Intentional Missional - Focus on the Basics and Love People

By Amy Hamlin

Okay, so how did you do this last week? Did you accept your mission and get uncomfortable? To be precise, did you follow what God commands us to do? Did you allow His Spirit to guide you through the ins and outs? Didn’t do so hot, huh? Well, no one said this would be easy. Continue to work on the task that God has put before you (aka last week’s mission), as we now move our focus to the basics of being intentionally missional and loving people.

So, what are the basics of being intentionally missional? I know what I think the ins and outs of being intentionally missional are, but doing a little research never hurts. So, once again, I must thank Google for the advances that allow me to look up information in an instant to gather more facts and figures than I could possibly get to in a life time.

I found that everyone has his or her own interpretation of what the basics of missional communities are. Not surprised? Well, me either. However one of the Blog’s I came across was written by Ed Stetzer. Stetzer’s primary role is Vice President of Research and Ministry Development for LifeWay Christian Resources. He wrote an article titled, “A Missional Church”, which gives a broad interpretation of basic intentional missions. Of course, there are more than the things just listed below (according to Ed and all of the articles I came across), but being intentionally missional is certainly:

Incarnational: Missional churches are deeply connected to the community. The church is not focused on its facility, but is focused on living, demonstrating, and offering biblical community to a lost world.

Indigenous: Missional churches are indigenous. Churches that are indigenous have taken root in the soil and reflect, to some degree, the culture of their community. An indigenous church looks different from Seattle to Senegal to Singapore.

Intentional: Missional churches are intentional about their methodologies. There are scripturally commanded requirements about church, preaching, discipline, baptism and many other biblical practices.

Stetzer goes on to say that, “a church is not missional because it is contemporary or traditional. A church becomes missional when it remains faithful to the Gospel message while simultaneously contextualizing its ministry (to the degree it can) so that the Gospel can engage the worldview of the hearers.” Remaining faithful to the Gospel sounds like a great idea. Let’s look there. The words of the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 talks about the Spirit’s call for us to be missional in culture.

¹⁹ Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. ²⁰ To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. ²¹ To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. ²² To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. ²³ I do all this for the sake of the gospel that I may share in its blessings.

So that leads us into the “loving people” part. Paul’s mission was to lead lost people to Jesus. One of the Blog’s I came across was written by Ben Williams (not sure what his Bio is, but I like what he had to say). He says that “a good missionary does EVERYTHING (short of sinning) to bring people to a relationship with Christ.” Did you catch the key phrase in that last sentence? Okay, well go back and read that last sentence. Do you see it now? A good missionary does EVERYTHING (short of sinning) to bring people to a relationship with Christ. This does not mean we need to bring people to a brick and mortar structure so they can have a relationship with Jesus. It means we need to be about building relationships with non-Christians in order to have Spirit-led opportunities to share the Good News with them-meeting them where they are.

Okay, so that got me thinking. WDJD (What Did Jesus Do)? Jesus' approach was to go where people were. He traveled far and wide. He hung out with the poor, the outcast, the lonely. Sinners, prostitutes, tax collectors, Samaritans, women caught in adultery, lepers, cheats, thieves, drunkards, idolaters, and murderers. The unclean. He went to went places like weddings, parties, and religious festival celebrations. What is the common thread? PEOPLE! He loved people. Jesus didn’t just invite people to the temple. He didn’t wait for people to come to him. Rather, he frequently had dealings with people who happened to intersect with His life as they went about their daily lives.

Stetzer also wrote that, “’When Jesus said, "As the Father has sent Me, so send I you," (John 20:21) that was not to a select group of cross-cultural missionaries. Instead, that was a commission to our churches, you and me. We have a sender (Jesus), a message (the Gospel), and a people to whom we are sent (real people with whom we intersect in the course of our everyday lives). It is worth the effort to go beyond our personal preferences and to proclaim the Good News of a Risen Savior in whatever context we find ourselves. That's being intentionally missional.”’

So, the journey continues.

Your mission for this week, if you choose to accept it, is to be an intentional 24/7 presence within your daily activities.