Joel Hogan

About 20 years ago, in a class on church growth at Fuller Graduate School of World Missions, as it was then named, I heard Dr. Peter Wagner say that the most effective strategy on earth for growing the church is to plant new churches.  It still is.

Ministry "with" involves mutual, side-by-side participation, a relationship of trust, and an affirmation of each other's contributions toward achieving a common goal.  Each of these features of doing ministry "with" are challenging because each defies the norms and patterns of our history.  However, when we step away from ministry "to" and "for" and into ministry "with," we look back and wonder how we ever got a fresh breath of air in our old, sealed bubble.

Of course, everything hinges on how you define "maturity."  In my thinking, the self-propagating criterion is at least, if not more, important in determining "maturity" than the self-sustaining and self-governing criteria.  Self-propagation needs to be at the forefront from the very beginning, the other two can take more time.  In other words, self-propagation is more a DNA thing whereas self-sustainability and self-governance are more developmental issues.

Thanks, Wendy, for sharing the Acts 1:8 portfolio idea.  I like it.  It is informative that the mention of outreach efforts in the text of Acts 1:8 is not presented in a sequential way but all are connected by "kai" or "and."  That speaks of having a complete portfolio, from the beginning. 

I am no expert on movements, but I think that the components common to movements are a sticky idea or goal, broad grassroots connections, a critical mass and open communication.  Conversely, as these components weaken, a movement fizzles out and/or becomes a limited program.

Thanks, Rick, for a good piece about the problem of perceived "superiority" in cross-cultural partnerships.  It takes intentionality on the part of both partners to erase this perception, or better yet, to avoid it in the first place.

You are right in stating that the word "missional" is understood in a variety of ways.  When I think of the word "missional" I think about Acts 1:8 and I also think about the engagement of laity.  Acts 1:8 relates that we will be witnesses in our Jerusalems, and in all our Judeas and Samarias, and to the ends of the earth.  The conjunction that connects each of these locations is "and."  In other words, being a witness only in our Jerusalem is insufficient.  The Great Commission commands us to make disciples of all nations.  Being missional, therefore, involves being witnesses locally, nearby, and far away.

Moreover, a missional church, to me, is one which engages the body in mission.  A church that sends many missionaries is not necessarily a missional church.  To support "clergy" or "professional" missionaries in being a witness to the world is very good, but not an excuse for lack of engagement of every member in the call to be spirit-filled witnesses in the contexts in which God places them.   A church that equips and engages as many members as possible in the task of mission (locally, nearby and far away) is a missional church.

When preaching or teaching about missions, I often ask people to tell me how many missionaries there are in their church.  Answers usually reflect the number of overseas and/or domestic missionaries, working for a mission organization, that are supported by their church.  I then ask them how many people are in their church.  I then continue by saying that, biblically, if the number of members isn't an exact correllation to the number of missionaries in their church, they have not properly understood the Great Commission.

 I have been collecting questions for the past 15 years, because I have a tendency to talk more than listen.  Asking questions helps me to listen better.  However, any old question will not suffice; the art of asking simple but profound questions focuses everyone on thinking about what really matters. 

Surrender.