An emerging community is born out of vision, passion, and prayer. Often, the visionaries are part of a diaspora, persons who have moved away from a place where Tres Dias flourished. They carry memories of what the Lord had done for them and their congregations through Tres Dias, and those memories seed a passion to bring a new community to life. Prayer is central at each stage, and in prayer, they receive confirmation that they are building God’s kingdom and that the Spirit of the Lord is guiding them. Those who share the vision form a small group–a kind of prototype reunion group–and notify the vice president of membership that they are interested in starting a community. The small group transforms itself into a steering committee with a president and officers. Working with the international membership committee, they find a sponsoring community and sign a formal Emerging Community Agreement. This contract requires signatures from all three groups involved. A representative from the sponsoring community agrees to supply a liaison to meet with the leaders of the emerging community and to provide “leadership, guidance, support and oversight in a loving manner.” The International Secretariat’s Membership Committee also commits to appointing a liaison to provide guidance. The emerging community, through its liaison, agrees to work with the other two liaisons to build a community that follows the Essentials. Together, they form a three-legged stool of support and cooperation. This three-legged stool of support is a central part of the “New Community Startup Model.” At the core of this model is a 45-item check list and an accompanying Gantt Chart that guides the action from “notifying TDI Membership” through to the emerging community’s fourth set of weekends. After the fourth set of weekends working under the sponsor’s guidance, the community will likely be ready to apply for a charter. This model is now in its sixth year of development and is now being used by all recognized emerging communities. “We’ve learned a lot from the different communities since implementing this program,” says Beau Bruce. “It has proved to be a very useful tool and universally accepted.”