With this Sunday being Guatemala Mission Sunday at Valley Life Center, I’ve been thinking about the mission of the church as being grounded in the mission of God. I even mentioned the mission of God as the framework for our Sunday conversations on joy over the last few weeks. I described it like this, the mission of God is a mission of love (John 3:16) and it’s out of God’s unconditional love for his creation that the Son was sent to redeem not only the people of God, but as well, all creation. My point about joy and the mission of God was that just as love and joy were integral to creation they are both integral in redemption, making all things new. 

The beautiful thing about the mission of God is that God invites us to participate in this mission in Christ. The goal of the mission of God is to establish the kingdom of God both in this age but also in the age to come. We participate in this mission when we orient ourselves to God’s mission, to others, and to the world – in the context of the local church. (Thanks, Scot McKnight.)

It sounds silly, but we first must become aware of God’s mission to be able to participate in it. I only mention this because Christianity has over the generations become more and more individualistic, focusing on the benefits to those who believe, instead of becoming part of something God wants to do in the world. If God is others oriented, then his church should be as well. The fun and challenging part is exploring how the mission of God can be expressed within the local church. 

Even though we do a lot of things at VLC that can be described as missional, I pray that we continue to ask God how we can connect to the mission of God both as individuals and the body of Christ.

Grace and peace,

Brook