Transforming Leadership, Transforming Lives! Presents What is a Missional Church?

Primary Ingredients of Missional Church DNA

A true helix is complex

So is the church A true helix is complex

The Missional Church An authentic faith community whose primary focus is serving outward, on mission with God, bringing Christs love alive in its neighborhood and beyond.

6 DNA markers of missional churches Mission Markers

1.Treats its context as a fluid/constantly changing mission field 2.Active in & supportive of mission 3.Mission = Great Commission (making disciples) + Great Commandments (loving God and others as self) 4.Recognizes all people as the subject and object of Gods mission 5.Engaged in transformation of persons, churches, systems, culture 6.Multiplies church, disciples, mission Mission Markers

You live in a constantly changing mission field Treats its context as fluid Marker #1

What changes can you identify since 1958? In your community? In your church? In our denomination? Which change the way we do/be church? Our 50-year timeline Marker #1

Mission Field Missional people live in the imagination that they are Gods missionaries living in a mission field. Missional people live in the reality that they live in a land where the Christian faith does not dominate culture or society. Marker #1

Traditional characteristics of a mission field 1. Other beliefs 2. Diverse cultures and languages 3. Social needs & justice issues 4. One or more overlooked people groups 5. Lack of enough churches that are reaching out to their community Marker #1

Has your community become a mission field? Marker #1 How is your church responding? 1.What other belief systems are present or dominant? 2.What languages are spoken? 3.What cultural world views are represented? 4.What social/economic needs & justice issues are apparent? Who is affected? 5.Are there overlooked people groups? 6.Is there a need for new or more indigenous churches to reach out in your community?

Active in & supportive of mission Supportive of 1.Over there 2. Financial 3. Denominational Foreign (IM) Home (NM) Regional 4. Programs 5. Low direct involvement Marker #2 Engaged in 1.Right here 2. Participation 3. Congregational Cross Cultural Contextual 4. Mission teams 5. High levels of engagement

How might we be active in the missions we support? Are there community services we can partner with? Can we receive training from missions we support? What else? Marker #2

Missional church recognizes its mission includes both… The Great Commission Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Matthew 28:17-20 The Great Commandments You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, & all your mind. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:37-38 Marker #3

The Great Commission Matthew 28:17 God calls your church to leave its stained glass borders and go into all the world with the Christian message to make new disciples, teaching them to obey everything Jesus has commanded us. Marker #3

The Great Commission (Evangelistic) Mandate The outcome of discipleship is believers who are equipped, empowered and engaged in the work of Gods mission in their context and beyond. Jesus invited (called) people to experience discipleship by becoming involved in his mission activities before they came to faith. Marker #3

What does your church perceive to be the goal of evangelism? In what ways does your church demonstrate faith and invite others to become disciples who also follow Jesus into Gods mission? The Great Commission (Evangelistic) Mandate Marker #3

Treats all people as subject & object of mission Object of Mission Acted upon/served Served Evangelized Contextualized for… Expect little from Subject of Mission Active/Engaged in Participating in Evangelizers Incarnated within own culture Expect God to speak and act through Marker #4

Object of Mission In your community, who do you Serve? Evangelize? Advocate for? Expect little from? Marker #4

Subject of Mission Who do you expect to Participate in mission? Invite others to be disciples? Incarnate the Christian message? Serve and speak Gods voice to us? Marker #4

Transforms people, church & communities This missional endeavor seeks to hold persons, churches and communities accountable to their God-given task of being missional, and provides opportunities and resources for transforming to that purpose. Marker #5

Transforms people How are church members being transformed by Gods Holy Spirit? How are church members being equipped for service? Resources and opportunities for renewing members for mission? –Spiritual vitality? –Personal integrity? –Missional intentionality? Marker #5

Incremental changes are implemented intentionally to enable a church to move toward becoming a community of faith which directs its ministry focus outward toward our community and world beyond. This is a continual process. Transforms church Marker #5

Transforms church What resources are in place for your churchs transformation toward its missional purpose? What systems (boards, committees, governing bodies) are undergoing change to be focused outward? What new initiatives are being born and what programs no longer serving their purpose are being put to rest? Marker #5

Community transformation This missional endeavor extends beyond personal transformation to corporate transformation, calling the systems and powers of our communities to their rightful position of servanthood of the people they tend to subjugate. No system, the church included, is exempt from its need for the liberating transformation of the Christian message. If your church no longer existed in your community why would it be missed? Marker #5

Transforms context –Making it a safe and just place to live –Calling systems to servanthood –Promoting cultural sensitivity –Supporting economic development –Supporting religious freedom Marker #5 How can your church participate in community transformation?

Multiplies church, disciples & mission Multiplication of missional action through multiplying missional teams Multiplication of missional faith communities through extension and bridging Build into your missional teams the DNA of reproduction! Marker #6

What mechanism does your church have in place to foster missional action through creating new missional teams? How will your church build into its first missional team the DNA of reproduction so other teams that include people from the community can be formed? Multiplies church, disciples & mission Marker #6

Keeping missional in focus Looking at church through missional eyes is like looking at the familiar in a new way.

Keeping missional in focus The new missional- way will go in and out of focus, until trained eyes can hold the old and the new in focus.

The Missional Church An authentic faith community whose primary focus is serving outward, on mission with God, bringing Christs love alive in its neighborhood and beyond.

Missional in terms of ABCUSA Policy Statement on Evangelism Evangelism is the joyous witness of the People of God to the redeeming love of God urging all to repent and to be reconciled to God & each other through faith in Jesus Christ who lived, died, and was raised from the dead.

Missional in terms of ABCUSA Policy Statement on Evangelism So that being made new and empowered by the Holy Spirit, believers are incorporated as disciples into the church for worship, fellowship, nurture and engagement in Gods mission of evangelization & liberation within society and creation signifying the Kingdom which is present and yet to come.