Are You Asking The Right Question? by Rob Haynes

I like to do projects around the house and the garage. It may be a small chore like changing a light fixture or a large job repairing the car. I like to be part of the solution. Over the years I have learned that one key to doing the job well is having the right tool for the job. You may be able to get by with a substitute, but you can save a great deal of time and frustration by using a tool designed for the task. You can even avoid hurting yourself or damaging the things you are working on. For example, I can drive a nail to hang a picture with a golf club. However, I might damage the wall or hit my thumb. I might be able to sink a putt with a hammer. But is that the best way to go about it? I think you see where I am going. 

Choosing the Right Tools for Christian Mission

This principle can also apply to Christian mission. There are many tools that we can use to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. It may be a trip to another place to do some work, the managing of a soup kitchen in the inner city, preaching in the streets, or a number of other things. I meet many Christians who ask how and where their particular church can serve in some sort of mission endeavor. What they are usually looking for is a ready-made program they can use as a tool for a goal they have in mind. However, that may not be the right question. Are they trying to use the right tool for the job? Put it another way, are they asking the right questions about how they could serve? Let’s look at mission for a moment, then we can ask a better question.

What Is the Mission of God? (Missio Dei Explained)

First, it is important to remember that mission flows from the mission of God. It is not the church who has a mission from God. It is God who has a church to fulfill his mission. Throughout the Bible, God is a sending God. When we see a problem in our relationships, communities, or the world the first question we should ask is, “What does the Bible have to say about this?” and “What does the revealed nature of God in the Person of Jesus Christ tell us about how to address this?” This will tell us how we should respond.

We see throughout the Scriptures that there is a “centrifugal” nature of God. We see this in the Trinity who is constantly moving outward, touching all of Creation with his self-giving love. God uses prophets, teachers, and witnesses to do so. The Son is the ultimate demonstration of this, in both the One who is Sent and is Sending. God has a design and purpose for all of Creation. We can say that he is ‘on mission’ to accomplish these purposes.

Evangelism and Service: Why Both Are Essential for Christian Mission

It is amazing that Jesus, in his great love, invites his followers to act on his behalf: to comfort, to heal, to correct, and to bring freedom. We do this in many multitudes of acts of service that we frequently call “mission work” today. At the same time, God sends his people to proclaim on his behalf: to be messengers of good news in his world. Acts of service done in Christ’s Name and the verbal declarations of his message should always go together. Using our example of tools: it is like a pair of scissors. You cannot have only one side of a pair of scissors and have an effective instrument. Likewise, we must have both service and the proclamation to accomplish the work of Christian mission.

How to Prepare Your Church for God’s Mission

Since it is God who has a mission to accomplish, and that mission is lifegiving and complex, we should prioritize asking the right question regarding our participation in it. As I mentioned above, many ask, “What are the instruments around me that I can use to accomplish the work I have in mind?” I want to suggest that the better question is, “How does God want to form and shape me, my family, my church into the instrument he wants for his Mission and the way he wants to accomplish it?”