But
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be
my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth (Acts 1:8)
As I have reflected on this scripture, I have pondered
what it means to be a missionary people. When the Risen Lord appeared to the
disciples in the upper room on the evening of the resurrection he said, “Peace is
with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Jesus came to earth with a
mission (a sending out) from his father. When he leaves earth, he gives his
disciples power and authority to continue his mission (his sending out).
From the time of Acts onwards, this “sending out” or
mission was delegated to the local church. The church of Antioch sent out the
Apostle Paul and Barnabas to teach, preach and baptize. Every follower of Christ
was to carry the mission of God into the world through every aspect of his or
her life.
Jesus sends us into the world as the Father sent him. Our
mission is modeled on his. Many of today’s churches have developed vision and
mission statements. Here is a small sample: Knowing Christ and making Christ
known; Living out our faith in Jesus through our actions in the world; Becoming
a community and growing in intimacy with God; Called to share the Christian
faith and by our lives proclaim God’s love. Every local church has some focal
point to their ministry.
John Stott writes in his book Christian Mission in
the Modern World: updated and expanded., that mission today is often
depicted as either primarily evangelism or primarily social justice. Instead of
choosing one or the other, mission can be understood as a partnership of both
evangelism and social action. Local churches may embody one aspect more than
another, but they stand together reaching out to a hurting world with the
gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Anglican Consultative Council developed the Five
Marks of Mission between 1984 and 1990 which have been widely accepted among
Anglicans.
· To
proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
· To
teach, baptize and nurture new believers
· To
respond to human need by loving service
· To
seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every
kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation
· To
strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of
the earth.
I attended the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin,
Texas. We worshiped daily in the chapel where the cross was not suspended above
the altar, but was instead visible through a window beyond the walls of the
chapel. Every day we were reminded that the missional church does not just wait
for people to come through its doors; the missional church goes out, sent into
the world.
To be a missionary people means receiving the power of
the Holy Spirit and then adopting or embracing a missionary lifestyle which
includes the postures, thinking, behavior and practices of being sent into the
world to reach others with the gospel.
Discuss the points of interest to you, and your group.