Recovering Ancient Practices
For Modern Mission
Understanding the Abbey
Formed at the Table. Sent to the Nations.
The world no longer seems shaped by a shared Christian imagination, but once again stands as a mission field. Whether in our cities, neighborhoods, or workplaces, at the heart of the world’s issues is the need for the good news of the Kingdom of God.
Reach Global Missions exists to renew the Church and proclaim the Gospel among the nations by empowering and equipping Christians to fulfill their calling. This work isn’t limited to just one continent; it is global in scope and local in expression.
But in today’s complex world, how do we navigate the challenges of contemporary life? We believe the solution isn’t to try to create something new but to revive something very old and adapt it to our modern context.
When Christianity spread across Europe, early missionaries faced many of the same challenges: tribalism, language barriers, cultural differences, and polytheism. Yet Christianity spread throughout Europe.
Were they more effective missionaries than we are, or was it something else? We believe the answer lies in the tools and methods they used. They gathered small bands of believers around Word and Sacrament, under spiritual oversight, and from those communities they were sent into the world.
This is where the story begins again.
The Abbey: An Ancient Idea Repurposed for Modern Life
The Abbey: Where the Story Begins
Acts 2:42–43
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
Before there were movements, there were tables.
A handful of people gathered for prayer. Scripture was opened and read. Bread was broken, and lives were reordered around Christ. This was not yet a church as we think of it today. It was something smaller, intentional, formative, and relational.
This is what we call an Abbey. The word comes from the Aramaic "Abba," meaning "daddy." Jesus used this word to describe God the Father. So an Abbey is a place gathered around Abba, our Father.
An Abbey led by a minister, an elder, or a bishop (originally called abbots) entrusted with the care of souls and the oversight of the community.
In the Abbey, a pattern of life takes shape. People learn to pray, are taught Scripture, and are shaped by the Sacraments.
It may meet in a home, a village, a storefront, or a city center. It may arise in Florida, Kenya, or anywhere the Gospel is taking root. Its power is not in its structure, but in its formation.
In the Abbey, people are not merely taught but also shaped as image-bearers of our Lord Jesus.
From the Table to Ordinary Life
1 Peter 2:9
“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood… that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you.”
Raised Up and Sent Forth
In time, something begins to happen.
Men and women discover that their lives are not their own. They begin to see their work, their relationships, and their daily rhythms as places of calling. A desire emerges to share with others what is experienced at the table.
Some are sent as faithful, mature Christians into the fabric of everyday life, into schools, businesses, hospitals, neighborhoods, and places of need. Others embrace a calling to ordained ministry and serve in unique callings.
But they do never go alone but are sent. They carry with them the spiritual life they received through the Word and at the Table.
The Gospel Enters the World
Matthew 5:14–16
“You are the light of the world… let your light shine before others.”
The early missionaries did not wait for people to come to them.
But instead, went to where life was already happening.
They worked and stood in marketplaces. They walked among villages. They entered conversations, relationships, and systems already in motion. In other words, they intentionally went where people gathered symbolized by the Oak Tree.
So it is today.
Our “oak trees” are unique, but the pattern remains the same. The Gospel spreads into workplaces, classrooms, community networks, and even digital spaces. In these environments, Christ is proclaimed, not only through words but also through lives shaped by His lordship.
A People Begins to Gather
Acts 2:46–47
“And day by day… they broke bread in their homes… praising God… And the Lord added to their number day by day.”
Where the Gospel is lived and proclaimed, people eventually respond, and a community takes shape.
They come to faith. They begin to follow Christ. And soon, they begin to gather. Instead of trying to start a church, they become the church (the ekklesia), embodied in the community where they serve.
These gatherings are not random. They are intentional. They pray together. They open the Scriptures. They encourage one another. They learn to live as a distinct people in the midst of a larger culture.
These are Christians living in community.
They remain connected to the Abbey that formed them . They remain under spiritual oversight. They are not independent efforts, but extensions of a shared life and mission.
They are the Church, present in a particular place.
The Church Takes Shape
Acts 14:23
“And when they had appointed elders for them in every church… they committed them to the Lord.”
Ordered for Worship and Mission
Over time, some of these communities eventually grow in depth, stability, and maturity.
What began as a small gathering becomes a fully established congregation, and a church emerges. Leaders begin to emerge. Biblical understanding matures. Worship is ordered. The Sacraments are faithfully administered.
A Church is not the end of the story. It is a new beginning.
Because within that church, the same pattern continues. New disciples are formed. New leaders are raised. New communities are sent.
Matthew 28:19–20
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
The Abbey: The Spiral of Mission
Mission begins at the center (1), where the Abbey gathers for Word, Sacrament, prayer, and formation.
From this center, people are commissioned and sent outward (2) into the public square (3), into the neighborhoods, workplaces, campuses, and communities where life unfolds.
As disciples are made, communities take root (4). When these communities mature in Christian teaching, sacramental life, and stable leadership, they become congregations (5).
Each new church then becomes a new center (1) of formation and sending. The movement does not merely circle. It spirals outward as the Gospel multiplies faithful, ordered communities across North America.
Our Vision
We seek the renewal of the Global Church and the re-evangelization of North America through missionary communities.
We believe the Church must be sacramental and sent. Leadership must be formed before it is deployed. Mission must be accountable and intentional. And every believer is called to participate in Christ’s Kingdom.
Join the Work
The Lord continues to call men and women into His harvest.
He may be calling you to establish an Abbey in your city, to be formed and commissioned as an everyday minister, to gather a missional community in your neighborhood or vocation, or to plant a church.