Missions is Here and Now

I guess I can understand how we ended up in a place where missions is understood as something you do when you go to another country. Missions is perhaps the most important thing a church participates in, but it is too often misunderstood. Fortunately things are changing.

Now we talk about being missional. Of course being missional is simply being a missionary wherever you are. It is about time we begin to change how we talk about the mission of the church. It is unfortunate there has ever been a time when missions was considered something you do in other countries.

We must continue to work on changing not only the perception of missions, the language we use to talk about mission, but most importantly the attitude people have about missions. Being missional has a prerequisite of understanding that the mission is every one's mission! It is the responsibility of the church to do missions every day wherever they are. This attitude change must start with two and three year olds and it must be hammered home in the teenage years. God's mission is every Christ follower's mission.

I wonder what kind of perception we create about the mission of the church? What do the words we use communicate? What to our ministry events communicate about missions and being missional?