One Tool for Missional Living You Might Not Know You Have

Have you ever found yourself wishing your life had meaning? Some people may wake up energized and purpose-filled, spend their hours doing that thing they’re so passionate about, and fall asleep every night feeling deeply fulfilled. But it isn’t you.

Most days, you’re happy to just get through the day.

Your life is either so busy or so monotonous you often forget which day it is.

There are rhythms, and routines, the familiar and the tedious. But it feels like you’re on autopilot, and autopilot isn’t you wrote down as your ten-year goal.

How did I get here? you ask.

So let’s talk about it today, shall we?

How you’re feeling empty, but that’s not where you want to be. How you feel stuck, but you don’t know what to try. How you feel alone even when there are other people around.

What if I told you that you probably already have a powerful tool that will move you towards a purpose-fueled life in line with the vision closest to God’s heart?

a powerful tool for missional living you probably don't know you have question

See, we have a pull towards a mission because that’s why we were created. We’re wired to live in community with others and to live for something larger and more glorious than ourselves.

A commissioning

You’ve been commissioned to draw those around you to Jesus as you yourself move closer to Him. To know how dearly you are loved so you can love the people around you well. To be a disciple who makes disciples, who make disciples, who make disciples.

You’ve been commissioned to a ripple-effect sort of life, where the things that God is doing inside you aren’t kept to yourself, but shared with others near you. To be filled and to overflow.

You’ve been commissioned for a life that makes a difference.

And right outside your front door is an incredible tool that will help you lean into this missional life.

A powerful tool for missional living

Come with me as I step through my front door out to a small, cement step. I’ve often brushed the rough of the cement with my hand as I’ve sat here in the sun. My kids have scraped many a toe by taking the two steps too fast. But here beyond the step is our front yard. It’s not big or perfectly manicured, but it’s outside and it’s the area of our space that’s most visible to our neighbors, and that’s what matters.

If I had to guess, you have a front yard too, or at least an outside area near where you live that is somewhat visible to others. (And if you don’t, I’ve got some ideas for you here.)

So let’s unpack this some more. How is my front yard a tool for missional living?

1. It helps us notice our neighbors.

There’s something about being outside, breathing deep of fresh air, feeling the warmth of sun on your face, that makes us more aware of literally everything. It heightens our senses, helps us notice more. This awake attention can turn our gaze to better notice those around us. Noticing precedes the conversations we might ignite, the needs we can help fill, the common ground we didn’t know existed.

2. It helps increase our visibility.

Intrinsically something else happens too when we step outside. We enter the visibility zone. Simply being more visible to our neighbors makes it so much easier to get to know them. I know it can feel awkward when you’re used to keeping to yourself, but keep in mind it’s OK to start small. What can you do for five minutes to linger out in your front yard?

3. It shows that we are available.

Spending time in our front yards where we are visible shows that we want to interact. We want to be relational. We are interested in getting to know and being known by our neighbors. Conversely, staying behind our closed doors or security fences sends the opposite message—we’re too busy or simply not interested in growing friendships in our neighborhood.

4. It leads to spontaneous conversation.

Those little moments spent in your front yard can lead to conversations you would never have imagined possible. You might learn that your neighbor recently lost his parent or is trying to help someone at work though he’s struggling himself. If we’re willing to notice, listen to, and open up to our neighbors, our front yards become a powerful tool for missional living.

5. It opens the door for organic discipleship.

When we let the things that God is working out inside us seep into our conversations, our front-yard conversations have a ripple effect. This is discipleship in its pure, organic form. It’s as simple as being real, humble, and open as we demonstrate how we’re looking to God for the answers to our real-life problems. We don’t dictate the results, but we trust that God grows the seeds we plant in obedience.

An invitation to a life on mission

All of these reasons I think are enough to encourage us to open our doors and linger outside. But when we bring them all together, we see how front-yard living is an invitation to a life of adventure, community, and purpose. Our neighbors can become our friends, our community, our village. Our words can encourage and point to Jesus and our actions can be Jesus’s hands and feet to our neighbors. As we notice, value, listen to, and share our own in-progress stories with our neighbors, we give others the courage to go deep too.

Neighborhood missional living shouldn’t be complicated. It’s not a list of things to do or things to say. It’s really just making space for the people we live near to be part of our actual lives and letting God ripple out through all we do and say.

A final blessing

May we be willing vessels.

May we carry the essence of Jesus into our neighborhood.

May we linger, notice, and be relationally present.

May we stop overthinking, overcomplicating, and over-preparing.

May we be willing to be interrupted.

And may Jesus be in all that ripples out beyond us.

Just a friend over here in your corner,

Change your actual life in less than 5 minutes per day!

You can change your actual life in less than 5 minutes a day because baby steps truly can change the trajectory of your life. If you want 2021 to be the year you actually start living on mission in your neighborhood, this little book (available as a paperback and on Kindle) will help you get there. Each of the 30-day devotions takes but a few minutes to read, but they will lead to lasting life change.