CHURCH EXPERIENCE

My Missional Church Experience at Uptown

My Missional Church Experience at Uptown

Introduction

The term 'missional' has been grabbing a significant amount of headlines lately. In every new book, article, magazine, sermons, even conferences, the term is being employed to describe a new movement; a new genre within Christianity. For me personally during this field experience, it is pretty much full of “go figure” moments, those moments when you sit back, awestruck, and realize you can't explain what just happened. The too narrow gospel tells us what we have been saved from: sin, hell and death. And that is very good news. But the gospel of the kingdom tells us not only what we are saved from, but also what we are saved for. Missional is intentional.

The Church has a mission because Jesus has a mission. There is one mission.

"Missional church is a community of God's people that defines itself, and organizes its life around; it's real purpose of being an agent of God's mission to the world. In other words, the church's true and authentic organizing principle is mission. When the church is in mission, it is the true church. The church itself is not only a product of that mission but is obligated and destined to extend it by whatever means possible. The mission of God flows directly through every believer and every community of faith that adheres to Jesus. To obstruct this is to block God's purposes in and through his people."

Missional Experience

I have never known of a church that doesn't encourage its people to serve God with their time, talent and treasure. Nonetheless, very few congregations even those sold out to the mission Dei are actually facilitating in serving God with their talent in an intentional and strategic way. I love the church of Jesus Christ. I love the truth it stands for. I love the life it alone can give. Despite its shortcomings due to the open arms it offers sinners, it still remains the greatest force on earth for good. Nothing else is like it or can match it, especially when it is healthy. It alone possesses the supernatural message of truth that can transform the worst of humanity in an instant, while unleashing the best of it over a lifetime. But today's church is losing its grip on the very world it has been called to save. Why? Why are we experiencing this growing disconnect?

The great need that exists today is of reconnecting church with the community in way that makes the church both real and reachable. I believe the church can only accomplish this by turning outward and loving those around us the way Jesus loved his world: not just in words, but also in deeds. Scripture says that against such, “there is no law” (Galatians 5:23).

This class has been challenging me to reimagine the whole concept of being “missional”. Imagination/ creativity are a wonderful asset. It allows us to see the realities as they could be and should ...