I get to spend today hanging out with church leaders who want to unleash their churches to bring the kingdom outside the four walls of the church.
God is up to something huge. For years, local churches have handed off missional activity to non-profits, parachurch organizations, mission organizations, and NGO. A "missions" church was a church that had a big "missions" budget and bulletin board somewhere with a lot of red pins in it, symbolizing where the "missionaries" are. The average guy in the pew saw missions as an activity God made up for hyper-active Christians. It wasn't something "normal" people did.
Then, the short term missions movement hit. So, a "missions" church would not only have a big missions budget but send a lot of short term teams on random trips. Want to know a secret? The mission organizations and parachurch organizations are usually glad when those short term teams go home. Why? Because very often the team, although well meaning, doesn't leave anything of lasting value behind and ends up "using" the locals to get their "missions" box checked.
At GCC, we are convinced:
* That the local church, not other organizations, should be central in missional activity.
* That "missions" is not a program; but a mindset. Every ministry of the church can and should be missional.
* That the missional activity of a local church can and should involve everyone one from disbelieving atheist to wild-eyed zealots for Jesus.
* That every mission effort should be part of a long term, laser focused strategy that leaves sustained and lasting impact.
* That God is up to something HUGE! As thousands of local churches wake up to the vital and central role they play, we'll experience a move of God that can turn the Great Commission into the Great Completion.
That's pretty sums up why I'm on this planet.
Today, we'll be diving into the Seven Missional Metaphors that undergird all the missional activity of Granger Community Church.
I can't wait. If you missed this one, we'll have another coming up on May 30. Check it out here.
If you an inside look at the Seven Metaphors, you can check out our EnterMission podcast at itunes or here.
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