Dick Hillis, American missionary to China, once famously stated, 'Every heart with Christ is a missionary; every heart without Christ is a mission field.' 

This statement underlines a basic principle exemplified by the New Testament church found in Acts. When the good news of the gospel is rooted in the hearts and minds of believers, you can’t help but want to share it with a world that sorely needs to hear good news.

In my experience, over many years of church ministry, whilst lots of Christians recognise that 'evangelism' or 'mission' should form a part of the Christian walk, when pushed on what that may look like, or how it should be expressed in their own lives, a great majority feel ill equipped, fearful or an outright failure.

Grasping what it means to be missional

I believe that the church is God’s chosen tool on earth to impact individuals, communities and indeed nations, and we should have in our hearts a greater grasp of what it means to be missional: in intent, purpose and in action.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German Lutheran pastor and theologian during WW2 said, 'The Church is nothing but a section of humanity in which Christ has really taken form.' (Bonhoeffer in Ethics, p.86)

Jesus was compelled; are we?

When I look at Jesus, He seemed compelled to reach out to the outcast, to seek the lost, to preach the good news and demonstrate the love and reality of His Father. If Christ has truly taken form amongst us, can we do anything else but go as Christ did, to love as He loved, with words and actions, and to stand beside the broken and the lost?

If the church is to impact lives through the power of this gospel, then we must embrace to a greater extent the concept of moving from maintenance to mission.

"God yes but church no" 

This generation is, I believe, searching for answers and a sense of spirituality to satisfy a deep hunger. Sadly, at it’s most basic, it could be said that for many 18 – 40 year olds, this hunger can be summed up as 'God, yes but church, no.' However the family of God, at its best, can be the most beautiful example of a family in unity, love, mercy and purpose.

In these days, the church must be spurred into action, to see as Jesus saw, to be moved as He was. Jesus, our great High Priest, must be our model: He is described as, 'having compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd' (Matt 9:36).

Who is my neighbour?

When the lawyer asked Jesus, 'Who then is my neighbour?' he asks a good question (Luke 10:29). We must learn to have eyes that see who our neighbours are. We need a heart that is willing, having built bridges, ready to go and love our neighbours in whatever work, study, social or family context God has placed us in. We want to be equipped and confident in relational lifestyle outreach, not wanting to simply expect people to walk into our churches and believe (although we love it when that happens)! 

Testifying to God's grace

Jesus said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field' (Luke 10:2). I don’t believe He was crying out for paid experts, but rather for His body to rise up and take their place as witnesses, like the woman at the well who boldly was able to say 'Come meet a man who told me everything I ever did!' (John 4:39).

My desire is to see the church body focused, excited, equipped and willing to undertake the task that so compelled St Paul: 'The task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace' (Acts 20:24).