Our Background
In 2018, we were sitting, as long-standing members, in a non-denominational megachurch type model church. Don't get me wrong, we loved our church and still believe it has its place. However, God was calling us to focus a little differently. After much time and effort, we realized it was not going to work for us to focus our efforts in the way that God was calling us to do within that institutional structure. So we began to seek what God was doing outside of the organization, and a small group of Christ followers began fasting and meeting to pray and seek God. Before we knew it, the GC Underground Missio Dei was launched.
The Mississippi Gulf Coast has over 350,000 people, and we believe 60-80% of that population (210,000 to 280,000) are unchurched and, for whatever reason, not being reached. We believe that an overwhelming majority of those people are poor-in-spirit, suffering from the injustices that result from sin, and wide open to learning about God and His plan in Christ. And this leads us to our Vision & Mission:
GC Underground Vision
To reach every person along the Gulf Coast who is poor-in-spirit and/or experiencing suffering caused by sin and the injustices of this world and is not being reached by the existing church structures, with the transformative Gospel of Jesus Christ; and to help them experience the true love, as established by God's plan in Christ through the Scriptures, that draws us to repentance and obedience to Christ.
GC Underground Mission
Founded on prayer, fasting and 100% devotion to the Lord, our Mission is to:
- 1)Build intentional and healthy relationships with people in our contexts;
- 2)Train disciples of Jesus Christ among new contexts and networks of people;
- 3)Help new disciples discover the objective will of God as well as the subjective call of God on their life; and
- 4)Equip and support every follower of Christ in accomplishing the Missio Dei in the context of their everyday life.
The components of our Mission consist of micro-churches, collectives, a mission's hub, Discovery Bible Studies and Intentional Discipleship Environments. These components combine to form a process for Christ-centered discipleship multiplication.
Our Manifesto
The Gulf Coast Underground is Christ-centered and discipleship focused. Discipleship multiplication starts and finishes with a deep understanding of who Christ is, and is ultimately accomplished in how that understanding affects our relationships with Him and with others.
Focus
Christology
Christ is God who came to earth in the flesh to die on the cross after living a sinless life to take the punishment that every human being deserved in order that God the Father's justice may be kept perfect. We now have God the Holy Spirit dwelling with us to guide us in His wonderful plan of salvation, which comes through following Christ. Jesus is the Word of God became flesh and dwelt among mankind to demonstrate God's will for man (i.e. how God wants us to live in pursuit of holiness). All of Scripture points to Christ and is our sole and absolute authority for life. As we consider Jesus' incarnate life, we see two key focuses we relentlessly center on: first, Christ came to shift the focus off of the kingdoms of this world onto the Kingdom of Heaven; and second, Jesus simplifies all rules and instruction for life down to two commandments, to love the Lord your God with all that you are and to love your neighbor as yourself. Both commandments focus on relationship, and at the hub we focus heavily on relationships, both with the Lord and with people.
Missiology & Ecclesiology
When looking at Jesus' incarnate life, it boils down to living life on Mission (Kingdom Discipleship) with a circle of followers (the Church) with the goal of multiplication of the Kingdom through building relationships with both God and the people in our everyday path. As we interpret Scripture around missiology and ecclesiology, we filter all interpretations through the lens of healthy Christology to avoid getting to a point where mission and gathering become mutually exclusive. The gathering of believers is not the exclusive focus. Mission is not the exclusive focus. Discipleship is the focus, which yields healthy rhythms of both gathering and mission. This is why you will hear us say things like “church is not something we go to; we are the Church.” In order to be the Church in the healthiest sense, rhythms of gathering and mission are BOTH vital in the life of every Christ follower. One of the best charts we have come across to understand healthy missiology and ecclesiology is the Engel Scale.
Values
Christ-Centered
We believe that the gospel is the answer to all of life regardless of the issue or circumstance. All authority has been given by the Father to Jesus, and every follower learning to submit to His authority in his or her own life personally is fundamentally essential. God never intended His people to be ruled like other nations. His intention has always been for His people to be ruled by Him. There was only one authority between God and man B.C., the priest. And of course, we know Jesus' death, burial and resurrection fulfilled the role of the priest once and for all, and now every believer is a part of the royal priesthood under Him as our Great High Priest. In Him alone is the power for all necessary transformation, which is why we practice the discipline of applying the gospel to every issue and circumstance of life.
Worship
Community
Mission
Our Organization
The Gulf Coast Underground Missio Dei is not legally set up as a “church.” The GC Underground is a corporate entity organized under 501(c)(3) of the IRS code as a mission's hub that has applied for and obtained IRS qualification for its tax-exempt status. We have a board of directors and officers responsible for the hub. Micro-churches that emerge as a result of the work supported by the hub do not fall under the hub's by-laws or organizational authority. The glue that keeps our micro-churches together is relationship and networking centered on carrying out God's mission. By organizing as a mission hub, rather than as a “church,” we are better able to partner with other churches in the communities along the Gulf Coast to help them with discipleship multiplication.