2026 MAP – the week of June 21, 2026

Editorial comments

“Discipleship Uncomplicated”, The 8 Principles of Disciple Making by Dr. Warren Haynes

Principle 7 – Gather People – Gather People to Influence People (part 6)

When we saw each other the following day, something was different. We were no longer acquaintances; we were friends. These friends would often stay in church until they moved or until we moved. Observing this effect, I encouraged people from the church to invite people into their homes. Because I didn’t fully understand where, and how friendships formed, I unintentionally mislabeled and misdirected people for years. It’s not having people in your homes; it’s what you do there that forms friendships. We sat around a table (four-foot circle) and spent quantity time (six to eight hours) together talking about personal things (where they grew up, their hobbies, etc.) and spiritual things (where they grew up in church, their spiritual story, etc.).

The challenge for most churches today is there is no place or opportunity for people to get in a four-foot circle to share quantity time together, talking about personal and spiritual things. There are many congregations and businesses that are intentionally or unintentionally practicing this, and they are easy to identify because they have high retention rates and build a loyal following. The first two spaces are the most neglected in congregations today, but they carried the most relational equity.

Third, there is the twelve-foot space known as “social space”. Sharing this space with others is where we get to know each other on a social level. This is where we share “snapshots” of one another’s lives. We learn information about each other’s families, hobbies, interests, and personalities. We will share the “social space” with about five to twenty people. This is where small groups happen. This space is excellent for dynamic small group discovery, training, learning, and interacting.