Missio Dei

Our pastor is doing a series around the mission of the church. In light of necessary budget cuts, the church is reevaluating our mission statement. Unfortunately, when the economy recesses, giving levels decrease, and thus, churches can’t spend as much. It’s the negative side of “trickle down” economics.

While I am fully behind our church’s mission, I got to thinking about missions statements. Every church has a unique and individualized statement. You will see them plastered on signs, bulletins, website, walls, etc. However, couldn’t every Christian church simply say, “We are about the Missio Dei.”

“Missio Dei” is Latin for “Mission of God,” and speaks about the work God is already doing in the world. The individual believer, local church, and denomination need not worry about what ministry they can do. Instead, the prayer becomes, “What is God already doing in me, my neighbor, this city, and the world.” Secondly, we ask, “Where can I join into your work in progress?”

A shift to a Missio Dei model for ministry could help struggling churches to reconnect with their community and local neighborhoods. The model would help large churches with budget issues to really focus their work. The inherent success of the Missio Dei lies in Christians leaving behind their desires for ministry and taking up what God is interested in doing. The model also brings balance. God does not work frantically. He is paced, focused, and takes breaks (see the Creation narrative in Genesis).

“It is not the church that has a mission of salvation to fulfill in the world; it is the mission of the Son and the Spirit through the Father that includes the church.”
-Jurgen Moltmann, The Church in the Power of the Spirit