On-Mission Mondays: Expect to Change the World

Every Monday I post about being “on mission” with Christ. I’ll spend a couple of months asking you to think with me about the principles in Milfred Minatrea’s book, Shaped By God's Heart: The Passion and Practices of Missional Churches. Find previous posts on this subject here.

"What would it look like for a church to turn the world upside down today?"

Churches that look for an answer to that question are involved with what Milfred Minatrea calls "Missional Practice Number Six": They expect to change the world. Minatrea says:

Missions conform to spheres of influence. This means that missional responsibility begins among those with whom one has the closest relationships. It continues with intentional establishment of new relationships among those who do not know Christ. Ultimately, it extends to all the nations of the world.

I agree. As I have taught missions education, I point out that missions should be "foreign" to our location but not "foreign" to our way of thinking. Missions is about making sure that what we do in our own location is being started and supported in other locations.

As Minatrea puts it, "Mission is not first about geography, but philosophy. Wherever believers are, those among whom they live and work constitute the mission field." Of course, being missional means sending and supporting workers in other mission fields, too. John wrote, "You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. For they went out for the sake of the Name. . . . Therefore, we ought to support such men, that we may be fellow-workers with the truth" (3 John 6-8).

At Hillcrest, our Missions Committee has just completed their policies manual. It was designed to provide consistent guidance in our decisions regarding support for mission work beyond our own mission field. It begins with this definition of missions:

Definition of Missions: We will help others fulfill in their settings the Great Commission that Hillcrest must fulfill in our setting.

What we call “missions work” should be “foreign” to our location, but it should not be “foreign” to our thinking. “Missions work” is the act of extending to other settings the work Hillcrest does in our own setting. That means that an understanding of “missions” in other settings begins with an understanding of what God has called Hillcrest to do in our setting. In our setting, we help people find Jesus and follow him up the discipleship H.I.L.L. “Missions support” simply means supporting work in other settings designed to help people find Jesus and follow him.

Meeting human need is a big part of this assignment. You cannot “Invite Your World to Life” and “Love the Fellowship for Life” without offering help to those in need. In our setting, we know that people in and around our church would benefit from things such as family counseling, money management, and recovery programs that target addiction. In other settings, we know people would benefit from things such as hygiene kits, school supplies, and fresh water wells.

The manual proceeds to define the "scope" of missions, guidance on our funding decisions, and the four-part "assignment" that our Missions Committee must fulfill. If you're interested in the manual, drop me an e-mail.