The Church And Mission

If I had a way of doing so I would ask all those who are a part of a church to raise your hands if you have a missions committee or department. Many churches do. This is the group of people who dedicate themselves, at least in title, to presenting the church with mission opportunities, or at least chances to give money toward missions that someone else will do. A good many churches rest easy at night thinking missions are cared for because we have a committee doing this work.

Problem, mission is not a program or committee of the church. The church is mission. The whole reason the church exists is to be the mission of God in this creation. Mission should not simply be a department of the church, it is the reason behind everything. If this is true, why do we have mission committees? Answer, it is easier to delegate others than to get involved. Let's face it churches today have become very in turned. We hear things like, what about the members, we need to take care of ourselves before we take care of others etc...

I am not a fan of that line of thinking. For the most part that line of thinking is avoidance. That line of thinking has made it so the mission field that is expanding at the quickest rate is the Western church. In particular the church in America. I am not talking about the American society, while there is concern there, the church in America is full of people who do not even realize they are at best asleep, at worst dead. The time has come for the church to wake up, and recapture the work placed before them.

We are called to be the mission of God, not the collection point of people, information and stuff. It is not tradition, history and past which we must persist in. We must be people of hope and life, we must be people who carry out the mission of God above all else. I wonder what would happen if churches started to be the mission of God, before an organization or institution?