How does a missional ministry 'work'? Missional is simply a term to describe "how to be" the church rather than "doing" church. It is a lifestyle, not a program. It is being the hands, mouth, and feet of Jesus wherever I am, and not a a part or compartment of my life in which I engage in ministry.
Today I had a fantastic time with a student over lunch. C.J. told me of a girl named Tabitha whom she had three classes with last semester. She had a lab group with her and talked with her almost daily about life and sought to genuinely be her friend. Their friendship eventually grew and deepened as C.J. would have her over for meals to her apartment and they would talk and laugh together. Turns out that Tabitha had never been to a church service in her entire life, and since C.J. regularly went, it was natural that Tabitha would go with her. That first experience drew a lot of questions and curiosity along with the comment that it all seemed like a "celebration". C.J. was there for Tabitha in helping her with school, in hanging out with her, and when her boyfriend broke up with her, C.J. cried with Tabitha. Tabitha says C.J. is her only true and genuine friend in the world.
Someday I am sure Tabitha will come to have Jesus as her best friend along with C.J. Being a "missional" Christian does not mean that you wear a 'put Jesus first' bracelet on your wrist, have spiritual bumper stickers on your car, or yell Bible verses through a bullhorn. What it means is an invitation of another person into your life. Allowing people into what we are already doing, and entering into their lives as well, is the opportunity for a relationship. And it is through relationship that another can see Jesus and how much he means to me. This doesn't suggest that I have my life all put together to impress someone, it is just a willingness to journey with another through the stuff we all face on a daily basis. When Christ really means something to me, it comes out in my actions and my words.
Will you invite someone into your life who does not know God?
Are you focused on "doing" things for God, or "being" a Christian wherever you are?
Can you let God transform the things you do on a daily basis into opportunities for spiritual encounters with others?
How about praying toward the end of being a "missional" Christian, and mentoring and modeling to students how relationships work?
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