What does “missional” mean?

What does “missional” mean?

A mission in the literal sense is a person or group of people that goes to a region for a specific purpose.  In business, a mission is merely the goal of the operations of that organization.  During the days of exploration in the 16th to 19th centuries, a mission was a name for a church that was planted in a certain area to spread the Christian religion (usually of the Catholic faith).  Missions now in the religious realm are usually set plans for certain people to go to third world countries and spread the Gospel of Jesus. With these thoughts in mind, “missional” is a combination of these with some extra ideas that are Gospel inspired and have more of a community mindset.

When people hear of mission in a church setting they automatically think of sending people to a small island in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and attempting to convert native tribes into faithful believers.  This is an important part of the church’s foreign outreach ministry and certainly people are called by God to do this but “missional” is a term used in religion to define a community based ministry.  A great way to explain missional church is to say instead of bringing people into your church building, you are going into the community teaching people about Jesus which is essentially taking church to them.  

The term “church” should further be clarified as well.  Church is thought of as a building with a steeple where people go to services on Sunday and have weddings.  The biblical meaning of church has a different connotation to it altogether.  The church is described in scripture as a body of people that is called to teach others of the Good News of Jesus Christ.  No buildings, no steeples.  The modern church as it pertains to scripture is a body of people that are brought together through traditions, denominations, social obligations, and special programs.  Where is the Holy Spirit? Why is the community not the central point of the religion?

The missional church is then described as; a community of followers of Jesus Christ, fulfilling the Great Commission as they go out into their communities teaching them about the Good News found in the New Testament of the Bible, not defined by a physical location but extending a loving arm to all those in need, religion is not a convenience hobby but a way of living, using the parables of Jesus as your guide for life’s decisions, focusing your life on God’s Kingdom instead of your own self-gains, and refer to church as the welcoming body of believers that is rooted in their communities.

This idea is not intended on destroying the established church but is to change it once again.  A New Reformation is in order to withdraw ourselves from our traditions and realize the true calling as followers of Jesus.  The Missional Reformation is a necessary change that is needed in the American Christian churches and churches around the world.  In our entitlement era of society, America has been one of the worst offenders at not fulfilling our call to ministry. We have a great opportunity as Americans to use the great resources that have been provided for us to answer our calling.

One popular phrase that is thrown around in the missional ministry field is “gospel intentionality”.  This simply means to live a life with the intent of fulfilling the Great Commission. This, along with “missional”, is thrown around all too often and can be used by people and “churches” to attract new believers but should be held to a high regard.

Evangelism, street preaching, and door-to-door ministries should not be confused with “missional”.  Though these ideas can be utilized in many functions throughout the missional and traditional churches, they do not represent the core of the missional church.  Involving one’s self in the lives of your neighbors and actively engaging in the needs of your community through ministry is the root of the missional church.  Our mission is to get to know people and understanding their spiritual needs and teaching them that through Jesus Christ we have redemption, forgiveness, a comfort knowing that God is our rock and we can fully rely on Him.

Introduction to the Missional Church

In a 1998 book by Darrell L. Guder he explains that there has been a decline in dedication from Americans to the established church. He presents that the missional church is the new growing trend in the world and that the way church as we know it needs an overhaul as it pertains to ministry. Many concepts and models of ministry have recently been implemented with some success but it may be short-lived. The “contemporary” church is young, hip, and attractive to anyone under 50 in the US. These mega-churches have formed an entertaining and heartwarming church experience but nonetheless it is still the same church. Live bands, pastors in jeans, mobile apps, and small group studies are all well and good with intention but will not sustain a church for the ages.

The mission of the modern church is to “fill the pews on Sunday”. Everyone is expected to be at church on
Sunday and be involved in monthly dinners and holiday social events. Is this the model of worship that Jesus
wants? I will argue that Jesus’ never intended for anyone to just show up to church at 10:30 every Sunday when it was convenient for them. The fulfillment of the Great Commission is our true calling in God’s Kingdom. Jesus said “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them”. The word “go” is more than likely the key word in this passage. Go means to move or travel or proceed. In a ministry sense, go would mean to actually move into the community that surrounds you and not stay docile in the four walls of your church. The second part of the sentence says to “make disciples of all the nations”. Adding this part to the definition of “go” is saying to proceed into the community, teaching everybody of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. The last part of the quoted text is “baptizing them”. This is crucial to the meaning of the commission. A baptism is a transforming and renewal of a person into a life with Christ.

Taking this understanding of the text, we can now form a mission statement that should be the root of all Christian ministries. “Travel into your communities and the world, educating everyone of the saving grace of Jesus Christ, and baptizing them so that they may be washed of their sins and live eternally with God Almighty."

In weeks to come I will be posting interesting links about missional ministries and the like.  Also I will be placing weekly articles pertaining to the missional church.