Missional Church

ARTICLES

Note: The following articles contain various interpretations of the words “missional” and “missional church”. What potential there is if all “missional” churches help their members to understand and embrace the comprehensive meaning of mission, including Paul’s emphasis on the priority of church planting among peoples with no knowledge of Christ. —Editor

A STRANGE NEW VOICE: WHO ARE MISSIONAL LEADERS? by Gailyn Van Rheenen
A new, strange voice, however, had begun to sound in Jim’s seminary. Teachers and students were talking about missional churches and missional leaders. The words sounded strange as if ministering preachers in North America should become missionaries teaching the gospel in another language to natives in some exotic land. (Read more)

DEFINING A MISSIONAL CHURCH by Tom Nees
A district superintendent wrote me recently. "If I desire our pastors to be missional pastors, have missional churches… what are the criteria? Help me so I can help them." (Read more)

CULTIVATING MISSIONAL COMMUNITIES by Dale Ziemer
The Christian church as the body of Christ in the world is to embody God’s reign of justice, mercy, and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit. The evaluative question, “Are you the one,…or are we to wait for another?” must also be asked of us.

DESIGNING THE MISSIONAL CHURCH, by Inagrace T. Dietterich
For many Christians the term “witness” carries negative connotations. It brings to mind intense individuals knocking on doors or standing on street corners attempting to convince “unbelievers” to make a decision for Christ. At a time when many church leaders and members are rethinking the identity and vocation of the church, there is the opportunity to retrieve a more biblical and relevant understanding of witness. (Read more)

WHAT'S NEW ABOUT THE MISSIONAL CHURCH? by Dan Nighswander
Astute observers recognize that the missional vision is a re-statement of what has been the church's ideal since God called it into being. It is, after all, the Biblical mandate. For Mennonites it is especially familiar because it describes the Anabaptist understanding of the church. Simply put, the missional vision is that the church is sent into the world to participate in God's mission of reconciling all people to God, to fellow humans and to creation. (Read more)

CONTRASTING MISSIONAL AND CHURCH GROWTH PERSPECTIVES by Gailyn Van Rheenan
I pray that churches will become missional, i.e., theologically-formed, Christ-centered, Spirit-led fellowships who seek to faithfully incarnate the purposes of Christ. Missional churches define themselves as bodies formed by the calling and sending of God and reflecting the redemptive reign of God in Christ. They are unique communities in the world created by God through the Spirit as both holy and human. Missional leaders, likewise, reflect the calling and sending of God. They minister with humility recognizing themselves as “jars of clay” who finitely seek to enter into what God is already doing in his world. (Read more)

THE MISSIONAL CHURCH by Jim Thomas
There is much talk in the American church about being missional. This word implies at least two theological and ecclesiological course corrections. On the one hand, missional hints at moving from church as a “club” for Christians, to church as Christ’s body, sent by God to reconcile the world to Himself. On the other hand, missional means moving from missions as an activity in which a few Christians are sent to foreign countries to convert unbelievers, to mission as God’s jost basic purpose, intended for all believers. One definition of missional congregations is "those communities of Christ-followers who see the church as the people of God who are sent on a mission." (Read more)

BOOKS

MISSIONAL CHURCH: A VISION FOR THE SENDING OF THE CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA (THE GOSPEL AND OUR CULTURE SERIES) by Darrell L. Guder, Lois Barrett
The book issues a firm challenge for the church to recover its missional call to North Americans. The authors examine today's secular culture and the church's loss of dominance in contemporary society. They then present a biblically based theology that takes seriously the church's missional vocation and draw out the consequences of this theology for the structure and institutions of the church.

SHAPED BY GOD’S HEART: The Passion and Practices of Missional Churches by Milfred Minatrea (from David Mays' Booknotes review)
Minatrea is a former pastor, consultant, and director of the Missional Church Center for the Baptist General Convention of Texas. This is my first book on the missional church. It is dense with information and is supported by interviews with missional church leaders. It is also supplemented with discussion questions and an assessment tool at the end of each chapter. It is strong on global ministry, more than I have seen on aljost any other book on doing church. Minatrea has obviously read broadly on missions -- David Mays.
Click here to purchase this book.


MINISTRY/NETWORKS

MISSIONAL INTERNATIONAL CHURCH NETWORK
MICN is a group of leaders from international churches around the world who desire to dialogue together about how God is working in their settings, organize learning experiences and coach missionally-minded leaders.