When we hear the word “mission,” we immediately think about crossing the globe to spread the Word of God, and we feel helpless. We find ourselves trapped in lives and schedules and commitments that are difficult to change, so we leave the “mission work” for those who do it vocationally.
But what does it actually mean to be “missional”? The term “mission” comes from the Latin mitto, which means “to send.” God is a sending God, the One who sends all Christians to live in praise and glory of God. Ephesians 1:8b-12 describes our calling this way: “With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of this glory.”
Many have tried to define the sacred task of being a missionary. Carl Braaten, a Lutheran Theologian, for example, wrote, “Mission is understood as the function of the Kingdom of God in the world’s history.” W. O. Carver wrote that “Missions mean the extensive realization of God’s redemptive purpose in Christ by means of human messengers.” These claims certainly encompass what it is to be a “missional” Christian, but my favorite definition is one by friend and former professor of Christian Mission, Dr. Isam E. Ballenger: “Mission is participation in the Trinity. Thus, it cannot be ‘defined,’ for definitions will be insufficient; mission breaks the bounds of any limitation. Mission is thus not a program of the church but is fundamental to the nature of the church. It is the life of the church. It begins with doxology and flows from blessings received.”
According to Dr. Ballenger, we are all capable of missions at all points in our lives, wherever we may live. When we are in Christ, missions is not something we go somewhere else to do; it becomes a part of who we are. Whether we are doctors, lawyers, teachers, storekeepers, fast food workers, stay-at-home caregivers, retired, or unemployed, being “mission-minded” is foundational to the Christian life. In this way, we are all missionaries.
