Access Community...

In July 2010 we started our prime Access Community. It happened almost by accident, and it was the life saver that we needed at that point in our church planting journey.
Up till that time, we had previously attempted an 'attractional strategy', aimed at holding services and building a following through monthly gatherings. When that didn't work, I went underground, building up awareness of our mission and intention in Aldergrove. To be truthful, I was dissapointed and discouraged at that point of our journey, wondering how we would move forward.  In June I encountered another Aldergrove resident who had the same vision for a church plant here, and we decided that we'd begin meeting regularly, every two weeks, and invite others to come along.
As it turned out, at our first Access Community get-together we had 16 people attend. It seemed that once we got the ball rolling, things started happening. Momentum was building. Out of those 16 people, we held on to two other families (making up three families) to form something of a 'core group'. Five months into it, we're still at three families, and we're still meeting bi-weekly (that is, every other week).
Of course, we decided to change up the schedule for Hallowe'en, believing that it was a good opportunity for all to be involved in our respective communities. We said that we would meet the following week instead. As it happened, 4/5 of my family was sick, another family was away, and so we decided once again to call off our get-together.  Now here we are, not having met together for a month.
It has become apparent that meeting bi-weekly doesn't foster the kind of community that is required to maintain our momentum. We know one another to an extent, but not deeply enough to really 'be with' one another, trusting each other with our spiritual or life journeys.  Yes, there have been other factors in this loss of momentum - such as the birth of our youngest son in October and the lead-up to that, the reality and dynamics of family life with small children (for us and for another family in our core), and the pressures and timelines of work, as well as the transitory nature of Aldergrove.
What this has all taught me, however, is that we need to step up our collective commitment to our Access Community. This means going weekly with our meeting together, as well as making intentional effort to get together on an unscheduled/casual/friendly basis throughout the week, and of course times of corporate prayer and worship.
A church will not be planted by disconnected core.  The next step in the journey is to connect those in the core socially, spiritually, and physically.