As we move into this second month of the year, I return from Lombard, Illinois having spent a week considering what it means to be a “missional” church. I was talking with a small group yesterday evening about this concept. I want to point out one trait of this dialogue.

Being a “missional” church is not a program, it is a mindset. The conversation begins with God. God, by his very nature, is a sending God. He has sent people throughout history to do his work in the world. He sent his Son to redeem His people. He sends us as representatives do do his work in the world. We, therefore, operate in the mindset of a sent people. We are not here for us, we are here for the world. We are not here to serve us, we are here to serve the world.

We are not beginning a new program, a new service, nor a new initiative. We are simply asking God to form our minds to His mind. We are seeking God’s heart in all we do. We will do this through our worship together, our praying together, and our conversing about what God is doing in us and in the world.

We continue this conversation about who we are as a church. We ask God for His direction, His leading, His power to do what He is calling us to do. Over the next several months, we are hoping to clarify what we have discovered. Please continue to pray that this continual conversation would prompt us in the directions that God would have us go.