OUTREACH COMMITTEE’S CORNER

By Philip Franklin

I was looking on the Wide World Web this week. I wanted to see what religious leaders are saying about a missional church. I want to share a few ideas with you.

“The terms missional and missional church are barely 10 years old, but already they bring up more than half a million hits on a Google search. Churches are inundated with missional books, missional websites, missional consultation groups, and missional speakers. Yet the meaning of the term remains unclear.” Web site: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/march/16.56.html

“The missional church movement takes seriously the need to recover the stories of our faith that we find in scripture. Rather than succumbing to the old problem of “theology divides, mission unites”, the missional church movement realizes that any healthy mission is theologically grounded. Belief and behavior cannot be separated. Theology and mission cannot be bifurcated. They are always linked, whether we can see that or not.” Web site: http://www.sjpresbytery.org/Missional.pdf

Faith’s Outreach Committee is working to establish a team ministry. One that is the following: a team ministry that will provide leadership for Faith into the mission era; provides a Theological foundation and understanding of missions; links members with complementary gifts with ministry of service; manages a dynamic relationship with 15 to 20 local ministries; oversees the total missional arena at Faith; serves as a primary bridge interfacing with laity, church and world; uses sound infrastructure, accountability and regulates implementation; lifts up, communicates policies and interprets; develops, approves, oversees and implements a
budget.

As we continue to seek God’s will for us and our church, our desire is to balance both inward programs and outward missions. But in a real sense they are both the same. Equipping us to be better missionaries requires a strong Bible base and the worshiping community of Faith. Please pray for both in our church.