Missional Faith Communities

When did we start going wrong with the mission of Jesus, to go out and evangelize to the world and make disciples? We went out into the world and tried to take Western Christianity and imprint it throughout the world in total disregard for their cultures and their ways of life. We try to find ways to “Christianize” them make them more like us rather than reaching them where they are.


I had the pleasure of listening to missionaries recently who talked about this concept. They asked to remain anonymous, but I wanted to provide you some things that they talked about that they do to make missional faith communities.

Use you gifts to reach them. God has gifted us with something. It could be that we can dance, or do art. We may have been gifted with the ability to do sports or teaching or even bean counting. The point is that we are all gifted in something and in a missional faith community; we have to find ways to take our gifts and what we do and turn it around for the glory of God and to express what it means to be like Jesus to others.

Live Amongst Them. Don’t try to make them look western. Instead try to understand their culture, their ways of dress, speak their local dialect, understand their local music and arts and find ways to incorporate that into you missional faith communities and outreach. Don’t forsake local values and customs; they can be powerful if used properly to win souls for Christ.

Find People of Peace. Find people who are spirituality open and influential in the community. Even if they are not Christians, if they practice God’s truth in the real world that gives you a sign that the Holy Spirit is at work and if you can bring that spiritual leader over to the Lord’s side, they can have tremendous influence over others in the community.

Following Jesus. Think about what Jesus did. He lived and preached among the people. He went out to the poor, the meek, the hurt, the dirty and downtrodden. He was among them doing something. Not preaching to them or standing from on high in an ivy tower pointing out what they should or should not do. Same holds true with the missional community model. You have to live with them and understand them and show them the light in Jesus. You have to be following Jesus before you can convince them to be following Jesus and they have to see it happening.

Sharing Truth. It is good to live amongst people and serve them, but sooner or later you will have to share the truth. Share stories from the Bible with people. It will come up in day to day conversation, most people are not going to sit down and ask you to tell them some stories of the Bible. Stories are powerful and can really make a difference in the lives of people. Stories need to be done in a contextual way though, you don’t preach King James to them, you use words that they understand and can relate to. Contextualization is extremely important in being mission. It is a way to speak the truth in a way that they understand.

Building Hospital Community. A lot of places that you go and visit out in the non-westernized worlds are built around community. Decisions are made at the community level, not as individuals. In order for people to engage Jesus and explore the Gospel it is best done in the context of community. Where community is a place of discovery where they can explore and discover for themselves the truths of Christ. That also means that you accept people where they are in their lives. You have to welcome people into the community regardless of their background, beliefs, addictions, or what they wear or even if they have tattoos.

I will leave you with this thought about how they decide if something is worthwhile:

1. Is there an opportunity to share the gospel?

2. Is it meeting the need of the local community?

3. Is this really building community?

This was an enriching conversation and discussion with the missionaries. They use their unique talents and gifts to reach people where they are. If they can do it, shouldn’t we?