From Vision to Action
Cultivating Faith Communities for a Changing World
The year 2025 concluded in a truly remarkable fashion for Mission Alive, marked by record-setting achievements across several key areas. Most notably, God opened the door for the establishment of three new Innovative Faith Communities (IFCs)—the most new church initiatives launched in a single year since 2010. Additionally, Mission Alive welcomed more new team members than in any year since 2007 and received the highest level of grant funding since the organization’s inception
As the Mission Alive community reflected on these milestones, we were filled with gratitude and a deep sense of God’s transformative work through our ministry. With the Christmas season now behind us and the new year underway, the focus has shifted toward renewing our calling to launch and nurture new IFCs in 2026.
By all indications, 2026 promises to be another extraordinary year, defined by both major and secondary objectives. Among our core initiatives, Mission Alive will engage in an increased number of national events and partnership opportunities that extend our missional research and impact.
National Engagements and Research Initiatives
Mission Alive’s 2026 agenda includes increased field engagement and empirical research within diverse ministry contexts. The year will begin with participation in the Gulf Coast Getaway in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida—one of the largest campus ministry gatherings in the southeastern United States. There, Mission Alive researchers will conduct an exploratory study assessing the theological perspectives, spiritual practices, and ecclesial orientations of Christian college students.
Subsequently, Mission Alive will present at the National Urban Ministry Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas, leading a session on Innovative Faith Communities and the theological rationale for ministry among marginalized populations (see more here). Research on participants’ spiritual perspectives will also continue at this conference, with results to be shared later in the year. Additional conference involvement is planned but remains to be confirmed.
Mission Alive Press and Disciple-Making Resources
Mission Alive’s publication initiatives continue to play a vital role in sustaining its disciple-making efforts. The release of the Discipleship Cohort Guides in 2021 provided a structured framework for spiritual formation within small-group contexts, supporting discipleship movements now present across North America, Eastern Europe, and East Africa. The recently revised edition (available here) reflects both field feedback and contextual evaluation.
Building upon this foundation, Mission Alive Press—established in 2024—aims to provide high-quality missional training resources and scholarly materials that integrate theological reflection with practical ministry formation. The press will release a personal journal in 2026 dedicated to Discipleship Cohorts. Upcoming guides include the Jesus Manifesto series on the Sermon on the Mount, followed by The Sent Ones, a resource for developing missional living practices. Both English and Spanish-language resources will be made available as they are completed.
Expanding Strategic Partnerships
A central component of Mission Alive’s strategy involves fostering partnerships with local churches and foundations that share a commitment to innovation and forward-looking ministry. Whereas many congregations rely on inherited church models, Mission Alive collaborates with leaders willing to explore adaptive practices and experiment with contextually rooted expressions of faith. The year 2026 will thus be characterized by increased strategic alignment with churches and missional partners seeking sustainable models for future ministry.
“Underpinning all of Mission Alive’s work is a theological conviction that God continues to call the Church into adaptive participation in God’s mission.”
To resource our IFCs effectively, Mission Alive will expand collaborations with nonprofit organizations that strengthen community engagement. For instance, in January, Gerrel Jones from Renew Birmingham will provide IFC leaders with training in volunteer and community management. Later, in May, Fred Liggin from 3e Restoration will lead instruction in trauma-responsive ministry.
Additional partnerships are anticipated with organizations specializing in legal assistance ministries and mental health outreach—critical supports for churches engaging marginalized communities.
Launching New Innovative Faith Communities
In 2026, Mission Alive anticipates launching at least three new IFCs, including one in a rural area as part of the Rural and Small Town Initiative (RSTI). While specific locations and leaders are still being discerned, these projects will develop through prayer, discernment, and community collaboration.
A key element of the RSTI involves conducting Community Workshops within new ministry locations. These workshops function as participatory research engagements, presenting local sociological and theological findings while inviting residents to co-create community transformation strategies. Workshops are currently planned for Lufkin, Texas; Bertram, Texas; and Spartanburg, South Carolina.
IFC leaders will also participate in quarterly equipping gatherings throughout the year. The first session will conclude the Mission Accelerator—a process launched last August to accelerate missional engagements within five IFCs. Additional training and a year-end retreat are planned to sustain momentum and spiritual renewal among church planters.
Invitation to Discern and Participate
Underpinning all of Mission Alive’s work is a theological conviction that God continues to call the Church into adaptive participation in God’s mission. What has God placed upon your heart? If you sense a calling to start a new kind of church that contributes to community transformation, connect with Mission Alive.
Mission Alive provides training, peer learning networks, theological resources, and limited grant funding to support the cultivation of new missional initiatives. Through these efforts, Mission Alive seeks not merely to plant churches but to contribute to a larger theological and practical conversation about what it means to embody the Gospel faithfully in 21st-century North America. To discern your own next step, consult our Guide to a Season of Spiritual Discernment and consider forming a discernment team.
Mission Alive invites all who share this vision to partner with us in shaping the church of the future.
Tod K. Vogt, serves as the Executive Director of Mission Alive in Dallas, TX. Prior to working as Mission Alive’s Executive Director, he served as our Director of Equipping. Tod joined the Mission Alive team in 2007 after several years in local church ministry. Tod began his full-time ministry as a church-planting missionary among the Fon people of Benin, West Africa.
whoever wrote this post has learned much from political writers. Its the word of God that counts not the learning and attitudes of men. II Timothy 3 16-17 is still the standard and all you need.