The material in Setting Your Sights is intended for churches that are mobilizing their members for missions while the ultimate goal of their mobilization may not be quite clear or consistent. Churches in this position may find themselves supporting a wide diversity of ministries that have little in common. Or they may be sending out members on short-term projects, who return with a great love for the people they encountered, but are uncertain about the project’s lasting impact. The premise of these articles is that there is indeed a goal for missions, and the most fruitful missions ministries will be oriented in that direction.
THE GOAL OF MISSIONS
Simply stated, the goal of world missions is the Church of Jesus Christ. The Scriptures are clear that Christ intends to build His kingdom by establishing His Church—not a physical building or an institution, but His bride, His body, His people. By definition, a Christian is a member of a larger body, of which Christ is the head. The Christian life is meant to be lived out in community with other believers. The Bible calls that community the Church. Thus, effective Christian ministry contributes to the expansion and building up of this new community of faith. Consider encouraging your world missions leaders to grow in their understanding of the Church, or ecclesiology. The articles in Setting Your Sights and similar materials would be a good starting point.
Given that the goal of missions is the Church, a natural conclusion is that church planting is the primary method of expansion. And if so, that expansion should multiply, such that churches are starting churches, which in turn have a vision for further church planting. And if that is to happen, these churches will need a growing number of trained indigenous leaders, who understand how to apply ministry principles to their context. And given the need for so many national leaders, the role of the expatriate missionary begins to shift towards facilitation of the overall ministry. These conclusions are what is meant by the term national church-planting movement.
The New Testament is full of examples and principles for beginning new churches, and missions leaders should be aware of key concepts and issues. The articles in this series will introduce missions leaders to these topics so that they may consider how to elevate the goal of their own ministry towards the expansion of the Church. As they do so, they will need to ask several critical questions.
KEY QUESTIONS
- Do the ministries we support have a biblical view of the local church?
Virtually all Christians would agree that the Church universal is the entire body of Christ, of which all genuine Christians are members. We are all committed to that. The challenge for ministry, though, primarily comes in determining its local expressions. For example, a missionary in Asia knows a man who claims to plant three churches a week. That’s 150 every year. If so, this ministry would seem to be worthy of celebration and support. But what does this church planter mean by “church”? When you ask about his ministry, he says he goes to a house and asks if he can pray for the family. Wanting to be hospitable, they typically invite him in and he prays. He then asks if he can return the following week, and they again agree. Who would refuse? The next week he asks if he can come back, and bring another family to pray for. If they say yes, he claims to have planted a church.
Are such accounts the best investment for your missions ministry? That depends on whether you conclude these are biblical churches. Missions leaders will need to develop their own conclusions on what is meant by the local church, and then ask probing questions about what the missionary has in mind.
- How directly do the ministries we support grow the Church?
Establishing the Church involves many elements, such as training, evangelism, and mercy ministry. When these facets occur apart from the ministry of the Church, individual lives may be deeply touched, but the Church may only be indirectly built up—if at all. That’s not to say such expressions are wrong. However, the more such ministries are connected to the Church, the more effectively they contribute to the ultimate goal of missions: bringing people into a lasting Christian community where they can serve and grow.
The missionaries and ministries you support should be able to tell you how directly they are connected to church planting. Is ministry an expression of a local body? How will people be followed-up with? Is the real goal the perpetuation of an outside ministry or the establishment of the local church?
- How do we re-orient our ministry towards church planting?
Perhaps the greatest challenge for a missions ministry that wants to emphasize church planting is making the transition. Long-term commitments have been made and relationships deepened. The article on transitioning to a church-focused ministry draws from the lessons of other churches that have faced a similar challenge.
FOR FURTHER STUDY
Under each of the titles, the “theme” of the article refers to one of the essential elements of successful missions ministries listed in Window to the World and included here at the end of these articles. A fruitful exercise for your missions committee would be to evaluate your ministry according to each of the twenty themes and begin to strengthen undeveloped areas.
You may also want to refer to the articles in the rest of the Window to the World series:
- Laying the Foundation encourages churches to focus on the essentials: developing their missions leadership, creating a vision for the ministry, and developing a missions conference to mobilize their members.
- Setting the Pace offers practical help on how to mobilize your church for world missions.
- Reaching the Summit helps more established ministries integrate their efforts with the entire church and with key principles for maximizing long-term impact.
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