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Just what is a Phase Strategy? Good question. Because God's Kingdom is active and not static, we discern his work developing in Phases as individuals and communities grow in response to God's action. We intentionally respond to God's work by creating strategies in which our principles and believes provoke us to action. The Phase V Strategy is the newest attempt of our mission team to undertake a task of discernment and planning. Below are the first two sections of this document. If you are ready to dive into the whole paper, click here to download a copy:  Phase V Strategy.doc
Introduction Johann Cruyff and the “Clockwork Orange” Dutch National Team of the 1970’s revolutionized the game of soccer with their “total football” style of play. This strategy emphasized the adaptability of individual players within a fluidly shifting formation, encouraging spontaneity within order, and creating new possibilities for what a team could accomplish together. It is in the spirit of total football that we put forward the Phase V document, in order to provide a flexible structure that allows us to function intentionally, creatively, and openly towards identified goals. The structure is created by our shared visions and principles. Flexibility arises from our willingness to discern and respond as a team to God’s continual action as we perceive Him working together. Just as the Total Football concept is designed to create movement and space, we hope that in putting forward this strategy we are creating space for God to move and act in our lives and in the Busoga Churches of Christ. We enter this phase aware that we are only part of an unfolding story of God’s Kingdom in Busoga. God has been drawing people to do His work here long before the present team’s arrival. He brought the original group of five families, those who joined them along the way, and has raised up Ugandans to lead the movement of churches in Busoga. The present team, consisting of the Langfords, Bogles, Manrys, and Adam Langford, arrived in Jinja during the past year at different times to join a work already in progress. With this awareness we seek to accomplish two things in this document. First, to provide some history and assessments of our churches, our church leaders, and our ministries that give shape and identity to the Busoga Churches of Christ as they presently are. Second, to identify goals and outline strategies to guide us through the processes of discernment, partnership, and service which we pray characterize our ministry at this phase of the mission. The 2010 Vision Statement, written and continually revised by the original team, is our long term vision for Busoga. We are committed as a team to work in Busoga at least through that year, and will evaluate our continual involvement after this date as we are led. We are adopting the wording of this vision written in 2002 that highlighted a shift in philosophy among the original team that emphasized interdependence between missionaries and Ugandans as the path forward to the goals. Prior to this revision, the vision statement was geared toward the goal of shaping the “four-selves” of an indigenous church that calls for African churches to be "self-propagating, self-supporting, self-governing, and self-theologizing." While they did not reject the spirit of the four-selves, they wanted to clarify these ideals within a more indigenous concept of cooperation, community, and interdependence and guard against the tendency to view selfhood in terms of self-reliance and autonomy. This vision statement serves as our long-term guide and navigational beacon for everything else that follows. Following the 2010 Vision Statement is our new Phase V 2006-2007 Vision Statement and Action Plan.
The Vision 2010 Vision
The vision is for the Churches of Christ to have a well-established, culturally relevant, Christ-like presence in Busoga. Specifically by March 24th, 2010, there will be 100 congregations in Busoga, and these congregations will exist in fellowship-nurturing clusters which will be spread as much as possible to every region of Busoga. By that time, there will also be 15 congregations which would have matured to the point of having elders. These churches--when considered collectively--will display the marks of a mature church including these identifiable traits: local leadership and organization, self-theologizing, financial integrity, and evangelism. All this will be done with an attitude of healthy interdependence between churches, between church leaders, and between churches and missionaries. Finally, these churches will be known in Busoga as people set apart by holiness, love, integrity, and holistic outreach. Prolegomena: Marks of Mature Churches
Churches submitting to the lead and love of Jesus Christ form the substance of our vision and hope for Busoga Uganda. We have identified four marks that name the characteristics these churches ought to possess as communities of faith. In addition to naming these marks or ideals, we believe it is helpful to describe and/or define what these marks look like in practice. Local Leadership and Organization: Churches that have a plurality of servant leaders, preferably elders, who refine cultural norms of leadership, with humility, service, trust, and cooperation. These qualities anticipate a structure that first considers the "least of these" and thus builds up the entire community. These churches and their leaders intentionally cultivate new leaders to rise up among them and empower each member of the community for service. Self-Theologizing: Churches that find their identity in the gospel and are able to express their faith in any crisis or cultural circumstance and do this within a community or movement. When the need arises to put forward an answer, the answer must begin with, and remain in essence the person and work of Jesus Christ. Each community has processes (formal or informal) for discerning issues in conversation with the Bible, missionaries (or outsiders), and each other. Financial Integrity: Churches that have a vision for use of money and resources in a community, with a willingness to give of what they have for that vision, and the trust to share that money with mutual accountability. These churches possess an impulse to actively create opportunities for themselves and others rather than passively receive. Evangelism: Evangelism is a community event, engaging surrounding communities (and individuals) with the message of the gospel embodied in the church. Churches that work together to send men and women to nearby villages and clusters to share the good news of the gospel, and are willing to do what they can with what they have. Evangelism takes place in churches that emphasize viewing every relationship as an opportunity to relate the gospel of Christ in Word and Action.
Phase V Vision
This vision statement serves to direct our efforts as a mission team working for and with the Basoga until October 1st, 2007. Our primary focus during this phase of the mission will be upon movement nurturing. We will support and invest ourselves in ministries, events, and people that help the Churches of Christ in Busoga to become a thriving, cohesive, mature, and fellowshipping church movement. We will strengthen the movement identity by promoting the use of indigenous spiritual, relational, and economic resources and intentionally connecting the urban ministries and their resources to village church communities. We would like to see 10 new churches planted during this phase, including one in Kumuli town, and plan to work towards this goal primarily by supporting Ugandan leaders initiating the church plant. Village Ministries will focus on church nurturing through visitation, leadership development, and curriculum development including establishing cluster meetings. We will work with Ugandan leaders to perform an evaluation of our village churches in order to assess their maturity and encourage spiritual growth and formation. Support ministries such as internships, website and newsletters will be evaluated and developed to forge vital communication links between mission teams and supporting church communities.
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