The History regarding the Sending Church
Missional church is definitely a trendy title that is everywhere these days. the concept that we are required to categorize bodies of Christ, missional, has forever been a little strange to me. come on, shouldnt all bodies of Christ be missional in their very nature? Shouldnt a church, at its very core, desire to meet their culture and city with the good news as a missionary would in a foreign country? Isnt this what the bodies of Christ is encouraged to do in the final charge of Christ in Matthew 28:19? Our own hometown requires this kind of church. Austin churches is slowly gravitating to what Christ instructed in the Gospels.
The messiah gives the challenge in Acts 1:8 saying, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 explains this concept as, right before Jesus Christ ascends to Heaven, He points the disciples on a mission that would launch right in their local community. He begins with their hometown of Jerusalem, and then stretches the call to the far parts of the globe.
As believers, we are not called to isolation, but to be missional followers of Jesus who are passionately going out and connecting with others right where they are with the story of Christ. We have noticed this throughout history: God motivated Abraham on a mission to move from his city and his people and go to the city that God would show him (Gen. 12:1), God sends Moses on a mission to rescue an enslaved people and lead them to joy (Exodus 3:8-10), God moved Jesus on a exploration to world to bring back all things to Himself through the cross (Colossians 1:20). And now God is sending people on a story to engage neighborhoods, cities, ethnicities, and even nations with the story of Christ(Matt. 28:19 Mark 6:7 Luke 10:1 John 20:21 Acts 1:8). If we reject this encouragement and continue to perceive the bodies of Christ like a private country club ” demanding that people fix their talents, pay their fees, and drive to our building God will continue His mission without us.
