'Mission' ?

What is the first image that comes into your mind when you hear the word "Mission?"

Do you picture a rescue mission for homeless people in a decaying neighborhood, or a 19th century missionary in a pith helmet and khaki shorts?  Perhaps you think of a mission statement which your church labored to produce and now is struggling to implement (or has forgotten about).

The Wikipedia article on missio Dei (The mission of God) says, "Mission is not primarily an activity of the church, but an attribute of God. God is a missionary God."

As I write we are in the season of Advent, in which we celebrate the fact that the Son of God came into our world on a mission.  He was sent and the Church participates in that "sentness."  Living out that mission requires constant renewal.

Can a network like this contribute the reinvigorating our participation on God's mission?