MAKING DISCIPLES THROUGH NATURAL CONNECTIONS
River baptisms and discipleship training as a result of intentional, gospel-focused relationships.
The Jesus Pattern Network is a new mission organization based in Clarksville, TN. As part of the Ignite community, we focus on elevating Jesus’ way of making disciples and multiplying Christ-following communities.
Our strategy is taking shape by establishing seven distinct mission zones in Clarksville and Montgomery County. We pray the Lord will activate homegrown missionaries and raise new ambassadors in each zone to engage people in their context and ultimately start micro churches that reach those farthest from Jesus.
The Lord has opened doors for us to incarnate the gospel of Jesus and start crucial conversations in places where people live and gather (see yellow stars), such as gyms, neighborhoods, workplaces, and apartments.
We celebrate Jesus for guiding us to Cara Lionetti, owner of Ergon Elite Fitness and a person of peace in the north mission zone. She and her husband, Frank, have been engaging the community through this gym and events like the annual Crossfit competition, Top of the Box, for several years, and the impact has been enormous. Building on relationships and the spiritual fruit that Jesus has brought about over the past 19 months, a new micro church is in the works among this diverse community of people!
Rachael is a trainer at the gym and attends college locally. She followed the Lord in baptism in the fall of last year at a local park where gym members of backgrounds came to witness this public expression of faith. Watching the scene from the footbridge above, Jessica chose to follow Jesus in baptism after hearing the gospel and seeing Rachael’s public testimony of faith.
A discipling community is meeting for training this summer, preparing to launch a broader gathering for the entire gym and neighboring community in October. Praise the Father for opening this door and pray that the Lord will bring this group together into a transforming community of Jesus followers. Pray also for our gathering in October that the Lord would go before us, give us wisdom, and prepare hearts for an encounter with Jesus.
We connected with Evan and Hannah at a local apartment complex. Evan surrendered his life to Jesus and chose to follow the Lord in believer’s baptism. Hannah is becoming spiritually open. She has honest questions about the faith that merit answers.
Marcia came to a hotdog giveaway at her apartment property and plugged into a network micro church in the fall. Now a grandmother, she came to faith in her youth but recently expressed that she connects with God through scripture in entirely new ways. Through Zoom, Marcia just started a devotional time with her sister in Wisconsin.
We continually challenge our X-group leaders and members to know their next step of obedience. Whether a matter of Christ-following in terms of character development or in starting crucial conversations with friends.
Please pray for our network to be faithful in the small things of building relationships with people who are far away from Jesus and to focus on multiplying each generation of new disciples and communities of faith.
By Rich Whitaker | Ignite Network
