Church, as defined by scripture, is made of people (the Body of Christ) and not a building, service, program, event, or anything else. The body of Christ, is like-minded followers of Jesus sharing in life together, building and discipling one and other, and serving God in its community. Wherever Christians gather together for fellowship, teaching, worship, meals, serving, and more; this is church. Missional communities seek to get back to that root of what church is truly all about as read in the Book of Acts. We meet in homes and community spaces centered on three main rhythms, which you can read about in the next info box.

Jesus rhythms of life and ministry on earth can be summed up in three ways:

1. "UP - Time with God - He regularly spent time in prayer, worship, and teaching.

2. "IN" - Time with Christians -  He regularly spent time with the church in fellowship and life sharing.

3. "OUT" - Time on Mission - He regularly spent time outside church serving and helping people in the community and leading them towards a relationship with himself.

Calling these the "UP-IN-OUT" rhythms makes it simple, and also easy to remember the biblical principles behind what Jesus did. These BIG-3 are what missional communities filter everything through. We often refer to them as Worship, Discipleship, and Mission. Typically, in a 4-5 week month we have 2-3 UP gatherings with an IN and OUT gathering as well. Every MC is different and unique, so you will want to pay close attention to the meeting schedule of the one you are interested.

The greatest value of knowing Jesus, aside from salvation, is being in relationship with Him. As he traveled about in his ministry, hew continually invited people into relationship with him. There were no expectations, no requirements, and no judgements... just an offer of loving friendship and a path to God. When people in our MC's talk about the MC's value and what's important to them, they always talk about the like-minded community, support, and life sharing. In an MC, you will find friends who are real people with real life challenges, working to follow Christ in their lives. Overtime, an MC becomes a family on mission, living and sharing life together and learning to follow Christ together.

One of the more common statements we hear from people about "the church" today is this: "Stop telling me and start showing me". Missional communities are not about Sunday sermons, but rather are about living the sermon out loud and together. Teachings and discipleship in an MC are discussion based and relational based. We grow together in an MC, teach one another mutually, and help each other towards Christ. Yes, at Mercy Street we have an overseeing ordained Pastor, but that's all. He helps provide a certain amount of accountability, leadership, teaching & training, and oversight of the churches missional communities, similar to what the Apostles did for the church as read in the Book of Acts. The Christian journey is about discipleship in Christ, and this happens in relationship with the church. The true beauty of the church is the people and their relationships with one another.

Some of the greatest moments of discipleship and growth happens when we are out, serving together. Just look at Jesus and how he taught his disciples; Most often it was while out serving people and traveling through the land. With our missional communities, we strive to serve together every month. In the past we have worked in community gardens, helped with basic needs pantries, and served with our local meals on wheels program. Recently, Pastor Brandon & Jessica have been on a mission to begin a food trailer that operates as a mobile soup kitchen. The goals for our MC's is to serve our city by giving low cost, or free, meals to people in need of good, healthy, home cooked food. Bare-in-mind, the most important aspect of serving together is for the discipleship, and then for the people we serve and share Christ with. Click the "view more" button for more information about the food trailer.

Pastor Brandon and Jessica lead Mercy Street Grill Ministries out of their home on the North side of Lansing, MI. Pastor Brandon is a fully ordained minister in the Wesleyan Church, holds a doctorate from Portland Seminary, and works as a Hospice Chaplain and adjunct professor alongside of pastoral ministry. Brandon founded Mercy Street Grill Ministries out of his calling as a minister of Jesus Christ and Jessica lives her dream, working part-time at a local gourmet bakery while also raising the family and home. Together, they provide the core leadership, discipleship & training, and vision casting for the network of MC's.

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Click the "view more" button here for more details and info on Pastor Brandon and his family.

 Our churches seek to be a network of missional communities, wherever God wants to plant an MC. The network provides the hub with leadership, administrative needs, vision casting, and pastoral oversight. Each MC has a designated leader(s) who organize, host, and help the MC navigate its individual calling. The MC's are organic and meet wherever they meet. Each MC can have a different mission birthed out of the group's vision and passion. There is currently no major financial structure but rather operates through a need-based giving model. Someday when the network is bigger there may be some further administrative structure but for now, it's pretty simple and organic.

Working together to grow Mercy Street Ministries, Pastor Brandon is a fully ordained minister with the Wesleyan Church, Great Lakes Region. Mercy Street is also partnered with the Green House Multiplication Network, where Brandon is a church planting coach and mentoring huddles director.