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The word “missional” has become part of the church’s vocabulary in recent years. Often, it is assumed that this is a new way to speak of the mission that has been part of the church’s discourse from the very beginning. Whereas there is some truth that there is a relationship between mission and missional, their approach to the work of the church is vastly different.
The missional conversation is more than a church growth strategy or the latest fad to describe ministries. Being missional is a clarion call to the church back to its roots, to its original purpose of being the representative of God in the world. Being missional represents a “recalibration of the form and function of the church of Jesus” (The Missional Network Blog, n.d.). This article will share three characteristics of the missional church.
The missional conversation begins with the understanding that God is a missionary God or a sending God. Mission is the result of God’s initiative (Roxburgh, 2015). The missional conversation is rooted in God’s purpose to restore and heal the created order. The central biblical theme is about God’s action of redemption through God’s participation in the world. “God’s mission in the world is related to the reign, or kingdom, of God” (Roxburgh, 2015, p. 43).