A Real-Life Story

In the University District of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mark and Linda DeYmaz planted Mosaic church in 2002. At the beginning, the congregation met in two different church facilities until they found an abandoned Walmart to sublease. Despite having a consistent place, from the start Mosaic was not constricted to four walls.

In August 2002, two Hispanic women began attending services. A Hispanic leader saw an opportunity to make a difference in the trailer park they lived in. Many undocumented immigrants lived side by side with economically challenged blacks and whites. Mosaic church purchased a trailer and set about improving it. They went in two-person teams door to door, each team consisting of English and Spanish speakers.

“We introduced ourselves,” DeYmaz says, “surveyed the community, inviting residents to share with us physical, material, educational, social, and spiritual needs we could meet. We were successful in establishing tutoring services, replacing windows, offering dental services, leading Bible studies, teaching women English, and investing time by building a community. As a result, twenty-six of them became followers of Christ.”

Community Awareness

Mosaic church does not simply sit within the four walls, but strive to a congregation of people that influence and up life the community they are a part of.

The Leadership of Mosaic church stay aware of the needs of the community. In order to flourish their neighbors, DeYmaz launched Village and Vine, their own non-profit that helps other non-profits, projects, organizations, and startup businesses begin with the right materials and resources. Village and Vine is an umbrella non-profit that invests in its community by partnering with organizations who are wishing to do something in the community. They offer incubation, short-term support, central services, tax preparation services, and professional consulting for projects that fall under the mission and vision of the organization.

The mission of Village and Vine is to improve the quality of life for people living in and around the University District by providing just and affordable opportunities to address social, material, and physical needs to redeem the community.

Jon, an elder at Mosaic church says, “I have come to understand that to truly transform a community, a church cannot simply focus on things spiritual. I continue to see the benefits and fruit in the approach of spiritual, social, and financial disruption.”

Embedding the Church in the Market Place

The number of people willing to associate with a church has declined significantly. The Barna Group’s tracking of data since 1996 shows an alarming trend: a sharp rise in those identifying as atheists, agnostic, or “none”/no faith, alongside a nearly matching decline in “born again” Christians.

These changes have brought the church to a crucial juncture. All the church has been needs re-evaluation. All the church will become must consider the stamp of the current times, or the church will find itself even further on the fringe of society’s attention. To most local churches, the notion the church has a place in the marketplace and its economy, for the benefit of both the churched and the unchurched, remains a foreign concept.

We cannot control what goes on around us, but we do have the creativity, skills, and passion to start a movement of change. Mosaic has taken an initiative to not disconnect from society but to embrace it.

As its capital city, people traveled through the entire state to visit and to shop there. Things began to change however in the early 90’s when gangs became problematic. The city's gang problem centered in and around the University District. A once-vibrant community became a place of high crime, homelessness, and poverty. Mark and Linda wanted to be a part of a positive change in their community, which led them to their vision of village and vine. Mosaic is an entrepreneurial church known to make positive disruption through innovative ideas and techniques. It intentionally integrates itself in the marketplace and re-connects with lapsed and non-Christians from diverse ethnic backgrounds.

Pastor and entrepreneur, Mark DeYmaz, wanted to revitalize this community through disruptive innovation to impact its people for Christ. He says:

“The extent of my initial vision was to plant a church in which men and women of varying ethnic diversity could worship God together as one. At the time, I had not considered the spiritual, social, and financial challenges we would face in establishing such a church or the corresponding complexities of multi-ethnic, missional, and urban congregations. God led us step-by-step through the years until we recognized how to overcome the obstacles through disruptive innovation and ultimately how to re purpose the church to redeem the community.”

Reflection

This real-life story of an entrepreneurial church for Monday encourages us to practice holistic spirituality and re-envision the mission of the church, so the church in America can be a place of influence and change. The church’s goal should be to meet the spiritual, but also the practical, everyday needs of its city. Just like Mosaic church and Pastor Mark DeYmaz’ team, churches across North America can be innovative disruptors as they seek the Holy Spirit’s wisdom to address their unique communities’ needs in order to experience culture transformation and kingdom advancement.

How are you disrupting the communities around you?

An Excerpt from the book, “Church for Monday” by Dr. Svetlana Papazov.

Svetlana Papazov is Lead Pastor and Founder of Real Life Church, President/Founder of Real Life Center for Entrepreneurial and Leadership Excellence, a first of its kind model of church and business incubator that educates in entrepreneurship, leadership and faith praxis.