Big Small 2025/6

The Changing Landscape Of Faith 

Many are recognising a surprising rebirth of faith in Christianity, a fresh openness and hunger for spiritual truth that is leading many to explore the bible or turn up asking questions of the church. Are we ready for this influx? Are our wineskins fit for purpose as God pours out the ‘new wine’ of the kingdom on a generation of spiritual seekers and travellers in this 'quiet revival'. 

BigSmall Learning Community

I’d like to extend the invitation to join the BigSmall learning conversations starting September 23rd and running monthly for 7 sessions. This invitation is to you and your team to join a bespoke journey around the themes of mission, discipleship, multiplication and a reimagining of church.

We will be exploring this cultural moment and the opportunities and challenges that it presents for church communities and Christian leaders.

The format will be a mix of presentation and conversation, bringing our attention to principles and vehicles deployed by Jesus and the early church as they framed this kingdom movement, plus key learnings from the worldwide church (not just the West).

The best way to extract the juice of BigSmall and introduce the cultural change on offer through this journey would be to have two or more of your team take part with you and for you to explore the tools and to engage in the journey together between sessions.

The discipleship dilemma Dallas Willard said the most important question we can ask as a church is “what is my plan for making disciples?” The second most important question is “Is it working?”  Are we successfully growing disciples who are themselves making disciples or are we struggling to produce spiritual leaders?  We will tackle the challenge of 'consumer church' and explore the four stages of genuine transformation; Intimacy, Identity, Belonging and Purpose.

BigSmall - The Japanese have a word (dàxiǎo) that translates as ‘BigSmall’. It denotes something that is both small and big at the same time. This word captures the tension of the church as both big (Temple) and small (Household) and how we can create sustainable and multipliable expression of good news. 

Principles that we shall explore include 

Gathered and Dispersed
The BigSmall is not an either /or perspective. We believe in a both / and approach. The old and new, the big and the small, the old and the new working together in creative tension. We invite you to journey with others as we explore what God is doing across the big/small mindset. Come and explore a fresh vision of church and hear how God is taking the Gospel to new places and new spaces.

The Four Relational Spaces - We'll explore how to grow disciples across the four relational spaces in which Jesus operated and which contribute to our growth in maturity; the Intimate, Private, Social and Public spaces that people inhabit. Our challenge will be about discerning the vehicles, rhythms, frequency and focus of these spaces as we seek to fulfil the mission of Jesus in our context.

Missional Communities. Explore how missional communities can become embryonic churches within the church, bearing their own missional vision and lead to sustainable growth and  multiplication. If we can imbue our communities with intrinsic value as a core vehicle for mission and effective discipleship, restoring the place of the home and the role of extended family on mission, investing personally and intentionally into key leaders, there is potential to experience a harvest and to seed a movement.

Oikos - We believe God is restoring the home, the ‘Oikos’ or extended family as a key vehicle of mission and church planting. Alan Hirsch points out that every seed has the potential to become a tree and that every tree has the potential to become a forest. This seed is the movemental potential of the gospel carried in every believer. The foundational first 300 years of the church were mainly built in the home and around the meal table and the church in the Global South continues to bear testimony to the fruitfulness of the home as a primary centre for church. 

Microchurch planting  We see God building a movement of micro churches across the UK. BigSmall and REACHLondon.org in partnership with the National Church Planting Network and Microchurch Network Uk exist to strengthen and support this movement with resources and relationships, catalysing and connecting existing groups, networks and startups, inviting larger churches to resource and embrace this movement. 

‘Who has despised the day of small things..?’ Zechariah 4:10:

Register your interest for free and join the conversation.