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SPC in Focus: A Missional Church
By Alan Hager
One of the more popular terms to define the church of the 21st century is the word missional. Since it sounds like the word mission, it hardly seems like it would represent a significant change or movement from the church of previous generations. The missional church has some parallels to traditional views of missions, such as being focused on the needs of others and the call to reach out to the world with the good news of God's transforming grace, however, there are substantial differences.
Missional thinking often begins with the definition of the mission field. In the past, believers viewed mission work as something that happened “out there” and usually a long distance out there, such as foreign nations. Missional thinking views mission work as happening “right here” even in the midst of the church. In part, this has to do with the secularization of our own culture. It is not hard to appreciate the fact that we live in a post-Christian nation that no longer shares common values and familiarity with the Christian message. Likewise, missional thinkers warn that the church itself is no longer familiar with its practices, stories, and doctrines. Consequently, many in the missional movement advise adjusting worship experiences to connect with people where they are and to be careful about using traditional forms and terminology in worship.
Furthermore, redrawing the boundaries of the mission field reshapes the posture of the church toward the world. The church is no longer rescuing people out of the world and bringing them into the safe harbor of the fellowship of the church, but rather is engaged with, and in the world, particularly the local community. Most important, the missional mindset sees missions not as something that a church does, but the very nature of the church itself. The church is God’s mission in the world. Everything a church does should be done with a view to spreading God’s love and blessing in the world.
While some of the characteristics of the missional church are not reflective of SPC (we are conscientious about retaining some of the traditional elements of historic worship for instance), there is enough common ground to describe us as a missional church. We are a church for the community. Our mission efforts are commendable and an important part of the life of the church. As the missional church emphasizes, we are seeing the fruit of lives changed by those who share in the mission ministries of the church. We have grown past the “us and them” dichotomy of previous generations of mission work. Our mission relations in places like Haiti and Kenya are truly partnerships where SPC is as much the recipient of the blessing as our friends in those foreign places.
Of course there is room to grow. While we do many good things in the community, we can develop more strategic ministries that serve the particular needs of our area. Also, we need to cultivate an “outward looking” perspective throughout our congregation. It is wonderful to enjoy our internal fellowship and the support of active programs, but even these can be re-tooled to encourage involvement from our friends from the neighborhood who do not (and might not ever) join our congregation. The church is God’s mission in the world and we exist not for ourselves, but to be the vehicle God is using in fulfilling His purpose in this time and place. If that is what is meant by missional thinking-- let’s be for it!
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