Ecclesiology & Missiology – Which comes first?

For decades, if not centuries, in the life on the Church of England our ‘Ecclesiology’ has driven and defined our ‘Missiology’! You may be reading this thinking what on earth is the vicar on about, have I been reading the dictionary for fun!

Our ‘Ecclesiology’ is our understanding of the Church, if you ask the question ‘What is the church?’ your answer is your ecclesiology. For decades, if not centuries, our understanding of the church has been of an institution that has been focussed on a weekly gathering of the faithful in a particular style of building and that gathering has been led by professional ministers

That in turn has led to our understanding of mission or our ‘Missiology’. That has focussed on a message that has said ‘come to us,’ where mission has been based on what happens in a particular building and where the professional ministers have been the focus for that mission. Over recent years that has developed but often has still focussed on attracting people to come to our building. We have learnt to do missional events but the hub and the heart of all that happens has remained what we do for an hour in a particular building on a Sunday morning.

I want to suggest that it is time that we changed and that our ‘Missiology’ shaped our ‘Eccleciology’ rather than the other way round. That the importance of reaching out with the love and life of Christ to all in our local community starts to shape how we view what the church is, how the church lives, when and where the church meets and what the church looks like.

This means that our mission cannot be restricted to the chosen few, rather that all Christians, however old or young, however experienced or inexperienced, however confident or fearful, all are involved in the mission of God. It means that our focus cannot be restricted to an hour on a Sunday morning but the mission of God effects every hour of every day, wherever we are and whatever we’re doing.

It means that the most fruitful ideas and visions for mission are going to come from you and not me! It means that the times we meet together as Christian family during the week as just as important (if not more important!) than the time on a Sunday morning. It means that there will be many who will be part of the Church community of St Pauls who never come to a Sunday service, but are just as much a part of our church community as those who come on a Sunday and aren’t involved during the week. It will mean that discipleship becomes far more important than membership or attendance at a service.

What does this mean to me you may be asking? I have three questions for you. Question one: Who would you like to become a Christian? Question two: How can you share your faith with them? Question three: How can I help you?

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