May 28 2007
doing church missionally what others are doing
Wayne Squires congregation coach over at Volunteers in Service had been blogging about his work ECN with helping some church in my neck of the woods to tart thinking and working together missionally. Her are a couple clips from his blog
What might change if we designed worship for the sake of others?
What might change if we taught the Bible for the sake of others?
What might change if we thought of discipleship as for the sake of others?
What might change if we created fellowship for the sake of others?
What might change if we used our gifts and resources for the sake of others?
What might change if we established budgets for the sake of others?
What might change if we considered vocation as a call for the sake of others?
Yes what if we look at all our practices and ministry from a missional perspective how would they change?
The church is not so much a rescue station for the lost as it is a demonstration of God’s saving purposes in Christ. She is a servant of the Gospel, chosen to bless the whole world and be a sign of God’s past, present, and future activity. This implies followers of Jesus are not called to go on a mission for God, they are called to join God in his ongoing mission.
This is exactly what I tried to communicate to the seminary students in the class I taught
On learning to be incarnational and do ministry with the community instead of to or for
It is not good for the church to be alone. Like Adam, who needed a partner to fully appreciate his identity and calling, the church has been designed for relational engagement with its immediate cultural context. Its sense of purpose (i.e. mission) is directly tied to this engagement.
God really is at work in the world bringing restoration and hope and invites his friends (his people) in particular neighborhoods and communities to join him. This means that partnership with God leads to appropriate partnership with others, and when local congregations try to conduct ministries on their own, in relative isolation from their communities, they are operating outside of their God-given design.
Check out Wayne’s blog and the VIS website
Popularity: 24% [?]
Loading ...
