Task Forces (Research)

From IICM

Facilitator for the Missional Research Task Forces
Curt Watke, PhD, Founder and Executive Director. Dr. Curt Watke

Missional Research Task Forces

Missional Arts

Missional Arts Task Force focuses on those with talents in music, visual art, drama, dance and film.

The "cultural creatives" is a segment of society that do not easily fit into the standard paradigms of "Modernists" or "Progressives" vs. "Traditionalists" or "Conservatives." The core of this group are typically "more educated, spiritually-minded, leading-edge thinkers." Many of these are involved in some aspect of the arts: music, dance, theatre, cinema, visual arts. At the same time, most believers who are gifted in the arts perceive that their talents are to be used in the context of a worship service within their church's building. They do not understand worship as encompassing all of life and the arts as a way of bringing worship to the community. The purpose of the Missional Arts Task Force is to discuss ways to foster Missional Artisans (lay missionaries who engage the arts community), develop cultural understanding of cultural creatives, create materials and resources for them, design the training process, foster ongoing interaction between them in peer-to-peer learning networks, and improve their implementation as they engage cultural creatives in their communities.

Missional Multi-housing

Missional Multi-housing Task Force focuses on people who live in multi-housing environments

Many of those living in multihousing live in what we call "Aspiring Communities." This resoundingly diverse ethnic group represents the up-and-coming of American society. Living within easy reach of or within major metropolitan areas, this group enjoys careers in information, sales, administration, education, health and other service professions. As many as 60% of Aspiring Contemporaries are renting singles, many are career builders enjoying a middle income way in mid-tier management positions. Many others live the unique lifestyles offered by military and university dorm life. However, this group is also four times more likely to be unemployed. Ethnicity is extremely diverse, and a majority fall within the ages of 18 to 34 years. Typically residents in multihousing remain unreached with the gospel. While they are geographically close to many existing churches, they are culturally distant from most of the believers within the churches. The purpose of the Multihousing Missions Task Force is to discuss ways to foster Multihousing Missionaries (lay missionaries who engage these types of communities), develop cultural understanding of these type of communities, create materials and resources for them, design training processes, foster ongoing interaction between them in peer-to-peer learning networks, and improve their implementation as they engage multhousing communities.

Missional Medicine

Missional Medicine Task Force focuses on people with health issues and their care-givers.

Most Christians view "Medical Missions" as something that believers in the medical field do when they go overseas to an impoverished nation to deliver humanitarian aid. Yet the care of those with medical needs and their care-givers also provides opportunity for missional ministry here in North America. Regardless of the presence of socioeconomic need, spiritual needs comingle with medical needs as well. The purpose of the Missional Medicine Task Force is to develop Medical Missionaries, help them to develop cultural understanding of both patients and care-givers, create materials and resources for them, design training processes, foster ongoing interaction between them in peer-to-peer learning networks, and improve their implementation as they engage both patients and their care-givers.