Missional Church

One of the stated goals of Kokomo Urban Outreach is to help churches see themselves as a mission center in their neighborhood and to help every person think of themselves as a missionary. I have had several people ask me what a missional church could look like. I think a missional church, is more of a mindset. In order for a church to become a missional church it has to think differently, much differently. This shift in thinking is expressed by Ed Stetzer and David Putman in their book, "Breaking the Missional Code" (Broadman & Holman, 2006) :

From programs to processes

From demographics to discernment

From models to missions

From attractional to incarnational

From uniformity to diversity

From professional to passionate

From seating to sending

From decisions to disciples

From additional to exponential

From monuments to movements

After a change of thinking comes action, the following has been gleaned from many sources, and think it best describes the actions of a missional church.

Missional Churches

are exploring and discovering what it means to be Jesus' sent people everywhere they go,(jobs, shopping, sporting events etc).

are individuals willing and ready to be Christ's people in their own situation and place.

are engaged with the culture without being absorbed by the culture. They are intentionally indigenous.

understand God is already present in the culture. The secular and sacred are blurred. Therefore, a missional church doesn't view its purpose as bringing God into the culture or taking individuals out of the culture to a sacred space.

are evangelistic and faithfully proclaims the gospel through word and deed. Words alone are not sufficient; service is as important as what we say.

aligns all their activities around the the mission and Kingdom of God.

seeks to put the good of their neighbor over their own.

practices hospitality by welcoming the stranger into the midst of the community.

understands themselves as a community on a mission together.

are communities where everyone is involved in learning "the way of Jesus." Spiritual development, through a variety of Spiritual disciplines are expected.

gathers for worship, encouragement, teaching, training, and to seek God's presence. The purpose of gathering is to be filled, healed, equiped, and empowered to be Christ's Representatives wherever they find themselves.

A Missional church is

not a dispenser of religious goods and services or a place where people come for their weekly spiritual fix.

not a place where mature Christians come to be fed and have their needs met.

not a place where "professionals" are hired to do all the work of the church.

not a church with a "good missions program." The people are the missions program.

not about a new strategy for evangelism.

not about big programs and organizations to accomplish God's missionary purpose. This does not imply no program or organization, but that they will not drive mission. They will be used in support of people on mission.

not labeled "liberal" or "conservative" perhaps there are elements of both.