Missional Church in Practice - Diffusing the PMC Innovation
By Harvey Kwiyani

Click here to return to the Church Innovations web site.

I was attracted to the dialogue of the missional church after I witnessed first hand the struggles of many congregations in Europe. I felt so much for the many leaders who I saw confused, frustrated and hopeless. Many had attended various conferences and seminars, and tried many programmes and products, with little or no impact on their congregations.

Having grown up in Africa in a church that was missional (without knowing such a word existed), I knew straight away that unless the congregations I encountered in Europe let go of all their excuses and made the changes required, both in their visions and identity, they would continue to be marginalized until they lost their ground. I was greatly shocked to see that even though most of these leaders knew that something was wrong, in their minds, the problem was somewhere else, but not in their congregations.

With this burden, I sought further training with the intent to train leaders that would then help transform their own local churches to become missional. With the help of my mentor, Martin Robinson, I did my master’s research on how congregational change happens, and what tools could be used to affect long-term multi-generational missional focus in local congregations.

The research made a comparative analysis of the operating philosophies and methodologies of four congregational transformational tools, namely: Appreciative Inquiry, Natural Church Development, Journey Into Mission Church, and Church Innovations’ Partnership for Missional Church (PMC). I discovered that PMC tackles change in a way that is radically different from the other tools.

PMC reflects a significant shift from the modernistic organisational change theories of the 80s and 90s to a more time-relevant and flexible approach suited for post-modernity. Established on the principles of adaptive change rather than technical change as the other tools are, it is designed to change congregations by transforming the culture within them. Congregations are put together in clusters and change is facilitated as a system of congregations (Systems Theory), and not one congregation at a time as all the other three tools work.

PMC’s genius of using Diffusion of Innovation theory in congregational transformation makes a world of difference too. It encourages the much needed we-are-doing-this-thing-together feeling. At all stages in the process, participation is sought from members and leaders alike. The vision ends up in the hands of the majority followers, with the leaders leading within. Most tools believe that to affect change, all you need is to focus on the leaders and active members. PMC correctly believes to the contrary.

When Diffusion of Innovation and Systems Theory are together, it becomes easier to appreciate the significant role that judicatory leaders play. For most members of a congregational system, just like any other social system, the decision to change depends heavily on the decisions of the other members of the system. Judicatory leaders are usually influential members of the system of congregations. Their involvement assures their congregations that it is safe to risk trying this journey of discernment. It brings together the academy, consultants and practitioners, creating a very favorable place for breeding innovation. As seen in the case of PMC-South Africa, a great deal of wonderful discoveries has come out of this working relationship.

I considered reports made by congregations that have used PMC from Canada, USA, South Africa, and the Scandinavian countries. I continue to marvel at the fact that PMC is having deep rooted impact on congregations in very different cultural and racial contexts. Take South Africa, for example, where one Afrikaans congregation has recently started an English-speaking service for the first time in its 200-year heritage. This has, in effect, allowed people of other races and social status into their top-of-the-range church premises. This signifies deep cultural changes among the members, and that is what PMC is all about.

It should not surprise us if the innovation of PMC becomes the congregational transformation tool that God will use to bring many congregations back to their calling, as it seems to understand congregational change better than any of the tools that I studied.

Harvey Kwiyani recently completed his master’s degree in missions at the University of Wales in the United Kingdom.