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Missions and Evangelism in the Local Church

Sharing Christ with our neighbor wherever they are in the world is at the heart of missions and evangelism.  Our neighbor can be found next door or down the street; at work, school, or simply a friend.  Our neighbor may share a common heritage with us, or may be from a totally different race or nationality or ethnic group.  What is important is that Jesus has called us to share the Gospel with everyone everywhere He leads us.

Acts 1:8 ESV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

God has called the church – his people wherever they are found – to join him in his mission; in other words, to be “missional.”  What does that mean?  Tim Keller suggests six characteristics – six “marks” – of a missional church.

Six Marks of a Missional Church[1]

1. The church must confront society’s idols—like the consumerism and greed that leads to injustice.
2. The church must communicate humbly in the language of our culture—no tribal jargon, archaic language for prayer and worship, no mocking of people who hold different political or religious beliefs.
3. The church must affirm that all Christians are people in mission in every area of their lives—including their vocations and their role as residents of a neighborhood or city.
4. The church must be a counterculture for the common good—a community in which sex and family, wealth and possessions, racial identity and power, are practiced in godly ways to serve others.
5. The church should graciously involve nonbelievers in its community, so they can see the gospel fleshed out in life—thus enabling nonbelievers to process the gospel message as they hear it proclaimed.
6. The church should practice unity—avoiding unnecessary divisions with and criticisms of other churches.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are all called to be His witnesses as we daily go about our lives within the area of influence God has assigned to us.  We each have, as my friend T. M. Moore defines it, our own “Personal Mission Field”[2] to which God has called us to share His love and the hope of the Gospel.

[1] Adapted from Center Church, by Tim Keller (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), 271-74.

[2]https://www.ailbe.org/resources/videos/item/8441-personal-mission-field

This article was submitted by Pastor Rusty Rabon from Grace Chapel. Grace Chapel is a Missio Nexus member.  Member organizations can provide content to the Missio Nexus website. Would you like to submit an article to us too? Click this link to see how.