"Mission-Minded" vs. "Missions-Minded"

Over the years it has become popular in evangelical churches to speak of being on mission or being mission minded.  We work hard to incorporate the word “mission” into our purpose statements, our slogans and a few creative congregations have worked it into their church name.  We have mission pastors, mission committees, take mission trips, and participate in mission projects.  This leads me to the question, “Are we really mission-minded or are we just missions-minded?”  Before we answer this question, we need to answer another one, “What’s the difference?”

In Planting Missional Churches Ed Stetzer (B&H Publishing, 2016) defines the terms like this.  Mission defines the goal or purpose.  It refers to the work God has been purposing and accomplishing throughout eternity.  It is the reason for which the church was sent into the world.  Missions relates to the intentional activities in which the church is engaged to create a Christian presence where none exists.  In other words, missions are the actions undertaken to accomplish the mission.

The be mission-minded is to be focused on the mission of God (Missio Dei), which is the advancement of God’s kingdom on earth through the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is the driving force of the church.  All projects and activities are planned, executed, and evaluated in light of this mission.  Being missions-minded is very similar in that the Missio Dei is often the primary focus of the projects and activities undertaken by the church, but there is a difference.

Missions-minded churches are engaged in missional pursuits like mission trips, local mission projects and financial support of missionary efforts.  These endeavors are developed for the purpose of promoting the Gospel.  The difference between the two is in how these activities are evaluated.  Missions-minded churches determine success by how well a project or activity is executed; mission-minded churches determine success by how those activities or projects further the mission of God.

Over the years we have been involved in a wide variety of mission project and trips. We’ve done construction, food banks, debris removal, summer camps, yard work, and after-school tutoring, just to name a few.  If the tasks were completed or the objectives achieved, it was considered a success.  Even if we couldn’t see how it furthered God’s mission we would say, “at least we planted seeds.”  While planting seeds is certainly important, it may have become a way to deflect attention from the fact that we are more focused on the activity than the mission.

In the end, the tasks we’ve done, the activities in which we have engaged and the projects we’ve completed won’t matter.  What will matter is how they’ve furthered the mission of God.  Success will be counted in changed lives, not deeds done.  It will be measured by people surrendering to the lordship of Jesus Christ and growing in their relationship with Him.  We can be busy in missions and completely miss the mission.  If the church is going to be truly mission-minded we must keep our minds on the mission.

In His Service,