Mission-Focused "Hybrids" or What is a Nectacotum?

File under: Missions

by Rich Johnstone, DOM

See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.  Isaiah 43:19

The Zaiger family, a farming family in the Central Valley of California, constantly asks "what if" questions about their orchards near Modesto:

• "What if we combined the DNA of various popular fruits?" 
• "When we combine them, would the resulting fruit be even better?"

So, they experimented by combining various popular fruits, some very successfully.  Have you ever heard of the Aprium^®?  This is their patented hybrid made from the apricot and the plum.  How about the Pluot^®?  This is another patented fruit created from the plum and apricot.  The skin is smooth like the plum, while the meat has more characteristics of the apricot.  The Zaigers created other popular hybrids as well:

• Nectaplum, a hybrid of nectarine and plum
• Nectarcot, a hybrid of nectarine and apricot
• Peacotum, a hybrid of peach, apricot and plum

Church leaders create hybrids all the time.  For example:

• Rural Culture + Congregation = Cowboy Church
• Missional DNA + Multisite model = LifeChurch.tv
• Intimacy of Smallness + Impact of Bigness = Hybrid Church (see the book by this title by Dave Browning)

Question:  What new thing is God doing in the Mid-Valley?  Do we "perceive" it?  What undiscovered mission-focused hybrids have yet to be created that will significantly push back lost-ness in Mid-Valley communities?  What IMB models and practices could be combined with Mid-Valley cultures to create a new approach to advance the old story?  For example, some churches are using the Bible story-ing approach that has been so effective in international missions.  Local churches are the perfect place to test new approaches to share the unchanging gospel message.  The time is "ripe" for a new wave of mission-focused innovation in our local churches as God does a new thing to push back darkness in our communities.

Oh, and the Nectacotum?  It's a hybrid of apricot, plum, and nectarine, of course.  If you want to grow them for sale, you'll need to purchase a license from the Zaigers!