ARTICLE OF THE MONTH
THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH
“The real success of the Church is not in the attractiveness or popularity of their programs,
but in the fulfillment of its mission”
The success of any church can be measured only in terms of the fulfillment of its mission. If the church does not have a clear statement of mission, it will have no sense of direction and nothing to strive for. The church programs will go in circles without accomplishing the main mission, which is to reach the world with the gospel. Many churches are program oriented and not goal oriented which is not good. The awareness and consciousness of mission is the most critical driving force of any organization. Webster’s dictionary defines mission as “the art of sending” or “the duty on which one is sent” or “a group of people sent to a foreign country for religious work”. The term missionary is derived from the word mission and it means, “one sent to preach religion especially in a foreign country”.
To get a clear idea of the mission of the church, a few passages of scriptures are reproduced below:
“These twelve disciples Jesus sent forth…. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and as ye go; preach. Saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand, heal the sick, Cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils; Freely ye have received, freely give”.
“And he spoke this parable unto them saying. What man of you having a hundred sheep if he lose one of them, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, in the wilderness and go after that which is lost until he find it?”
“Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you….”
“….Go ye therefore into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”
E. Matthew 29:19-20 (Revised Standard Versions)
“Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations….”
These five passages of scriptures may be summarized into the following key
points:
1. Go
2. To every place
3. Preach the gospel
4. To every creature
5. Teach them
6. Make disciples
The mission of the universal Church of Jesus Christ, which represents the entire body of Christ, is to reach the whole world with the gospel. The mission of the local church, however is much narrower in its scope and magnitude in terms of the areas and people covered, while the mission is essentially the same for the universal as well as the local churches. Therefore, it becomes imperative for local churches to identify a local area as a target to carry out their mission and to assume some definite responsibility. A critical problem so widely prevalent today amongst the churches is the lack of clear identification of their specific mission field and lack of commitment to saturate that area with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
What churches need to do today to accomplish their mission is to develop area-wide programs to reach every creature in every place within a certain geographic area, which is identified as their mission field, in a thorough job, each church should undertake an intensive study of their respective mission field by people (culture, age, level of education and language) by organization (hospitals, schools, factories) by area (streets, sections, divisions, districts, countries, towns and cities) and by resources (infrastructure, transportation, communication, media, government and social service agencies). Generally speaking, the programs of the church have an internal orientation rather than an external orientation. The churches seem to focus more on catering to the needs of the members of the church and on getting them involved in the programs of the church rather than on fulfilling the mission of the church, which is to reach every person in the mission field with the gospel. Some guidelines for studying the mission-field are given in Table 1.1
TABLE 1.1
GUIDELINES FOR STUDYING MISSION FIELD
FOCUS
1. Geographic Focus
(Geographical area of mission field)
Total Area Telephone districts
Radius Boundaries
Political Subdivisions Geographical Barriers
Postal Division
2. Organizational Focus
(Organizations within the geographical area)
Railroad Stations Factories
Auditoriums Stores
Christian Organizations Schools
Colleges and Universities Libraries
Stadiums Hospitals
Gymnasiums Nursing Homes
Evangelistic Associations Elderly Homes
Parks Prisons
Airports Business Organizations
Churches Banks
Bus Stations Hotels and Motels
3. People Focus
(Demographics of people living in the area)
Ethnic Groups New Residents
Religious Groups Income Levels
Languages Spoken Levels of education
Foreign Students Floating Population
Age Groups Hotel Residents
Guests Transient Passengers
Visitors Handicapped (blind, Population deaf, and physically handicapped)
4. Need Focus
(Needs and problems of people in the area)
Drug Addiction Demonic Possession
Alcoholism Mental illness
Crime Insecurity
Juvenile Delinquency Lack of peace, Joy, or satisfaction
Marriage Problems Meaninglessness
Depression Anxiety or Worry
Sickness Immorality
Fear Economic needs
Witchcraft Unemployment
5. Resource Focus
(Resource available in the area)
Communication Media
TV Stations Newspapers
Radio Stations Magazines
Transportation System
Plane Ferry
Tram Subway
Taxi Train
Bus
Christian Org./Agencies
Government Agencies
Bible Schools State Offices
Publishing Company Country Offices
Book Store City/Town Offices
Bible Society Chamber of Commerce
Campus Organizations State Employment Agencies
Chaplaincy Social Service Agencies
Gideon's Foundations, Grants Etc.
A complete study and analysis of the mission field will not only enable the churches to have a better idea of the amount and nature of the work that has to be done in the area to fulfill their mission, but also help to develop relevant and effective programs to reach the people in the area with the gospel, depending upon the needs and conditions prevailing in this area and utilizing all the resources available.
It is not only important to have a clear idea about the mission of the church, but also to be conscious of the missions. Awareness and consciousness of the mission of the church will be a strong driving force to guide the pastor and the members in the right direction. Now the question is how to develop and maintain mission consciousness in the minds of members. Some practical suggestions are given below:
Write the statement of the mission in big and bold letters and post them in conspicuous places.
Print the statement of mission in full or part on all church stationery. Make posters of scriptures that state the mission of the church. (Mark 16:15 Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.) Make sure that the mission of the church is the main objective of every department and program of the church.
In all of the teachings and preaching's emphasize the mission of the church.
Let the people know that the mission of the church is the very reason for its being or existence.
Tell the people that the mission of the church can be accomplished only through the people.
Let the people know that the role of the pastor is to disciple them so that they can be actively involved in fulfilling the mission of the church. Help the people understand that the church is only a training ground and the real job of the church is done only outside the four walls of the church.
Clarify the difference between the maintenance functions of the church and the real execution of the mission of the church.
Make sure that people understand the difference between the local mission and the foreign mission, and know that the primary mission is to reach the people in the local mission field where the church is located. Draw a map of the local mission field and put it up on the wall in an important place.
Show by way of a graph or a chart as to what extent the mission has been accomplished and what has yet to be accomplished.
How to reach every creature in every place is an important question faced by all. After all, this is the mission of the church. To answer this question, the church should first identify the people in a certain area as the target. Having done that, they should try to reach them by individuals, groups, organizations and masses using the right media, method or tool, through careful selection. Strategy is a way of doing things, strategy is not bad per se. There are good strategies and bad strategies, there are appropriate and inappropriate strategies. There are ethical and unethical strategies. There are right and wrong strategies. Choices are made by those in responsible positions using their own judgment and discretion.
A church has to plan, develop strategies, make programs, procure staff, enlist voluntary workers, train and motivate people, take advantage of opportunities available, raise funds, procure resources, and utilize facilities, technologies, services, outside agencies and organizations in order to carry out its mission effectively. Performance of all these tasks requires a well coordinated, structured and equipped organization and calls for good management. A strategy is a total, well coordinated and integrated plan of action made up of a combination of several steps, methods, plans and programs. The churches may select and combine several programs to form their total strategy to reach people in their respective mission fields.
Which programs are going to be effective in your mission field depends on the kind of people you have in your area and the availability of channels of communication, transportation, equipment, facilities, skills, talents and opportunities. The method that is effective in one area may not be equally effective in other areas. The churches should not be committed to the program but rather to their mission and specific goals. It is very important for the churches to be very open, flexible, adaptive, creative and up to date in their approach as the environment in which the churches are operating today is rapidly changing. Churches should be quick in detecting and responding to changes. Every program of the church should be evaluated at periodic intervals to ensure that they were relevant and effective in producing the desired results.
Generally the mission field is considered to be a foreign country where missionaries go on a special mission. Every church must have a local mission field in the immediate area where the church is located, and that area must be its target. The programs of the church should be directly or indirectly connected with the mission of the church. The work and activities of the church should not be confined to the four walls of the mission. The church should be the training ground to carry out its trained, equipped and motivated members to fulfill the mission of the church and not merely be engaged in some maintenance function of the church. It is not the role of the pastor to fulfill the mission but rather the role of the church. The duty of the pastor is to feed, motivate, train and send members to carry out the mission.
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