Why Is Church on a Journey?
Missional church is definitely a trendy title that is everywhere these days. The fact that we are obligated to label church buildings, missional, has since the beginning of creation been a little strange to me. come on, shouldnt all bodies of Christ be missional in their very core? it should be expected from a church, at its very core, desire to meet their culture and city with the message of Jesus as a missionary would in a different country? Isnt what the places of worship is challenged to do in the great commission in Matthew 28:19? Our own place of origin requires this kind of church. Churches in north Austin is slowly moving to what Jesus instructed in Scripture.
Christ gives the challenge in Acts 1:8 saying, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 justifies this subject as, right before Jesus Christ rises to Heaven, He sends the disciples on a journey that would begin right in their own community. He begins with their area of Jerusalem, and then stretches the call to the many parts of the creation.
As Christians, we are not urged to privacy, but to be missional people who are aggressively going out and finding communities right where they are with the story of Christ. We have noticed this throughout history: God moved Abraham on a mission to exit his city and his people and go to the town that God would show him (Gen. 12:1), God moved Moses on a mission to restore an enslaved people and lead them to independence (Exodus 3:8-10), God moved Jesus on a story to earth to reconcile all things to Himself through the death of Jesus (Colossians 1:20). And now God is sending believers on a story to engage neighborhoods, cities, peoples, and even nations with the story of Christ(Matt. 28:19 Mark 6:7 Luke 10:1 John 20:21 Acts 1:8). If we abandon this urge and continue to see the bodies of Christ like a private country club ” requesting that people straighten up their abilities, pay their dues, and walk to our church God will continue His exploration without us.
