From a recent Missional Journal article, “Everything Changes”, written by David Dunbar:

“What is crucial here is that mission is not first and foremost a job description for the church, but a reference to what God is up to in the world – God is on a mission!”

All too often we view “mission” (or “evangelism” or whatever term you like) as just one more church program, like ministry to children or benevolence or (my personal favorite) puppet ministry. But to treat mission as one more thing that the church “does” misses the mark. I’ve argued recently that mission isn’t just something we do; rather, it’s who we are. But I think this statement also falls short. More accurately, we could say that mission is who God is; the mission of the church is simply the overflowing activity of a missionary God at work in the world.

In The Mission of God, Christopher J.H. Wright contends for a missional hermeneutic, that in order for our interpretation of Scripture to be complete, we must recognize the overarching missiological tenor of the biblical narrative. God’s mission is to reclaim the world for himself (2 Corinthians 5) and the church is God’s reconciliatory agent to that end. But make no mistake: the mission is God’s. This takes the missional emphasis off of me and my ability and how comfortable I am at knocking on doors or leading personal Bible studies or my particular skill set…and returns the emphasis where it belongs: on God.