Mission

Mission means, most basically, a sending forth. In popular speech it has come to mean almost the same thing as purpose. Thus many businesses and organizations have “mission statements” that define the purpose for their existence.

This secular use of mission derives, however, from the Christian usage. Mission, in its English usage, is fundamentally a Christian word. As God sent Jesus Christ into the world, so the church, the body of Christ, is sent into the world to continue Christ’s mission. This is the basic meaning of mission.

Christians often talk about the mission of the church, and of Christian missions. Here we discuss mission; see also the accompanying article on missions.

Mission Begins with God

The New Testament affirms the grounding of mission in God. In Jesus’ last words to his apostles he said: “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21). Earlier Jesus had told them, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:26-28). The basic impulse of Christian mission is found here, in the example and teaching of Jesus. When Jesus washed the apostles’ feet he said, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:15). One of those apostles, Peter, later said that if we suffer, this is a part of our calling—because “Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21, see also Phil. 2:5-13).

Mission, then, is based in Jesus Christ—in his example and his commission. Jesus formed a community of disciples who were to live the kind of life he lived, empowered by the Spirit. And he made it plain that he was giving his followers a world mission: “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” (Mark 16:15). He instructed his first apostles to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). He said he would give them the Holy Spirit for this task: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses . . . to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Clearly Jesus intended a sending forth of his disciples into all the world, “just as” the Father sent him into the world. So mission is grounded in Jesus.

More fundamentally, mission is grounded in the nature and character of the Three-in-One God, the Trinity. God is an everliving communion or community of holy love, a constant love-flow among Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Mission begins as the “overflow” of God’s love in creating, sustaining and renewing the universe. Thus the power of the mutual love shared among Father, Son and Holy Spirit is the source of Jesus’ own mission. A God of such love certainly will be a God with a mission to share this loving trinitarian passion with the whole world. As God the Father sent Jesus Christ into the world in the power of the Holy Spirit, so God sends the church into the world powered by the Spirit to make the love and truth of Jesus Christ known everywhere.

There are many hints of God’s concern with mission throughout Scripture. After the sin of Adam and Eve, God himself went “on a mission,” looking for the guilty pair in the Garden. Later he sent Abraham and Sarah to begin a new people, Israel, who would be God’s missionaries to the world. When God called Abraham he told him, “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3). Through Israel would come, in turn, the Messiah. Over the long course of Old Testament history God raised up prophets and prophetesses, sending them to call the people back to faithfulness. Occasionally we get glimpses of a broader mission to the nations, as when God sent Jonah to Nineveh.

In the call and the covenant with Israel, we see the character of God. God desires to share truth and love with the nations, and Israel is chosen to play a key part. It is a double calling: They must first be faithful, honoring and worshiping God alone, so they don’t betray the mission. And they must be God’s visible demonstration to the nations, “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” a “treasured possession” chosen “out of all nations” (Exodus 19:4-6).

The fountain of mission, then, is none other than God, who seeks to share and demonstrate his truth and love throughout the whole created world.

Mission Is Global Good News

The mission of the church is good news to the world. It is good news first because of who Jesus is and of what God has done and is doing through him. Yet the Christian mission is not only about Jesus as a person. It includes God’s purpose to bring reconciliation or shalom to all creation through him. Scripture expresses this broad sense of mission in various ways. In both Testaments God’s overarching purpose is frequently called “the kingdom of God.” This theme is expressed most profoundly in Ephes. 1:10 and Col. 1:15-20: God is carrying out a plan, an “economy,” “to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ” (Ephes. 1:10). “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in [Jesus Christ], and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Col. 1:20).

The Christian mission is good news about personal, social, ecological and cosmic healing and reconciliation. It proclaims good news to people, to tribes, nations and ethnic enclaves, to culture and to nature itself. It is good news for time and for eternity, salvation for the universe in all its dimensions. The Christian mission is thus vastly comprehensive, even as it is specific and local for each believer and congregation. It is addressed to the whole creation, in four senses:

1. The mission is directed to the individual human person, “calling for the conversion of heart and mind” (Lesslie Newbigin) so that life is lived after the pattern of Jesus Christ. While mission is addressed to all people everywhere, it is particularly a mission to the poor, the masses, the underclasses of the world. Though it excludes none who come to God with a “humble and contrite” heart (Psalm 51:17; Isaiah 57:15), its energy is directed primarily toward the poor.

2. The Christian mission is addressed to society, to social life, “the structures of public life, calling for the righting of wrong and the liberation of the oppressed” (Lesslie Newbigin). It is good news to the social order.

3. The church’s mission is addressed also to the underlying patterns and presuppositions of culture, the “root paradigms” that form worldviews and govern definitions of truth and reality. It calls for their transformation away from partial or ideological truths to a comprehensive worldview in which each particle and particular has its proper place.

4. Mission is addressed also to the whole cosmos—“the rocks and the mountains,” the earth and the planets. God speaks through God’s Word to the whole created order. In Scripture, the Word of God is at times directed to the material environment itself: “O land, land, land, hear the word of the Lord!” (Jeremiah 22:29). God tells Ezekiel, “Say to the southern forest: `Hear the word of the Lord’ ” (Ezekiel 20:47). “Prophesy to the mountains of Israel, . . . `You . . . will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home. I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor’ ” (Ezekiel 36:1, 8-9).

In other words, the Christian mission proclaims healing or reconciliation in the four ways people are alienated in our world: from God, from themselves, from other people and from the natural created order, the total environment. Yet the Christian mission may at times appear to be bad news, for it challenges the world’s idolatries, exposing the false gods of ideology, nation, religion, technology, power, the self and nature.

This broad view of mission raises some questions, however. What is the actual mission the church is called to carry out? Who is responsible for the mission? And can the church really fulfill its mission?

What Is the Church’s Mission?

Mission means continuing Jesus’ work in the world. What did Jesus do? He gave this summary: “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor” (Luke 7:22). Jesus said his disciples would continue his work and would “do even greater things than these, because [he was] going to the Father” (John 14:12). “Greater” presumably means not more dramatic or more powerful, but the extension of Jesus’ ministry into all the world through the church. The reason Jesus’ disciples would do greater works was that Jesus was going to the Father and would send the Holy Spirit (John 15:26-27; John 16:7).

The Christian mission, then, is to faithfully fulfill the work of Jesus Christ. God calls the church into mission. It is not just our idea. Mission is our responsibility in thankful obedience to God’s call (see Calling).

There are many dimensions to this mission, but for simplicity we describe it as building Christian community, serving people at their point of hurt or need (see Ministry), sharing the good news of Jesus Christ (see Evangelism; Witness) so people may come to experience new life in him, and building a just society (see Social Action).

Building Christian Community. While the church is not an end in itself, redemptive mission requires a visible Christian community that really functions as the body of Christ. This is why the New Testament so frequently speaks of the importance of being the community that embodies mission. Mission is not just something we do; it is who we are. In this sense the saying is true: The church does not have a mission; the mission has a church. This is why Scripture instructs us, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16). “Let us not give up meeting together, . . . but let us encourage one another” and “consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24-25; see Church).

Serving People in Need. Since authentic mission is grounded in the outreaching love of God in Jesus Christ, Christians feel love-compelled to respond to human need wherever they find it. Jesus illustrated this in his parable of the good Samaritan. The love of Christ overwhelms the barriers of race, prejudice and culture, impelling believers to meet human need as Jesus did.

Sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. The church tells others about Christ so that they too may come to experience new life in him. The church is called to proclaim the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ throughout the world, making disciples and building faithful Christian communities. Two of the most characteristic words in Acts are martyreō, “to bear witness” (from which comes the English word martyr), and euangelizō, “to proclaim good news” (from which comes the English word evangelize). Both these words occur over twenty times in Acts. The passion of the early church was to tell the good news about Jesus and the resurrection, bearing witness to what had been seen and heard. Those who experience Jesus Christ as Savior know the meaning of Paul’s words “a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17).

Building a Just Society. Since God gives the church a creation-wide mission, Christians are responsible to show God’s reconciliation in every area. The Bible often expresses this as a concern for justice and righteousness. Jesus said his disciples should “seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). The close linking of justice and righteousness throughout the Old Testament requires taking Matthew 6:33 to mean “Seek to manifest the just rule of God,” or “Seek the justice of God’s kingdom,” not simply personal, private righteousness. Jesus calls the church to seek God’s righteousness/justice in the world. Christians want to see God’s will done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). The mission of the church is to pray and work so that this may be true in every area of society, with particular concern for the poor and oppressed.

Who Are the Missionaries?

Who is responsible for the Christian mission? According to the Bible, the whole people of God. 1 Peter 2:9 states this most clearly: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” This passage describes the church, all Christian believers. The church is a “priesthood,” a people commissioned to serve God in the world. It is “a people.” Here the Greek text uses the word laos, from which we get the term “laity.” The Bible says all the “laity” (the whole church) is called to mission. In the New Testament there is no distinction between “clergy” and “laity,” because “laity” includes everyone (including pastors), and all the “laity” are ministers. The New Testament distinguishes between different kinds of ministries (not all are called to be pastors or teachers), but not between “ministers” and “laymen.” Although Christians may have different ministries according to their spiritual gifts, the whole church is called to mission.

This means that the Christian mission is in the world even more than it is in the church. The Christian mission is to be carried out in every area of culture, among all the peoples of the earth, in every dimension of human life, from the hearth and kitchen to global politics and economics. At all life’s intersections Christians are to carry out “the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18; see Ministry; Tentmaking; Work).

A primary function of the local church is to help believers find and fulfill their ministry in the world, both individually and together in the shared ministry of church and family.

Can the Church Really Fulfill Its Mission?

Christians often talk in lofty terms about the Christian mission. But is this realistic? Frequently the church has no sense of mission or carries out mission in the wrong spirit or in hurtful ways. How can we talk about mission with proper humility and yet affirm what Christ has told us? The answer is twofold.

First, the mission is God’s mission, and God will fulfill his purpose. God promises us that the time is coming when “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10-11). Jesus promised, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18). Our confidence is in God’s faithfulness and power, not in our own efforts.

Second, God has given us his Holy Spirit, and by his Spirit he empowers and repeatedly renews the church down through history. Whenever we are tempted to despair of the church’s mission—whether because of the external challenges or the church’s own betrayal of the gospel—we can turn again in repentance, faith and hope to God and the renewing work of the Spirit.

Mission in My Life

Every Christian has been given a mission from God. Since we each find our mission in the larger life of the church, we may think of living our mission in three dimensions: our mission to God, to other believers and to the world.

Our Mission to God. Our mission to the world is grounded in our relationship to God. Worship and faithful service is our Godward mission. This is the essential vertical dimension of mission. We are called to offer “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5), to “continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise” (Hebrews 13:15).

Our Mission to Each Other. Since we are called not just individually but primarily as the body of Christ in the world, we also have a mission to each other. Our mission is to help the church be in mission. The New Testament addresses this repeatedly when it says we are to love each other, encourage each other, teach and reprove each other, and bear one another’s burdens (see Fellowship). As noted earlier, Paul writes to the Colossians, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom” (Col. 3:16). As Christians we are to “encourage one another daily” so that none of us becomes “hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (Hebrews 3:13). These teachings are more than advice for our own spiritual growth. They are our mission to the body.

Our Mission to the World. God has given the church the mission to “declare the praises of him who called [us] out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). Each one of us fits in some way into the church’s mission to point to Jesus Christ and to continue his work. But this happens in very different ways. Some people’s mission to the world is primarily through their home and family life (see Family). Others fulfill their mission mainly through jobs and careers. Various kinds of creative expression, whether or not a part of one’s job, may be the main avenue of mission. Some are prophets and evangelists; others are artists and homemakers. The important thing is that our life genuinely be mission—living for God’s purposes—not merely doing our own thing. And here we each need the discerning guidance of the larger community of believers. In this way we find our place in the body, discover our spiritual gifts and help carry out the mission of God.

» See also: Calling

» See also: Church

» See also: Church as Family

» See also: Discipleship

» See also: Evangelism

» See also: Healing

» See also: Justice

» See also: Laity

» See also: Missions

» See also: Poverty

» See also: Social Action

» See also: Witness

» See also: Worship

References and Resources

D. Bosch, Transforming Mission (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1991); E. S. Jones, Christ’s Alternative to Communism (New York: Abingdon, 1935); H. A. Snyder, Liberating the Church: The Ecology of Church and Kingdom (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1983); J. Stott, Christian Mission in the Modern World (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1975); R. D. Winter and S. C. Hawthorne, eds., Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, rev. ed. (Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey Library, 1992).

—Howard A. Snyder