What makes a church missional

Paul instructed the Christians at Ephesus in this divine design of the Almighty regarding their salvation:. To "do ministry" without intentionality—i. To bear the "image of God" in our life as His children is to imitate those attributes that are " communicable. But exercising purpose, doing ministry with careful intentionality, is a communicable attribute of God. We admit that the word "missional" is suspect to some in the Church.

Undoubtedly, some believers read "missional" as code language for an agenda that is alien to the historic Church. Others may not have even heard of the word. The last words of Jesus to the Disciples represent the first work of the Church:.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. The Great Commission of our Lord Jesus leaves no room for an alternative plan.

The urgency of the Great Commission precludes terms that have divided meanings. Clarity is essential in wartime order. As Christ was sent by the Father to the world, so we are sent by Jesus to the ends of the earth.

Every believer, every local church, and every denomination or national church ministry, must be focused on "the main thing. Christ Jesus is our Savior. His life lived and His death on the cross and His glorious resurrection from the dead offer life abundant and life eternal to those who believe in Him. By His righteousness and His sacrifice, we may be saved from eternal separation from God. Teaching "all that [He] commanded" requires the establishment of a Christian community that is committed to Christ's Commission through successive generations until the Lord comes again.

This Christ-bequeathed mandate, this way of life, this dying to self and living for God, must, ultimately, be the all-consuming burden, vision, and mission of the Body of Christ. This is the call of the Gospel. Churches are inundated with missional books, missional websites, missional consultation groups, and missional speakers.

Yet the meaning of the term remains unclear. Some use missional to describe a church that rejects treating the gospel like a commodity for spiritual consumers; others frame it as a strategy for marketing the church and stimulating church growth. Some see the missional church as a refocusing on God's action in the world rather than obsessing over individuals' needs; others see it as an opportunity to "meet people where they are" and reinvent the church for postmodern culture. Clearly, we need to examine the range of perspectives hiding under the term missional if we're to make use of insights learned in the missional-church discussion.

A book titled Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America was the first work to introduce the concept of a missional church. The multi-authored book grew out of the Gospel and Our Culture Network, a group of professors and pastors that sought to bring the World Council of Churches' discussions of missio dei "the mission of God" and Lesslie Newbigin's missionary insights to bear on North America. According to Missional Church, the American church had been tied to a "Christendom model" of Christianity, wherein the church focused on internal needs and maintaining its cultural privilege in society.

The decline of Christendom provided the church an opportunity, they said, to rediscover its identity as a people sent by God into the world as gospel witnesses.

Such ideas often provoke resistance. After pastoring a church for several years, a friend of mine started recommending changes. Instead of leading the entire service herself, she involved various church members. She also suggested that the church advertise in the yellow pages and think of ways to reach those without a church home. What do they need? What barriers are keeping them from turning to God? What might God be inviting us to do about those barriers? God is working within, through and ahead of us.

We want to join because where God is working, we find vitality. We could spend the rest of our lives unpacking these seven words. But here are two observations to get us started.

The missio Dei is eternally new, creative, and unexpected. Tanner Smith is a pastor with the Harbor Churches, a growing network of congregations in southwest Michigan, where he lives with his kindhearted wife and 3 spirited children. Like most people, Tanner thinks almost all authentic tacos, friendship and imagination are under-appreciated.

View all posts. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. What Makes a Church Missional? Tanner Smith. July 14, About the Author. What are your thoughts about this topic? We welcome your ideas and questions about the topics considered here.

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