The Church and Mission

Three Common beliefs of the origin of Christian Mission

1. At Pentecost - They look at mission as the mission of the Church.

The church was birthed on the day of Pentecost.
2. In the Great Commission - Matt 28:19
3. In the Incarnation - When God sent his son into the world - John
3:16 cf. Gen 3:15

Key verse: John 20:21, 22 (memorize) - "Again Jesus said to them,

"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I am sending
you. And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy
Spirit.""

"As the Father.." - Just like, similar to how the Father has sent me, I
am sending you.
"Receive the Holy Spirit.." - The triune God involved in Mission.

 Christian mission has its origin in the heart of God himself.

 The source of mission is found in the being and character of
the triune God - Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

God is a Missionary God

Gen 3:8,9 -
Two key questions in the Bible –
 "Where are you?", "Where is your brother?" - The key to
missions. Questions that man needs to answer. The first

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 shows how God came in search of man, the restore a broken
relationship.
 "Where is your brother?" - Are we like Cain who answered by
asking if he was his brother's keeper? But will we capture the
heart of God in the first step and realise that our fellowmen are
equally God's passion and desire.

Why did God choose Abraham and establish Israel? To fulfill the
promises, he made. How does he do that?

Jesus is a Missionary Savior

John1:14 - The word became flesh and dwelt among us and we

have seen his glory.
Dwelling - Living (being +doing)

Holy Spirit is a missionary Spirit -

He is also known as the sending Spirit. He is also known as the

witnessing Spirit.
Acts 13:2 - Commissioning Spirit. The continued ministry of the
apostles by the Holy Spirit. "Wait" and "Go".

Jesus' mission consisted essentially in making known and

manifesting the reality of the kingdom of God (Mt 12:28).

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What is Mission?

 Mission is the mission of God.

 Missions refers to the missionary ventures of the church.
 Missions also refers to various mission agencies or missionary
enterprises.
 A missionary is not just limited to people who go to different places
to spread God's word.

Mission of the Church

 Matt 28:18-20 - Mandate for mission

 The goal - make disciples

There is one way the church can make disciples

i. Prophetic Role
Be that Prophetic voice. In the Old Testament both prophet
and priest were mediators.
God - > Prophet - > People
People - > Priest (sacrifices/ on behalf of people/
intercession) - > God
How?
1. By creating and sustaining a reconciling community of
believers
(2 Cor 5:16-21; Col 1:21-23; Phil 2:1-11; Eph 2:1-22) -
Raise a voice against social issues - racism/ casteism -
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 1 Cor 3:13-14 - "Unholy divisions in the body of Christ
must be seen as sin and worldliness."
2. Recognizing and identifying our true enemy
Matt 10:28; Luke 12:4-5; Eph 6:12; Rom8:38,39; 1 Cor
15:20; Rev 12:9; 20:2,14
Personal sin (true enemy)/ Corporate sin
3. Renouncing the world's definition and practice of power
Matt 20:20-28; 23:1-12; Mk 9:35-37; Lk 9:46-48; Jn
13:1-17; Phil 2:1-11
Jesus' teaching on power compared to the "people of
this world".
The church should renounce the gospel of power and
encourage the gospel of peace.
4. When it works for justice and righteousness
Ps 82:1-4; Am 5:21-24; Lk 3:10-14; 4:18-21; Matt 11:4-
6; Eph 5:11
Compromise for the sake of peace

The Nature of Christian Mission in the book of Acts

Acts 4:29,33;8:4

What did Christ's witness mean to them?

1. Preaching the Gospel

They were verbal witnesses of the gospel. Act 4:29; 8:4 - uses
the word evangelism. Proclamation - Acts 2:38; 3:19 -
Proclamation was always followed by a call or response for
repentance as well as faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The call for

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 repentance is what makes evangelism complete. Acts 8:22;
26:20; 10:43; 13:39; 16:31
2. Demonstrating the power of the Gospel
In Three ways:
i. Through miraculous signs - Acts 2:7; 3:10; 8:6 - The people
were amazed.
ii. Through true fellowship - Community of believers - Acts
2:44-46; 11:27-30
iii. Through their transformed lives - 4:32-35
3. New Disciples were added to the church
The whole church was involved in preaching. Acts 2:41; 8:12,
38; 9:18; 10:47-48
4. Planting New Churches
 Acts 13:1; 14:21-23
 The apostles understood the scope of the Christian mission -
the ends of the earth.

MISSIONARY STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY PAUL

His actions were based on human observation and experience. He

was flexible in his approach to different contexts and situations. He
wasn't rigid in his plans.

1. Paul was involved in Personal Evangelism and Discipling

2. The heart of Paul's missionary strategy was church planting - Acts
14:21-23 - He planted churches wherever he went.

3. Leadership training - 2 Tim 2:2

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 4. He had a team ministry - Acts 20:4 - There were atleast 7 people.
He never worked alone. He took Luke to Lystra, He took Mark or
Barnabas at other teams. We should never try to stand alone.
Accountable to one another.

5. His ministry was very practical - 1 Cor 9:19-23 - "All things to all
men".
 Preached to Jews from the OT. Acts 13:16-43.
 To the Gentiles, he spoke to their contexts and even quoted
from their literature.

6. He used power encounter - Acts 19 - He met the people at the

very point of their need. Paul had a global vision to reach the
unreached.

Towards a Pentecostal Mission Paradigm

What is the Third force in Theology of Mission? This is the work of the
Holy Spirit.

Identifying the Third Force

People relate the third force to the 3rd world. The mission in the 3rd
world (South Asia). The third force is actively involved in the Third
World. Two things about the work of the Holy Spirit in the 3rd world
1. The power of the Holy Spirit is actively seen in mission -
Transformational mission (physical, spiritual and social).
Characteristics of Holistic Mission,
2. The power encounters

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 Characteristics of Pentecostal Mission. 90% of people come to
Christ because they experienced the power of God in some
area of their life.

How do we sustain people in the faith after they've encountered

the power of God?

Principles of Pentecostal Mission Strategy

1. The Planting of Indigenous Churches

a. Self Propagating
b. Self-Government
c. Self-Support Churches
2. Mobilization of the Laity in Witness
Self-propagation. It is the responsibility of the leaders to motivate
the believers to participate in the great commission. Therefore,
we say that every member is a missionary. Encourage the
people
3. Evangelization of the masses
The mobilization of the believers for witness and making the
church self-propagating are the basic foundations for
evangelizing any area. Network Evangelization - Preparing
professionals to evangelize in their own fields.
4. The Development of Spiritual Leadership
 Comes through training people for effective ministry
5. Spiritual Gifts
6. The Supernatural power of the Holy Spirit manifested through
Power Encounters

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 70% of the world is animistic in their faith. Popular Hinduism
believes a lot in Bhaktism and Shaktism - the power. Power
encounters play a very vital role. God has given us gifts. You are
unstoppable! You've got the power! Go and use it!

Characteristics of the Pentecostal Missionary Church

1. Mission-oriented preaching and teaching - Rom 16:26.

In order to become a missionary church, the life of the church
must be grounded in a Biblical theology of mission. This
theology refers to:
a. The missionary character of God
b. The missionary nature of the scripture
c. The missionary task of the church.
2. Lively Worship - "Worship in Spirit and Truth" - John 12:32; Acts
13:2ff; 1 Cor 14:23-25
3. Dependence on the presence and power of the Holy Spirit - Acts 2;
1 Cor 14:25 - There can be no true mission where Holy Spirit is not
invited or welcome. The church was born on the day of Pentecost.
He commissioned people in Acts 13:2ff. A true Pentecostal church
gives priority to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
4. Aggressive Prayer - Acts 4:24-31 - There's a close relationship
between prayer, motivation, and power for mission. A praying church
is a living church. A living church is a growing church.
5. Discipling the believers - Acts 2:42ff. Two things happen when
people are discipled
Spiritual growth and maturity takes place - When they grow and
become mature,they participate in the great commission.

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 Discipleship is the foundation to numerical growth and
expansion of the church.
6. Genuine love and unity in the church - John 13:35; John 17:21
This is the mark of deep fellowship with God and genuine
participation in the life of the Spirit.
7. Mobilization of the Laity - Preparing lay people for the ministry.
Eph 4:12; 1 Cor 12:7ff; Rom 12:6ff. The gifts of the Spirit has been
given to the whole body of Christ not only to the pastor or the
minister. Therefore ministry is for the whole church and not only for a
special class of people called clergy. Priesthood of all believers -
ministry is not confined to the clergy.
8. Supporting Missions - Generous giving -
Three ingredients for a missionary church - People, money and
prayer. Few can go, Many can be sent, but all should pray.
9. Imparting missionary vision and holding regular evangelistic
programs. Acts 3:1; 8:4; 17:16; 28:31

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