On a mission

I grew up in a number of churches that talked about being "mission-minded." It was always a big thing to say that, "Our church is very mission minded." The idea is that we are Godly because we are about missions. Usually this meant that they gave money to mission causes, and in some churches it meant that they would send the youth on a mission trip on occasion.

Now, I do not want to sound like this is a bad thing. I think that these churches are to be commended for being "mission-minded." But it does cause me to ask a question, "Instead of being "missions minded" shouldn't we be on a mission?" I think that sometimes churches exchange being on a mission with being mission minded. To be mission minded means that we can support missions somewhere else while we do church for us, and still feel like we are fulfilling the great commission. We don't have to ask how are we doing in reaching people every week because we are reaching people around the world by being mission minded.

Being on a mission means we look at every system and program and ask questions. Why are we doing this? Is this program accomplishing our mission of reaching people? What should we stop doing to better accomplish our mission? Are sending our people out with the understanding that they are to impact their world? This process is painful and often messy work. So we just don't ask those questions...at least not outside of staff meetings.

I just feel that the world around us is getting ever increasingly disconnected with God and his church, and something has to be done. The mission field is not over there any more it is right next door. Churches have to communicate to their people that we are not going to just talk, pray, and give to missions but be on a mission. That means that things are going to have to change. It is time that Christ's church of today go about communicating the gospel by all means possible. Church is not to be a semi-private club for Christians, it is instead a community of people that are on a mission. A community of persons that have a common understanding and responsibility to take the Gospel into their everyday life to impact their part of a dying world.

Let's do more than being "missions minded." Can you tell I am passionate about this?