Rick McKinley’s 4 Elements of Missional Imagination
At Q, Rick McKinley of Imago Dei Community (Portland, OR) shared the four elements of missional imagination.
At the core is someone so passionate about the gospel that they are willing to give everything up to pursue a crazy dream.
4 Elements of Missional Imagination
- Strong Leadership
You need strong leaders, who can allow people to create while still leaving space for God to knock on the door. Leaders need humility and should not try to be a celebrity. - Transformed Disciples
It is not about church but movement. We can grow big churches full of undiscipled disciples, but they will not transform culture. Create a movement of transformed disciples. Truly transformed disciples don’t need permission or a program to reach people. They are a movement of God to release on the city. - Imagine What God Can Do in Your Context
Imagine what the Kingdom of God would look like expressed through the gifts, talents, and passions of these transformed disciples. Don’t leverage people’s skills for your goals. It is not in our hands to control but to cultivate. - Conspire with Other Leaders
For example, Imago Dei Community collaborated with other churches to create the Advent Conspiracy and raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to aid the global water crisis.
People are ready to hear about new life when we start acting like new life is flowing through us.
Other bloggers highlighting Rick’s talk include:
- DJ Chuang
- Duncan McFadzean







