Newbigin’s conclusion was that what we need is a missionary encounter with Western culture. We need to think like missionaries. That argument started a conversation which led to the missional church movement.
But there can be a gap between how much we’d like our congregations to be missional, and where they currently are.
“What will it take to get every member of your church excited about sharing the gospel?”
What will it take to get every member of your church excited about sharing the gospel? What will it take to increase your church’s mission temperature?
There is one often overlooked resource for strengthening local evangelism that nearly every church already has: relationships with global mission partners.
Learn From a Missionary, Think Like a Missionary
The missionary task is fundamentally the same wherever you do it: our mission is to demonstrate and declare the gospel to people who don’t know Jesus. To do this well in any context, we need to understand the people in front of us.
Australia is one of the most multicultural countries in the world. About 30% of Australian residents were born overseas.
But regardless of where people were born, the pace of cultural change in Australian society means that the cultural gaps between your church and your local suburb or town are probably growing. The need to reach Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, and apathetic agnostics is not abstract, it is your neighbourhood.
“Cross-cultural communication is a skill that is needed more than ever in the Australian context.”
Consequently, cross-cultural communication is a skill that is needed more than ever in the Australian context. This skill has been developed and refined through the experiences and practices of missionaries for centuries
I believe that if we listen well to what is happening around the world as the gospel is proclaimed, we will be able to do gospel work here much better.
Missionaries can help us reach the diverse Australian context in which we live more effectively.
More Than a Mission Budget
When measuring a church’s mission climate, many set goals for financial support for global partners. Ten percent is often held up as the gold standard of a healthy mission heart.
But mission budget alone won’t spur us on for evangelism. When financials become our primary contribution, mission can effectively become outsourced. Our churches can become places where we delegate the Great Commission to someone else. Sharing the gospel and making disciples is seen as someone else’s job.
The alternative is an integrated mission culture that sees God’s mission at the centre of church life, influencing every element of it.
“A healthy missional church sees itself both as sent to share the gospel in its local community, and active in sending the gospel to all nations.”
From this perspective, every part of the church is committed to making disciples both in the local community and among the nations.
A healthy missional church sees itself both as sent to share the gospel in its local community, and active in sending the gospel to all nations.
