PIONEER MISSIONERS 
Pioneer Missioners have the entreprenurial capacity to envision, plant and curate, new, missional forms of church, within postmodern, post-Christian, and post-secular culture.
A Pioneer Ministry initiative has existed in The Church of England for a some years, prior to the first, small, pilot program launched in The Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, WA in 2010.
Pioneer Missioners are usually (but not always) under age 40 when they begin. Pioneers are ordained, lay, or preparing for Holy Orders. Pioneers engage, substantive pioneering projects, and are in an accountable relationship with their diocesan bishop about their projects.
You don't really 'teach' people to pioneer in any field, as such is both a gifting and a calling. Pioneers 'emerge,' as they they engage pioneering work. Pioneers in any field just 'do it,' and often without seeking prior approval from existing structures. Pioneer missioners are self-motivated, driven by passion, and possessing of deep creativity, for full, conscious and active participation in what God is doing in the world.
The church does well to notice this drive, creativity and passion, and recruit those with demonstrated capacity for entreprenurial, missional leadership. The church is in great need of pioneers to help vision and start up new forms of church and ministry, without needing to use a 'follow the numbers' guidebook or map. Pioneers are expeditioners and cartographers of mission, creating new form mission initatives in local contexts.
The Society of Pioneering Missioners (SPM)
SPM is a community of and for Pioneer Missioners, founded in 2010 by Karen Ward (a member of The Episcopal Church) Mark Berry (a member of The Church of England) and Ryan Marsh (a member of The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America).
SPM is open-source, in that we encourage interested pioneers within the various communions and denominations, to contact us and then begin their own unique SPM chapters, that are reflective of, and steeped in the ethos, theology, ecclesiology, and missiology of each communion or denomination.
Pledge
Members make an annual pledge to:
- full, active and conscious participation in the missio dei within our local contexts, and connected with wider world.
- engage local culture(s), towards the contextualization of the Gospel and God's invitation and welcome to all people, through Jesus Christ.
- engage 'missional development,' creating and curating new, emerging/fresh expression Christian communitie, and intentional participation in the missional renewal of established parishes, within 'great emergence' culture.
- to lend active and tangible support (including financial) according to our capacity, for pioneers in our own judicatories, and to encourage and inspire others to also partner in.
- engage the spiritual formation and practices of the tradition we are part of (for Anglicans: daily office, weekly eucharist, community participation, reflection and service...) towards the spiritual sustainability of our leadership for mission.
Priorities
'Missional Development' via the start up of new, renewed, and contextual Christian churches and ministries that are capable of connecting church with current culture, and connecting emerging generations to life and community around Jesus Christ. SPM mission is especially oriented to connecting people with no previous church experience, people with prior negative experiences of Christianity, people in urban areas, people from non European cultures, and people from subcultures, amonst whom the church rarely engages.
'Wholistic Mission' which engages all dimensions of mission: the contextual, the cross-cultural, the trans-cultural, and the counter cultural ways in which the Gospel relates to culture.
'The Reign of God Horizon' which unites us in common cause with all those working for justice and compassion in culture and society. We will develop partnerships, and work collaboratively with people of different faiths and those with no particular faith tradition, towards the renewal of human community and relationships within our various localities, because the Reign of God extends beyond the bounds of the church.
'Spiritual Stability' within a particular Christian tradition We hold that spiritual depth within Christian life and practice is most often found by living within a particular Christian tribe or spiritual tradition with integrity. Being fully part of a tradition calls for being 'under authority' within the tradition (to your Bishop, or equivalent oversight or accountability). Claiming any Christian tradition with integrity involves allowing that tradition to claim you.
Gatherings
An annual retreat (within regional communion cohorts) for community time, spiritual formation and reflection on and sharing of pioneer projects among peers. The annual retreat is held whenever possible on or near the Feast of St. Brendan (May 16). Local cohorts may also gather quarterly in addition to the annual regional retreat. SPM dreams to hold an international gathering in 2012 in Oxford.
Membership
New members are received once a year, into the various denominational chapters. A simple application for membership is being developed. Required are two letters of recommendation one from a SPM member or your parish cleric, and one from your local Bishop/judicatory head, sent to your denominational coordinator.
Members gather within communion/denomination based chapters, and regional and local cohorts. Each denominational church group is a 'chapter.' (TEC, ACC, CofE...). Regional and local groups are 'cohorts.' (such as the NW Anglican cohort...).
Each chapter is open to baptized Christians (ordained and lay) within that denomination/national church, who are committed to engaging pioneering forms of mission and ministry within their tradition, and make the SPM pledge.
SPM is a dispersed Christian community of Pioneering Missioners with a Bishop Protector.