Participation in the Mission of God



Participation in the Mission of God

God has a mission and is the ultimate missionary.

Psalm 96

Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvellous deeds among all peoples. For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Splendour and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary. Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. Worship the LORD in the splendour of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.

Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns." The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth.

Mission, Missions and Missionaries

Author and speaker, Chris Wright says it this way; when we speak about science (singular), certain ideas come to mind; but when we speak of sciences (plural), a whole other range of possibilities occur to us.

So then,

1. Mission is like the singular term science, it refers to all that God is doing in his great purpose for the whole of creation. It is the great mission of God.

2. Missions are smaller and more specialized components or segments of that one great mission.

3. Missionaries are people who advance specialized missions in cross cultural settings

Today we are considering the over-arching great mission of God. We believe the mission will succeed because He is its designer, initiator and the one who fulfills it. Amazingly, as redeemed people, we are invited to be participants in that mission.

Missional Survey

The following survey asks questions about the degree to which the participant and congregation are seeking missional ways of being. The survey does not really measure impact or success. Rather it attempts to provide an assessment regarding the ‘missional character’ of a congregation. Hopefully survey findings will provide focus for further reflection and discussion as leaders consider the ways in which God is inviting the congregation into mission.

Only aggregate data will be reported.

Your responses are confidential.

INFORMATION:

Your Name: _________________________________________________________

Church: ________________________________________________________

City / Location: __________________________________________________

# of Years as a Follower of Jesus: ____ # of Years at this Church: ____

ROLE: Elder ( Staff ( Ministry Leader ( Volunteer ( Attendee (

INSTRUCTIONS:

Please indicate the following for each statement:

(2 numbers should be either circled or boxed, for each statement).

a) How often this actually occurs… 1 - Never / 10 – Always (Circle the number)

b) How often this should occur… 1 - Low Priority / 10 - Very Important (Box the number)

“We” refers to your congregation.

A. Personal Response to God’s Mission…

1. I care for the world God has made and seek its well being.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2. I see my engagement in this world as an act of worship/service to God.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

3. My relationships reflect loving, mutual self-surrender.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

4. I cultivate relationships with those who are different than me.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

5. I uphold the universal sanctity of marriage as a partnership through which to serve God.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

6. I seek renewal for ways in which sin uniquely distorts my capacity to serve God.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

7. I bless others with my life in response to the ways God has blessed me.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

8. I practice bold faith to be blessed and to be a blessing.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

B. The Church Gathered – Missional Formation

9. Our congregation attempts to be a visible foretaste of God’s coming kingdom.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

10. Our Sunday gatherings are hospitable to everyone - even those who are different.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11. Our Sunday gatherings prepare people to participate in the continuing story of God’s work in the world.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

12. We apprentice/disciple the ‘spiritually curious’ in the ways of Jesus.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

13. We practice spiritual disciplines, confess failure and encourage each other.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

14. We practice the ‘one-anothers’ to nourish unity, solidarity and togetherness.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

15. We are a people of prayer – desperately dependent on the Spirit’s power.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

16. Congregational direction is discerned as leaders listen for the Spirit in dialogue with members.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

C. The Church Scattered – Missional Engagement

17. Our congregation is seeking fresh ways to be Church ‘in’ and ‘for’ the community.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

18. We allocate resources in a way that blesses those outside the Church.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

19. Our programs seek justice and compassion for the poor, oppressed and marginalized.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

20. The church schedule allows for members to spend time in their neighbourhoods/networks.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

21. We equip people for mission that is sensitive to contemporary and local realities.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

22. We are engaged in diverse spheres of social and cultural concern (e.g. arts, politics, environment, education, entertainment, social justice).

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

23. We are sensitive to the ways in which the Spirit is inviting us to participate in His initiative in the community.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

24. We listen to people in our community to help them identity the ways in which they are near to

God’s kingdom.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Debriefing the Missional Survey Findings

In leadership teams or clusters of 3-4 discuss the following based on your survey results:

Discuss the nature of God’s broad mission in the world (questions #1-8):

1. Consider the highest and lowest “should occur” in section one…

What does this reveal about your understanding of God’s mission in the world?

2. Consider the highest and lowest “actually occurs” in section one…

What does this reveal about your ability to live out God’s general mission?

3. Notice the largest gap between “should” and “actually” occurs…

Why do you believe it is so difficult to live out this important value/objective?

Discuss the formation of your congregation for mission (questions #9-16):

4. Reflect on your highest and lowest “should occur” in section two…

Talk about the kind of church that is required for greater missional impact.

5. Reflect on your highest and lowest “actually occurs” in section two…

How well are the people of God being formed and shaped for missional impact?

6. Notice the largest gap between “should” and “actually” occurs…

Why is the congregation struggling to embrace a relatively important objective?

Discuss your congregation’s outward focus in the community (questions #17-24):

7. With reference to your highest and lowest “should occur” in section three…

Discuss how the church should go about the business of extending its life outward.

8. With reference to your highest and lowest “actually occurs” in section three…

How well is your church connecting with and serving the broader community?

9. Notice the largest gap between “should” and “actually” occurs…

Why do you think the church is struggling to embrace this crucial activity or way of being?

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download