(Monroe)
Dan Kimball, in his book They Like Jesus But Not the Church, understands the true church as not being a “missionary-sending institution” but a “missional people.” What does this word “missional” mean? Kimball writes:
- Being missional means that the church sees itself as being missionaries, rather than having a missions department, and that we see ourselves as missionaries right where we live.
- Being missional means that we see ourselves as representatives of Jesus “sent” into our communities, and that the church aligns everything it does with the missio dei (mission of God).
- Being missional means we see the church not as a place we go only on Sunday, but as something we are throughout the week.
- Being missional means that we understand we don’t “bring Jesus” to people but that we realize Jesus is active in culture and we join him in what he is doing.
- Being missional means we are very much in the world and engaged in culture but not conforming to the world.
- Being missional means we serve our communities, and that we build relationships with the people in them, rather than seeing them as evangelisitic targets.
- Being missional means being all the more dependent on Jesus and the Spirit through prayer, the Scriptures, and each other in community.
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