Missional

"Missional."  It's a new buzz word you'll find swarming around churches these days, mainly of the Protestant, evangelical variety.  But it's more than a modern buzz word.  It's actually a 2000-year-old concept.  We see it in New Testament accounts of Jesus and his disciples and the early church:  Luke 10:1-9; Acts 2:42-47, 4:32-35.  Properly understood and applied, I believe that it's an exciting way that the church is rediscovering its roots and reclaiming its purpose.

This section of my blog is for posts that explore the meaning and application of "the missional church."  To put it in simplest terms, a "missional church" is a community of believers who see themselves as following Christ on mission in their community and world.  So often, the focus of the church is centripetal; inward - it creates structures and programs and tries to suck people in, grow in numbers, and get more butts in the seats.  The focus of the missional church is centrifugal; outward - it sees the church as the body of believers who are sent out by God to be a transforming presence in their community.  It acknowledges that God is already at work in the world and seeks to join God in that work.  As you might notice in the Acts passages referenced above, the church grew, but not because they were trying to.  Numerical growth is the by-product, not the goal.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)