-making progress, focusing on the unchurched, not other Christians.

• Mosaic avoids over-scheduling, freeing you to connect with non-Christians through your unique outreach lane, a core part of our movement with coaching provided.

If you’d like to think about this further, then read on below:

Perhaps it’s helpful to define outreach:
A. The most common perception is perhaps a large planned event once a year where many people are impacted by an act of kindness, possibly with a Gospel message.
B. We would define it more as any one person or group’s ongoing intentional investment of action and/or generosity into an opportunity to show the love of Jesus. During that time, there may be a Gospel message, but at a minimum, there is a strategic plan for further invitation to engage in relationship-building with the intent to have conversations leading to discipleship.

We lean toward the scenario of B.

At the end of the day, we believe outreach is an ongoing missional lifestyle we are all called to, not an infrequent planned event.
There may be times we do this alone, serving on a small team, or even leading a team. Our role in it doesn’t matter so much as our engagement and ongoing investment. What you engage in for outreach may be weekly, biweekly, or monthly, etc.—the frequency is up to you.

Outreaches could be neighborhood cookouts to meet neighbors, helping families in need, foster care, leading a hobby meetup, advocating against an injustice, caring for the poor, serving the least of these, etc. The sky is the limits!

Some micro-churches will simply center around a niche outreach based on the vision of their hosts and leaders. We think this is brilliant. This is more of a Tampa Underground style.

Other micro-churches will operate in a more classic structure. But they will encourage and support the lifestyle of individuals and even small teams from their group to be engaged in their niche outreach focuses.

For this very reason, every other month, one whole gathering’s discussion shifts from the Bible reading discussion to being entirely focused on how our individual disciple-making is going.

To be clear: Our disciple-making growth is not to be focused on finding Christians from other churches who join us, but rather on finding people far from God who desire to know Him and follow Him. Outreach as a lifestyle allows us to find them.

From a high level, as Mosaic, we intentionally do not stack additional events or gatherings into our schedules. We truly believe you need the free space in your schedule to rediscover how you will engage with people outside your micro-church.

At the end of the day, it is understood that all of us who call Mosaic our community will commit to finding our lane for individual or team-style outreach where we can connect with unchurched individuals. Thus, if all anyone does is meet with their micro-church but never seeks ways to connect with non-Christians, then they are missing a critical component of what we do and who we are.

This may all sound quite new; if so, no worries. We will coach you on this opportunity.

This varies with each unique gathering, based on their approach, location, etc.

Here are our overall thoughts:
Church is not a Sunday morning thing, and therefore we shouldn’t think of training and ministry mostly in terms of Sunday morning programs. Our children get to be in a community of believers who love each other deeply, live life together, support each other, and watch each other’s kids. It is often said that it takes a village to raise a child. We believe the best things for the discipleship of our children are 1) parents who are discipled well and 2) the body of believers who will be the aunts and uncles in the Lord and will love them and model Christ to them in the normal rhythms of life.

Regarding how to incorporate children at your gatherings, each group has the freedom to think through what would work best for their group. We do provide coaching and best practices that work, also policies for safety, but we also recognize there will not be a one-size-fits-all approach given the many unique expressions and locations for groups. A gathering with a group of kids under age 5 will look a lot different from a gathering that has only 2 teenagers. A guiding principle is that we want to value children. We don’t want to segment people out too much based on age. And we want the whole group to be interacting with each other. Where we can, we’d love to have kids engaged in gatherings. But more than anything, we want them to be engaged relationally. This might mean that when you spend time with other people, discipling them or just sharing life, you have the children around you as well, so that there can be more space for different age groups to live life together and to love one another.

Here’s a snapshot on how we care for our kids at more classic home gathering:

• Parents of children who need care rotate in teams, in twos, on a schedule, so as to make childcare a lightweight task.

• There’s no exact age range on kids' time. It’s really up to parents and their kids on when they are ready to join the adults, but all kids are welcome to stay with us when they feel ready.

• We divvy up parents in twos, not with spouses, generally by the same gender.

• We assign one as the night’s lead and one as the helper (but both are fully focused on the kids).

• Kids shift gears and go to another area of the home for about an hour.

• The kids’ team for the night does not change diapers or go in the bathrooms with kids; as/if needed, they will get the child’s parents.

• We try to make this window of time fun, full of play, and incorporate a short devotional book or video.

House Rules:

Each home is different and the hosts may have different expectations for children’s behavior however below are some general guidelines thaty all parents should follow:

• Your kids are your responsibility.

  • Meaning: From dinner, worship, prayer, etc. please be proactive in watching out for your child.

• Keep your kids from yelling, screaming, or running.

  • It happens, they are kids, but if we all aim for this it makes the evening way more enjoyable.

• Ask the host if they have any house rules for your kids to be aware of.

  • Example: Off-limit areas, pets, food in rooms, shoes, jumping on couches, etc.

• Help clean up the kid’s space prior-to leaving.

  • Many hands make’s light work.

• There’s grace. Raising kids is lots of work, we get it.

  • Come as you are and know all our kids have had meltdowns.

Some important notes:

We love kids and believe our kids do best when they are more integrated into a family-style environment of prayer, worship, and discipleship. We believe it is the parents' job to disciple their kids, not a kid’s pastor. With that in mind, this gathering and kids' time is not a substitute for a parent's spiritual investment into their kids' lives. This is a safe place to learn how to disciple your own kids—we are all in this together!

For youth, as this demographic grows, we will have additional outings for them to connect on relevant discussions and focused discipleship opportunities that fit their needs.

Below is our general road map in terms of where people often begin and where they may arrive in terms of our in-house leadership growth:

• Unchurched/Unbeliever

• Believer/Disciple

• Disciple-Maker

• Mentor

• Leader (Associate, Governing, and then Executive)

• Board Member (2 Executive Leaders & 2 Operations Directors)

On Growth:
In many ways, this simply looks like helping someone grow into an actionable lifestyle of our values and into a confident understanding of our beliefs. (See Values & Beliefs)

On Leading:
Hosting a group at your house or disciple-making does not make someone a leader with us.

We believe every Christian is called to be a disciple who makes disciples, and that we have the high challenge and high invitation to become a mentor or leader.

Keep in mind the outlined stages above are not rigid, but just a loose visual of how someone may find themselves going from A to Z in leadership with us.

To become a leader: a review is done of a person’s character, spiritual life, discipleship and disciple-making history, disciple-making competency, and leadership competency in dealing with controversies and heresies. Much prayer is given, and consideration is made of a person’s alignment with our values, beliefs, and cultural fit. We also consider where they are in terms of 1 Timothy 3:1-13 and Titus 1:6-9.

We desire to have many leaders and our model depends on many leaders for adequate accountability. However, leadership roles are appointed through a spiritual discernment process.

See https://joinmosaicmovement.com/lsg for more details on our leadership structure.

This is a really fun topic for us—check out our financial framework here: https://joinmosaicmovement.com/funding

We are positive this list will grow as we continue to grow, but here are a few we love highlighting:
See them all here: https://joinmosaicmovement.com/local-global-partners

We love them!
We still have many friends there, collaborate in ministry efforts with leadership/pastoral teams there, and even attend services there at times.

We also recommend at times that some people consider that route over our model, as it may be a better fit for them in a specific season or with their set of preferences at this time.

To be clear, our team just desired something different from the larger/traditional church model and felt God was leading us to share another model/expression of church that resonated with the set of ideals and cultural values we were dreaming of. So we don’t think one model is right and another is wrong.

We see pros and cons to both. Sadly, you can do smaller/micro church and still fail to be intentional about creating a disciple-making movement—meaning small does not necessarily mean better full-circle discipleship. Better discipleship and disciple-making practices come down to high intentionality and long-range missional thinking, both of which can be done in a small or large setting.

If we were to zoom out, we’d say we need all types of church models and creative expressions, all shifting toward disciple-making movement principles and a collaborative approach across local churches for the sake of reaching those around us.

If it helps solidify our stance further, consider our Endorsing Pastors page—all pastors we are friends with, all still in more traditional/large-model churches:
https://joinmosaicmovement.com/endorsing-pastors

Here are a few ways they generally* differ:

• Small groups are optional and supplementary; micro-churches are the core church experience.

• Small groups focus on short-term study; micro-churches emphasize long-term disciple-making.

• Small groups rely on external staff support; micro-churches empower all members to contribute.

• Small groups rarely multiply; micro-churches aim for movemental growth and church planting.

• Small groups are curriculum-driven; micro-churches prioritize raising up self sustaining disciple-makers, and more intentional relational and missional engagement.

Feel free to pause there.

But if you’d like to think about this further, then read on below:

But why not just do small groups?

If we had the opportunity to answer this question with a question it would be: 

What is the end goal and common result of small groups in most churches, and what is the end goal and desired result of a disciple-making movement?

Answering those questions gives you the best answer.

Here are some additional thoughts to consider:

Many small groups are seasonal, curriculum-focused, and short-term. They often lack the drivers of long-term investment in each other, commitment, challenge, and invitation to serve one another and care for one another. Many struggle to ever shift from a Bible study or group of friends into a thriving team that is focused on being disciples who then make disciples. Often, they leave out more intentional thinking about relationships, prayer, communion, baptism, the long-range spiritual formation of the people who are there, mission, and multiplication as they expect their church staff to manage those things. Most small groups in churches simply aim to create some connection or a short-term experience of new Bible knowledge acquisition. (P.S. We know there are isolated small groups that excel at disciple-making, but consider the other 90% of groups in any one church that lack this impact and intention.) Small groups are optional in churches that have them—hoping to have up to 30% of the congregants in them is the industry benchmark—and yet small groups seem integral for better discipleship. 

To be clear, we are huge fans of small groups for traditional churches and believe every church should have them. We also believe many small groups would greatly benefit by shifting into a more intentional disciple-making process (Ordinary Movement solves this problem). All our launch team members have benefited from the results of being in small groups at our previous churches.

We don’t set out to plant micro-churches. Our goal is to be a disciple-making movement (DMM) that results in micro-churches as it grows. (DMM is our process, and micro-churches are the byproduct.) A micro-church is simply a “small group” of believers who are coming together as the church and desire to take ownership of disciple-making from a full-circle church perspective. They also provide an environment that’s more conducive to a faster-paced, viral-like disciple-making movement, as everyone can quickly begin operating in their strengths and be mentored as they go. As a result, all members are able to contribute their gifts and strengths in serving one another and in mission together. There is less need for a large staff and less need for expensive costs such as facilities, maintenance, etc. Instead of asking everyone to attend a large service that lacks intimate connection, has one person or a small team doing all the ministry, and hoping up to 30% of your church members engage in small groups, a micro-church makes relational connection the core. It creates deeper engagement and opportunities for in-depth discussions and vulnerable questions around the Bible readings studied. Often, this environment produces better growth due to the opportunity not only to be known but also to learn by discovery in place of lecture. There is a long-range expectation that micro-church leaders should invest in their members and see them become disciples who make disciples, perhaps meeting together as a core group for 1 to 3 years as needed, but with the intention of seeing multiplication, mentorship, and movemental growth. Think rapid, on-the-go training—not producing seasonal, dependent small group leaders, but rather fostering more self-sustaining, missional communities and mentored disciple-makers.
If done correctly, this creates an immersive environment where discipleship is more caught than taught.

We’re non-denominational, but we do invite high accountability and encourage being networked with outside leaders and networks. Our leaders come from various backgrounds, ranging from Baptist, Wesleyan, Non-Denom, and Assemblies of God, and we expect the list to keep on growing. We also continue to hold strong relationships with leaders within those denominations. To be clear, we are proud to collaborate with so many disciple-makers from diverse backgrounds, and we feel this embodies our ongoing value of “major in the majors and minor in the minors.”

That being said, we strive to be a community that focuses on major issues, not minor ones.

Minor ones might include examples for us such as: tribulation/end-times timing, election vs. free will, women in leadership, etc.

Major ones for us would be examples like: Jesus is the only way to salvation, all the teachings of Jesus and the apostles are still authoritative and guiding, the New Testament clearly defines expectations of believers and what sin is, and you can’t be in good standing with Jesus while living a lifestyle of willful/deliberate sin.
See our statement of faith for our definitive list of majors: https://joinmosaicmovement.com/our-beliefs

Another great resource to learn more about our alignments would be the Lausanne Covenant.

For questions on relational accountability, check out the Leadership Structure Guide for details on deacons, elders, and board members. Feel free to ask us about pastors and ministry leaders outside our movement who are endorsing us.

To minimize potential conflicts, below are our stances on common topics that tend to be divisive:

To be clear, we are neither crusading Calvinists nor dogmatic Arminians; we hold both stances in tension based on the supporting scriptures of each. We are neither legalistic nor hyper-grace.

We believe in all the spiritual gifts, we want to see them at work in our movement, but we don’t believe they should be the focus or pursuit, nor do they indicate someone is more spiritual if they do operate in a gift. If you have questions about them or just don’t know what to think of them, you’ll still feel comfortable disciple-making with us.

Please understand that while we champion innovative approaches to disciple-making and church model, this does not mean we are progressive in our theological views. (defined here)

Have more questions? Let’s grab coffee or schedule a call.