truncate_post Blog - Pathways 4 Mission

Have we made mission too hard?

Have we made mission too hard? There’s been a lot written over the past 15 years about becoming more missional. Books and seminars and conference speakers urge individuals to go and make disciples. That means engaging the surrounding culture, binding up wounds, forming relationships, sharing faith, proclaiming the gospel, forming converts in Christian spirituality and then bringing them along to church. In calling Christians to think like missionaries, we may fall into thinking that mission is the action of the individual among the masses – especially when we think about mission in our place of work or learning. Yet for all of our challenging individuals to mission and disciple-making, we’re not, broadly speaking, seeing a whole lot of results. I’m wondering if, by expecting too much of the individual, we’re placing mission beyond the grasp of the average believer. Paul’s writing in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4 argues for a corporate, interdependent approach to ministry, without making distinction between ministry to those within the Christian community and those outside. The whole mission of Christ is the occupation of the whole body of Christ. Mission is something in which we can all participate, regardless of gifting or temperament. But instead of every individual taking it upon themselves to fulfil the whole mission of Christ in microcosm, perhaps each of us could simply find our place to use our gifts and pull our weight in community. In so doing, we might just accomplish with more effectiveness the great undertaking with which Jesus has commissioned us. Using the pathways model to think about mission can be helpful. Who are the unchurched people here? Do I know them? No? Well, that means I’m in a ‘potential contact’...