Churches and denominations often appear to settle for a primary
objective that is less than what the apostles recommended. If we are
honest, most church leaders acknowledge that our institutional sense of
purpose is inconsistent, at best. In some places the purpose of the
church is quite narrowly defined, and in others the definition is so
broad that it seems meaningless.
People wonder, “Is this all
there is to the church?” It’s a good question, and George Hunter, a
longtime keen observer of the church, demonstrates the answer. Hunter’s
richly descriptive explanation of the “missional church” will convince
leaders and students to recover a clear and consistent sense of purpose.
As we are the stewards of “the faith once delivered to the
saints,” so we are the heirs of the mission once entrusted to the
apostles and their movements. The church’s mission, locally and
globally, is or should be its main business. The “real church” is an
“ecclesia”—God’s “called out” people whom the Lord shapes into an
“apostolate”—and “sends out” to be publicly present in the world—but not
of it. This mission is a serving, witnessing, inviting outreach to all
people.
