About

We are The Gathering Network of Lincoln, NE.

Let's break that down a bit...

We.  Who are we?  What marks someone as “part of us?”  In most churches, someone is “part of us” if they regularly attend the same worship service as me in the same building.  In most clubs, someone is “part of us” if they pay their dues.  In the sports world, someone is “part of us” if they wear our colors and cheer for the same people.  In TGN we have decided we do not want to be defined by a place, a time, our leaders, or financial participation.

Rather, each missional community is defined by their agreed upon shared rhythms of communion, family, and purpose.  For some that means we all practice communion by studying the Scriptures together, and for others that means holding each other accountable in our prayer life.  Some communities have a minimum amount of meals they share with one another each week, and others practice family by their commitment to know each and every one’s stories.  Some communities live out their purpose through creating nights of creativity for local artists, or by living as servants amongst their neighbors.

Gathering.  Compare these two ideas:  Book clubs only exist because there is a time they gather together.  Friends that gather for movie nights do so because they are already friends that like watching movies together.  We think there is an important distinction here that applies to missional communities as well.  We are not a community because we gather, rather we gather because we are a community.

Each missional community chooses to make their gatherings simple, basing them on shared principles & processes.  By organizing ourselves this way, we choose to always place principles over personalities, never allowing certain leaders or giftings to define us.

Network.  The Gathering Network itself is not a missional community, a denomination, or a local church.  We are a hub, connecting missional communities to one another.  We are a bridge, helping people "cross the river," turning ideas into action.  We are a funnel, transporting support, resources, and affirmation all the way from The Alliance down into the hands of the average person in Lincoln, NE.

As a network we are committed to learning from one another - we know we are always better together.  We exist to serve every "microchurch" (missional community, house-church, spiritual community, etc.) in Lincoln, and desire partnership with them all, yet we offer an official integrated status that provides a higher degree of connection, ecclesiastical covering, and access to more organizational assets.  If you lead a microchurch and are interested in being integrated with The Gathering Network, contact us here.

Lincoln, NE.  Our communities are full of Lincolnites and we want the best for our neighborhoods.  We recognize a huge deficit of Connection in our culture and in our city.  We are committed to expanding the network for the sake of others, even if that means our communities will have to split to allow space for new relationships to be formed.  We believe each missional community will be healthier if the vision of multiplication for the sake of our city is front and center.  More people in our city embodying God’s Kingdom wherever they work, live, learn and play equals more people that get to experience the good news of connection with God, others, and our purpose.