Key Themes of Mission Theology
Jesus Christ The key theme of not only theology, but of Christianity is Jesus. Christianity is based on a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is not centered on another man’s ideology or a book or anything else, only a relationship with Jesus. Because Christianity is based on man’s relationship with Christ and Christ’s life was based on getting the message of redemption out to all mankind, then logically it stands to reason that the key theme of mission theology is Jesus Himself. Moreau in his text says that “Jesus defined all mission-oriented Christians to be witnesses through the Spirit.” (Acts 1:8) The relationship with Christ as well as the Bible is what gives Christians the “heart to stand
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The church has more than one definition. The local church, which is a body of believers that have a specific place that they gather to worship and study the Word of God. The other definition is the Body of Christ, which includes every person that has accepted Christ as personal Lord and Savior. Both of these “organisms” preach and nurture Christians, which is missions.” God birthed the church, and when the church puts God at the center of the church, the focus of the church will change from being a church centered mission to a mission centered church and God will begin to use the church as His instrument for missions. Jesus after He was raised from the dead told all of His followers to proclaim that salvation was complete through His death burial and resurrection and it was/is free to those who will receive it. (Luke 24:44-48) The church has been divinely appointed by God to get the Gospel out into the world. The work of the church and God’s message of salvation will be for nothing if the church is not obedient and follow through with the instructions that God has tasked it with. (Acts 10:36) When the church is in line with God’s intention and is Spirit led, God the Father will be preparing hearts, Christ the Son will invite “whosoever will” and the Holy Spirit will convict and draw sinners to respond. (Rev. …show more content…
Without this theology, not only the believer, but the missionary has no foundation to build upon. Believers in general, but especially missionaries must prepare themselves through prayer in order to lead churches to preach and teach the Word of God. Paul tells us in 1 Timothy that those that labor in preaching and teaching” should be considered worthy of double honor. (1 Tim. 5:17) This is important because Christian’s understanding their role as a believer, or again even more importantly, the role of a missionary is extremely vital in advancing God’s kingdom. Winter and Hawthorne rightly say in our text that “If we in the West insist on keeping our blessing instead of sharing it, then we will, like other nations before us (Israel, Rome, etc) perhaps have to “lose” our blessing in order for the remaining nations to receive.” Although there are times in today’s world that may seem like the world has turned their backs on God, Christian’s should look with great anticipation for the days that are coming when God will reclaim the earth and believers will be redeemed. The reason that believers practice missions is the end result. Redemption from sin, and receiving an inheritance from God including “full rights as sons” is only part of what is in store for the child of
N.T. Wright: During my first semester at Northwestern College, I was assigned the book, “The Challenge of Jesus” by N.T. Wright for one of my Biblical Studies courses. This book and every other book Tom Wright has written has dramatically impacted my Christian faith. Dr. Wright has not only defended the basic tenants of the Christian faith, but also has shown how an academically-minded pastor ought to love and care for his or her congregants. N.T. Wright was previously the Bishop of Durham and pastored some of the poorest in the United Kingdom. His pastoral ministry has helped shape his understanding of God’s kingdom-vision which he is diagramming within his magnum opus “Christian Origins and the Question of God”. This series has instructed myself and countless other pastors to be for God’s kingdom as we eagerly await Christ’s return. Additionally, I have had the privilege of meeting with N.T. Wright one-on-one on numerous occasions to discuss faith, the Church, and his research. I firmly believe Tom Wright is the greatest New Testament scholar of our generation and he is the primary reason why I feel called into ministry.
The church or Ecclesia, as it is called in the original Greek language, regardless of size, are the called out ones who assemble to represent the Body and life of Jesus Christ. They engage in meetings of praise, worship, and listening to the Word of God, which is taken from their manual called the Holy Bible, or the Scriptures; those bringing the message are considered to be the mouthpieces for God, and are typically called preachers (KJV, Eph 5.23-32). According to the Bible, the church, which includes the preachers, is to strive to exemplify the type of life that Jesu...
Philosophy of Ministry: God's desires come first, I must always live my ministry God's way. I must live as a Christian (1 Corinthians 9:27) I must have a proper relationship of surrender to the Leader. In my personal life or in the Church I must understand that Christ is Head and Chief Shepherd (Ephesians 1:22, Hebrews 13:20). The “management” of Church is about relationships with God and Man, not just maintaining a social organization.
Our understanding of who God is (Theology) should shape our understanding and practice of the mission of the church. That’s another thing that I focus on, the church is just a building, but we as people- we are the church. We are called to be the church, and lead and guide people in the right direction through the Holy Spirit. The Doctrine of Scripture is vitally important to all Christians, for it is through the word that God saves us and causes us to grow in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Only through the scriptures do we have the knowledge of God is Jesus
...f the kingdom will and should be realized in the Gospel. There needs to be concrete ministries of the church to show that God cares for the lost individuals as well as the total wellbeing of a culture and society.
The use of the term can cause confusion as to what it means and how it is applied to each church’s ministry. It can also be argued that some elasticity is required to know how it is applied in each churches context. That being said, there are four unifying threads: 1) God is a missionary God who sends the church into the world. 2) God's mission in the world is related to the reign (kingdom) of God. 3) The missional church is an incarnational (versus attractional) ministry sent to engage a postmodern, post-Christendom, globalized context. 4) The internal life of the missional church...
In order to understand God’s call to missions, we must first explore the topic of missions. A missionary is a person who is called by God to spread the Gospel. I interviewed Larry LeGrande, a missionary with Pioneers, concerning the challenges of being a missionary. He shared with me that “leaving his home as well as his children to go to Southeast Asia is very difficult.” Larry also indicated that “leaving Southeast Asia to return ho...
Missionaries were a contradiction, one that is not easily sorted. The goals and objectives of the missionary themselves were often purest of heart. Missionaries’ goals were to spread of the gospel, the convert heathens to Christianity and enrich the communities they work in by providing education and medical assistance. On the contrary missionaries were also often “agents of cultural change.” (Stipe p.1) They carried with them American ideals, democracy, individual rights, free enterprise, universal education, and delayed gratification. (Clifford Putney p.7)
The experiences of Jesuit priests in Latin America is a formable topic to take on but Roland Joffe accepts the challenge in his movie The Mission. The film, which is based on true events, is set in northeastern Argentina and the western Paraguayan jungle during the 1740s. Fr. Gabriel (Jeremy Irons), is a Jesuit priest who starts a mission with the goal of converting Guarani Indians to Christianity. In the process of building the mission, he meets Roderigo Mendoza, a mercenary and slave trader who is in jail for killing his brother. Eventually, Roderigo reluctantly agrees to carry out a penance and accompany the priest back to help with the mission. Once he arrives, Roderigo not only forms strong relationships with the Indians, but converts
Aforementioned, that is one of servanthood. And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. In 2007, over 320,000 churches existed. Meaning, in the United States there are a conglomerate of churches in every community, conceivably, one on every corner. If Christians were serving the communities through servanthood and outreach, the result of it would be evident in our churches and in society all together. One could venture to infer that it would be a much different world if the presence of Christians were in every neighborhood encountering the needs of the community. It is apparent, Christians aren’t serving their area of people hardly enough. This generation is currently known as the unchurched generation and it is my belief that the issue is greater than education. Millennials are leaving the fold, and more than one-third of millennials now say they are unaffiliated with any faith. The United States now ranks third following China and India in the number of people who are not professing Christians; in other words, the U.S. is becoming an ever increasing "un-reached people group." Almost every major branch of Christianity in the United States has lost a considerable number of members, and half of all churches in the US Haven 't added new parishioners to their roll in the last two
“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15, ESV). The bible commands the Christian church to spread the gospel of Jesus. One of the ways the Christian church introduces Jesus to different communities is through mission trips. It is the churches mission to send missionaries wherever there is a need (Ukpong, 1985, p.166). Sending missionaries around the globe gives people the opportunity to learn about the church
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Bible Gateway, Matt. 28. 19-20). This is The Great Commission, God’s charge to all Christians. God has called his people to be missionaries. The word ‘missionary’ for most people tends to bring about thoughts of third-world countries and grass huts, and while there are some missionaries serving in those third-world countries and some may even live in grass huts, the word missionary cannot be summed up in that one scenario. A missionary is anyone who is called by God to share the gospel and make disciples. Missionary work is very diverse and takes on many different forms based on factors such as location and purpose. Missionaries serve both internationally and domestically and for evangelistic and need-based purposes.
Evangelism is one of the key component for changing people’s lives. McRaney states, “The word evangelism comes from a combination of Greek words for “good” and “messenger.” Evangelism involves bringing the goods. Kent Hunter reminded us that “when Christians witness, they tell how Jesus Christ has changed their own lives. The change in their own lives gives them the desires to share the Good News with others.” Christians must share their testimony to people and spread the gospel so that they can bring lost souls to Christ. God has commissioned every Christian to evangelize so that people will learn about Jesus Christ and accept Him as their personal savior. Matthew 28:19 states, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. Christians are required to spread the Gospel throughout the world and can no longer just attend church. Christians must plant seeds and water the seeds so that lost souls will be saved.
One of the unique traditions of the religion that are still in place today is the mission efforts, which became a part of the Baptist tradition in the 17th century. The first Baptist missionary society was established in England, in 1792.The purpose of this mission effort was simple and straightforward. The miss was to communicate the gospel of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to those in other lands who had not heard. From this the hope was that they would come to believe and trust in Christ for their salvation; and as the United States grew, so did Baptist evangelism and mission efforts. Throughout their history American Baptists have been led by the Gospel that mandates believers to be directly active in the institutions of society and social outreach and ministry. Baptists have played a key role in encouraging religious freedom and separation of church and state. . Some Baptist churches have been among the leaders in the so-called "mega-church" movement that flourished in the 1980s and 1990s, and continues today. Even still the Baptist religion is rooted in revival and missionary
Throughout the dawn of ages man has grappled with many facets when comprising a theological understanding of Christian discipleship and mission. Mission can be categorized from both a systematic and applied theological perspective. Within systematic theology it lies in “ecclesiology;” a central component when analyzing the doctrine of the church. Within applied theology it is in nestled in scriptural foundation. From a biblical perspective mission coincides with the Great commission, which all Christians have been mandated to uphold. “The followers of the earthly Jesus have to make others into what they themselves are: disciples.” The Bible instructs the believer on discipleship. Discipleship should be the core of the Church permeating every aspect of the Church’s overall mission. A Christian who neglects to express Christ’s love for humanity through compassionate service is not living a life of full discipleship. The task in making disciples is providing an account of mission that clearly outlines both serviceable and viable practices of ministry. Mission is understood as being a critical component in the life of the Church; yet it is often overlooked in actual practice. The theory appeals to all, yet the implementation of effective mission leaves many bewildered and baffled as to where to begin. Mission in its earlier understanding was thought to center solely on saving lost souls; however mission is transforming. It is not only limited to reaching the individual, but now it has expanded to be inclusive of saving the society in which man lives as well. “Mission is not primarily what we do. It is what God does.” Through the exploring of great theologians...