We hear the word “missional” a lot these days. Churches have missions programs. Organizations and even families have mission statements… But at Fellowship, what do we mean by “missional living?” This discussion is going to be more like a journey – something we’ll be exploring together over the coming weeks and months.

A Paradigm Shift – Posture, Embodiment & Rhythm
Missional living isn’t complicated, but for many of us, it may involve a paradigm shift.  We like to think of it as taking on the posture, thoughts and attitude of a missionary – right here, where we live, work and play – engaging a community and culture that in so many ways stands in contrast to the life of Christ, the ways of God, and the mission of the Church. It means embodying the Gospel in every aspect of life, everywhere we go, in every relationship – in the normal, everyday rhythm of our lives. 

But missional living doesn’t start with us. It starts with the mission of God.

The Mission of God
John Stott said this: “Mission arises from the heart of God himself, and is communicated from His heart to ours. Mission is the global outreach of the global people of a global God.”[1]

Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8 compel us to “go out into all the world and make disciples”, as we are His witnesses “to the remotest parts of the earth.” Jesus is “on mission” to glorify Himself by seeking and saving the lost, making disciples and drawing a people to Himself for all eternity, through the local church, worldwide. Jesus’ divine mission is our mission. Christopher Wright says that “God has called into existence a people to participate with God in the accomplishment of that mission. All our mission flows from the prior mission of God.”[2]

Sending Outward
God’s mission means “sending” – and He is active in sending His people outward, into a culture that for the most part rejects Him. Thought leader Alan Hirsch describes it as “the outward movement rooted in God’s mission that compels the church to reach a lost world.”

The Gospel
At the very center of this mission is The Gospel. Jesus Christ crucified and risen for the redemption of our sin and transformation of our lives – for His Kingdom purposes, to the glory of His name. For the Christ follower, the good news of the Gospel is the motivation for everything we do – to change us from within and to have an influence on culture. Nothing is more important than the Gospel of Christ, proclaimed everywhere by living it out daily, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and demonstrated in tangible ways. Hirsch says the Gospel is “the triumph of God in Jesus Christ, and we are meant to represent that” in the world.

Making Disciples
As we increasingly take on the posture and heart of a missionary in our culture, we will find the impulse of missional living beginning to more naturally influence everything we think, feel and do – empowered by the Gospel. The purpose has always been what we find at the core of the Great Commission (Matt. 28) – making and multiplying disciples who are following Jesus in every area of life. Evangelism is important, but its not at the core of the Great Commission – making disciples is.

In future posts, we’re going to explore various aspects of this vast discussion like:

• mission and discipleship
• Gospel fluency
• Gospel community on mission
• the Kingdom of God & mission
• missional rhythm
• tools for making disciples
• neighboring
• tips for sharing the Gospel
• our kids and mission
• barriers and obstacles to mission
• reaching our city

and more…

I look forward to taking this missional journey together – and welcome your thoughts and comments as we grow together. May we be faithful to the mission.

For the Gospel,

Brian Petak
Pastor of Outreach & Missional Living

“The mission of the church is to go into the world and make disciples by declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit and gathering these disciples into churches, that they might worship the Lord and obey his commands now and in eternity to the glory of God the Father.”[3]

[1]John Stott, The Contemporary Christian: An Urgent Plea for Double Listening (Leicester: IVP, 1992), 335.

[2]Christopher Wright, The Mission of God’s People (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 24.

[3]Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert, What is the Mission of the Church? (Wheaton: Crossway, 2011), 62.