Missional Labs

COHORT 04. We are thrilled to finally announce our upcoming cohort of 11 ministries and ventures starting our Accelerator program. Since we launched our full Accelerator in early 2023, after two pilot rounds, we’ve seen tremendous fruitfulness. We concluded Cohort 03 in May of this year and spent the summer recruiting this class, which we are calling Cohort 04. If you’ve been tracking with us, you’ve seen us continue to build on the idea that missional imagination is one of the keys to renewal in the Church and mission in the world. We are constantly looking for the new things God is doing everywhere to bring people to Himself. Our conviction is that the Spirit brings new ministries and movements out of the hearts of His people — we are simply the cultivators. At Missional Labs, we see our role in the Kingdom as gathering a global community of builders, innovators, and funders committed to the next chapter of the Great Commission. This new cohort is a part of that vision. We had over 70 qualified applications this cycle and accepted only 11. We deeply believe in these leaders and ministries, in what they are building, in the potential of how the Lord wants to partner with them, and we trust that they carry an important story for the wider Church. To take a deeper look at each of these 11 ventures, see https://lnkd.in/eMBiTbkE

This is Michael, Director of The Way, and a former fellow in our Accelerator. Here’s what he had to say following the 9 months in our program. We’re just over two weeks away from closing applications on June 1. Apply for our upcoming cohort: https://lnkd.in/eZmnVnW6

Are you leading an early-stage ministry or venture exploring the future of the Church? Find out more about our Accelerator program. Apply before June 1 at https://lnkd.in/dRPvphkb

With the 10Ten Project, there is a healthier way to pastor. It’s no secret: pastors aren’t finishing well. In September 2022, over 40% of pastors said they had seriously considered quitting full-time ministry in the last year. That’s 1500 clergy leaving pastoral ministry each month. Given the expectation for pastors to "act in," many are experiencing isolation, overwhelm, and a loss of joy in ministry at staggering rates. This hit close to home for Co-Founder Tyler Reagin “In the span of 14 months, I lost 3 dear pastor friends to suicide. Throughout that year, I felt a stirring within me. I knew my friends’ experiences weren’t isolated, and something needed to be done.” This is why Tyler and Co-Founder Josh Turner started the 10Ten Project. While pastors often lack spaces to be authentic, the 10Ten Project is an alternative, safe community for pastors to express their most honest, “dangerous” thoughts. Through relationship-building excursions, counseling intensives with professional therapists, and regular coaching with world-class experts, pastors in the 10Ten Project are being equipped to last in ministry. In just 4 years, 80+ leaders have experienced the life-altering care and connection of the 10Ten Project. This represents 1.5 million believers not only being protected from losing their faith leaders, but experiencing them living more deeply into what God has called them towards. For more on the 10Ten Project, visit www.10tenproject.com

Christians for Impact: Helping Christians pursue meaningful and impactful careers. The average career is 80,000 hours. After choosing to follow Christ, the decision of how you will spend your time is perhaps the most important question a person can ask. Founder JD Bauman recalls grappling with this in a deeply personal way in New York City at age 19: “It was 2:00 am, and I was waiting to catch the J train after a grueling day in financial sales. Though I was on a fast track to a successful career by worldly standards, confused, I found myself asking God, ‘Is this truly my calling?’” Millions of young Christian professionals are in this same place, but lack a clarifying pathway to discern such a fundamental question. This is why Christians for Impact (CFI) exists. Going beyond the unreliable cliche of “follow your passion” CFI guides the careers of talented Christians ages 18-25 towards the world’s most pressing problems. By curating expert research and seasoned mentors in issues like poverty, climate change, the unreached and more, CFI provides an informed pathway for young professionals to make an impact. Through their 1:1 Impact Mentorship Program drawing from 60+ mentors, alongside their suite of resources, the team at CFI imagines thousands of talented and ambitious Christians faithfully following Jesus and spreading the Gospel who otherwise might have lost their faith or settled for a less impactful career. For more on Christians for Impact, visit christiansforimpact.org

Parallel Society: beauty is the apologetic, artists are the evangelists. Throughout history, art has served as humanity's most influential medium of communication. From 3,000-year-old Scottish cave paintings to Jesus' parables and the Sistine Chapel, we translate human history, tradition and values through art. In today’s era of relative truth, elusive goodness and church decline, art remains a powerful storyteller. So what if 21st century evangelism was pursued from the angle of beauty? Enter Parallel Society. Founders Isaac and Emily Gay dedicated nearly 15 years to the arts before transitioning into full-time church ministry. Reflecting on those years, Isaac recounts “it was never told to us that our art could be used as a compelling vision caster for the gospel of Jesus.” Today, Parallel Society seeks to provide that vision by broadening the church's understanding of artists and their role in the Kingdom. By grounding creatives in a theological vision for their work and providing global platforms for redemptive art, Parallel Society empowers artists to become effective evangelists, answering Jesus' call to make disciples in the 21st century. For more on Parallel Society, visit: www.theparallelsociety.co

Salt + Light is where authentic communities gather for transformative journeys. Church attendance in the Bay Area has steadily declined to alarmingly low levels over the past decade, with 97% of the Bay Area being dechurched or unchurched. Darren Allarde the founder of Salt + Light and a Silicon Valley native, felt this personally: “Though my friends are isolated and anxious, their openness to church is abysmally low. I began to wonder how the Church could instead go to these people in their lonely moments.” With a background in building faith-based mobile apps, Darren and his close-knit community of engineers, designers, and artists at Salt + Light set out to build the tool his friends and team needed on their most difficult days. Salt + Light is bringing small groups to the masses. It is a safe, third place where you can discover groups, watch engaging short-form content, play intentional games, and seamlessly plan events to deepen connections in-person and digitally. Through this tool, the team at Salt + Light is combating the loneliness epidemic, envisioning thousands of deeply connected communities and authentic friendships formed. For more on Salt + Light, visit: www.saltandlight.community

Rise Collective NYC is intentionally discipling early-career women in the middle of New York City who are hungry to pursue Jesus, seeking to study God’s Word, and desire to impact the Kingdom with their gifts and work.  Founder, Laura Leigh Turner had a number of pivotal moments with Jesus in her college years that set her on a new trajectory seeking God and His Word in community. This formation became the foundation for her journey ahead and the seeds for the vision of Rise Collective NYC (RC), to see other young women seeking first the Kingdom of God as they start their adult lives & careers in New York City. “Women in New York City and other urban contexts are often doing life alone and actively searching for truth.  Rise Collective steps in with a vision for a life seeking Jesus and obedience to His Word, in the midst of years that can often be isolating and distracted."  - Laura Leigh Currently through their gatherings and Biblical resources, RC is uniting women in Christ, rooting them in Scripture, and empowering them to be agents of the Kingdom of God in their industries and workplaces. The next step for the organization is launching their RC Discipleship Program. This will be a year-long residency for a small group of women in NYC to receive theological training, serve and live on mission in the city, and foster relationships with spiritual mentors who walk with them as they grow in Christ.  In the future, RC hopes to own a townhome in New York City to house and anchor their discipleship work. For more on Rise Collective, visit: https://lnkd.in/eFQkMaSV

We are live. Apply for our 2024 Accelerator Program today. We exist to launch next-generation leaders and innovative ministries, exploring new approaches to the big challenges facing the Church today. Our nine month Global Accelerator selects 12 early-stage ventures from around the world. We gather for three curated mentoring events in New York City, San Francisco, and Oxford / London, hosting intimate pitch days in each city to amplify their work and build our community. We blend a modern approach to venture-building, with a deep commitment to discipleship, mission & the Church. This program exposes fellows to world-class mentors from the Church, ministry, and missions sectors, and equips them with our core support model, with coaching, curriculum, community, connections, and access to capital providers.

Apply by June 1: https://lnkd.in/dRPvphkb

Adversity demands creativity. Frog Orr-Ewing shared that many of the flowers featured at tonight’s dinner only flourish when fire has recently devastated the hillsides side where they grow. San Fransisco has been called “a graveyard” for church-related ventures. Yet we are witnessing first-hand the new life of innovation & unity that’s been birthed in the San Fransisco Church in adversity. Please join us in praying for our fellows as we step into another full day of connecting, learning & pitching in this remarkable creative hub.