Fellowship of Mosaics 3.38

The Fellowship of Mosaics is meant to bring the Good News of the Scriptures to people born between 1980 and 2002 living in the Greater Sacramento Metropolitan Area. They are the Mosaic or Millennial generation. Although we are targeting mainly for Mosaics but we will welcome everyone (including their children and parents) in any ages. We are aware that many Mosaics drop out of regular church attendance (through the “Silent Exodus”); they are wrestling with their identity as church-goers.

Sacramento, of course, is not unique in this regard. The Barna Group, a market research firm specializing in religious surveys and other data gathering relative to the state of Christianity has found Sacramento to be the 17th most post-Christian city in the United States. Barna Group researchers base this ranking on a variety of “post-Christian metrics,” which the Fellowship of Mosaics will seek to address. We will accomplish this initially through our website and related online networking platforms and ultimately with our church services, Bible study and other “real-world” gatherings.

The Barna Group states that “the level of irreligion in America depends on how you measure it.” We feel the metrics the Barna Group used to measure “post-Christianity” represent opportunities. Among the most serious metrics, “do not believe in God,” “identify as atheist or agnostic,” “disagree that faith is important in their lives,” and “have not donated money to a church (in the last year)” (http://cities.barna.org/the-most-post-christian-cities-in-america/), we see Mosaics who state they “have not volunteered at church” as a wonderful chance for us to evangelize.

We agree with author Mark Brooks who states that Mosaics “are most likely to get hands-on with causes they care about when organizations offer a range of volunteer opportunities, from one-time commitments to long-term pro-bono skills-based opportunities.”(“One Generation From Extinction; How To Reach Millennials” by Mark Brooks – ChurchLeaders.com)

In the midst of the Mosaics’ social context, which is defined by myriad technological channels of communication, we will strive to bring the clearly relevant message that is the Good News of the Gospels. We have a strong passion and desire to reach this lost generation who are more vulnerable than previous generations and under threat of becoming lost to the church. We understand that the “context” of this generation is unique in many ways. To authentically connect with Mosaics we must begin by reaching out through the latest communications technology and software. This means connecting with them through social media, blogging and email on a constantly updated basis. We feel blogging is an especially effective way to reach out because the content of blog posts is transferable to other networking platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

“Ultimately,” says Mark Brooks, “Millennials want to lend their knowledge, expertise and time to help nonprofits.”

At the Fellowship of Mosaics, we will help them do just that.

Mosaics may tend to interact with nonprofit organizations impulsively as they “surf” the Internet. Thus, we will strive to involve them in the Fellowship of Mosaics through offering opportunities for them to get involved in the Midtown Sacramento community by creating one-time commitments for them to provide their skills and knowledge to help their fellow humans.

In Sacramento, Mosaics are drawn to the Midtown District for a variety of reasons. It is where the cultural activities (coffeehouses, trendy restaurants, art galleries, musical performance spaces, multi-ethnic cultural festivals) take place. Also it is where there is great need for volunteers to help in many ways. This is why the Fellowship of Mosaics will be planted and, we believe, thrive in the Mosaics’ Midtown context. From here we will reach out and evangelize based on an authentic koinonia (Acts 2:42-47) by reaching out for the lost ones to extend the Kingdom of God (2 Cor. 10:15).

"Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand." - 2 Cor. 10:15