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Bonus Conversation: Why We Need Hubs: The Trellis Behind the Vine

Movements don’t just need energy. They need structure—organic, supportive, and agile enough to grow with the vine.

In this Bonus Conversation, we launch our new series on Hubology—a made-up word for a very real need in decentralized movements. As disciple-making spreads and microchurches multiply, one essential structure keeps emerging again and again: the Hub Team.

So what is a hub?
Not a headquarters. Not a hierarchy.

A hub is a catalytic team that equips, coaches, and convenes a network of disciple-makers and microchurches within a specific geography or affinity. This isn’t theory—it’s the practical trellis that helps sustain and multiply the wild vine of movement.

Key Takeaways:

🔥 Hubs emerge organically. Just like microchurches form from disciple-making, hubs form when new growth needs new support. They’re born of necessity—not design.

🔥 Minimal hubology = three core functions. A real hub equips everyday people, coaches leaders on the frontlines, and convenes the network in strategic, intentional ways.

🔥 Equipping = tools, not just ideas. We train around prayer, persons of peace, soul care, and everyday mission. It’s practical, reproducible, and always contextualized.

🔥 Coaching = presence, not just expertise. Group coaching in community has become the backbone of our network. It’s about holding space, asking good questions, and midwifing what the Spirit is already birthing.

🔥 Convening = catalytic connection. We don’t convene to centralize—we gather to inspire, realign, lament, pray, and remind each other that we’re part of a bigger Kingdom story.

🔥 No cookie cutters. Hubs are contextual. They constantly ask: What do the disciple-makers in this place need to be healthy and effective? That’s the blueprint.

📄 This conversation is just the beginning. Upcoming articles in this series will unpack:

  • Who makes up a Hub Team?

  • When’s the right time to form one?

  • How do you develop rhythms of equipping, coaching, and convening?

  • What are some real-life case studies (and failures!) we’ve learned from?

🎧 Listen to the full conversation above, and let us know how you’re building trellises beneath the vine in your context. Drop your thoughts and stories in the comments.

📄 If you missed it, here’s the first article in the series.

Hubology: The Trellis Beneath the Vine

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Apr 16
Hubology: The Trellis Beneath the Vine

Contributors: Brian Johnson, Rob Wegner

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