216. Forge America

It is only within the past few years that I have really come to realize the necessity of being part of a larger network. There are a lot of church planting networks and organizations out there. A lot of good ones, and some, according to who you ask, not so good. The great thing about a network is that it facilitates relationships. This may sound overly simplistic, but relationships 

can be a gateway to so many other things. Networks are a strategic environment where everyone gets to be influenced, as well as be an influencer. 

I recently had a great opportunity to hang out with a great network of missional practitioners. The Forge America team at Exponential is a blast. Not only do they know how to throw a good party. these folks are all about serving the missional movement in our day. They think grass-rootsy (a fettish of mine) and have real servant hearts. They really do champion the idea of ordinary people doing extraordinary things for God. In fact, after reflecting on the nature of their organization, it hit me one day that Forge is a lot like Android/Google. They don't mind you hacking in to their stuff and innovating with it, and actually design their organization and content to facilitate this very thing. They truly are a centered set kind of organization, I love it. 

After a few discussions with their leadership, it seemed like a great fit for me to link up with them and join their team. Really excited about the future possibilities of hanging out with them how I will be influenced by the great folks in their network.