“Church-Centered Missions”

There are many different types of missions. Some examples include the “Building a Water Well” type, the “Soup Kitchen” approach, the Christian school model, and the “Let’s Repair the Broken Church Building” mission. May the Lord richly bless these endeavors, but they’re missing something—namely, the local church. Here’s the question I want to ask and answer: what is the goal of missions? Here’s my view that I’ll explain and defend below: the goal of missions is to plant churches across the world.

This idea starts with the basic realization about what Christ promises to preserve. There’s only one institution on earth that will never fail. That institution is the church. “I will build my church [not my school, not my summer camp, nor my Bible-translation agency], and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it,” Jesus says in Matt 16:18. Governments will fail, Christian radio stations will close, and Christian colleges will shut. The church will last. The importance of church-centered missions is also seen in how the NT is shaped by local churches. Book of Romans? Written to a church. Revelation? Written for seven churches. Book of Acts? It documents the explosion of the local church. Also look at Paul’s missionary pattern. He travels throughout the Greco-Roman world “appoint[ing] elders . . . in every church” (Acts 14:23). In fact, the local church also serves as the sending agency for Paul & Barnabas (Acts 13:3). The best argument for a church-shaped mission is what Christ says, “Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them . . . [and] teaching them” (Matt 28:19–20). How does this occur? Through the local church.

Too often, Christians see the local church as a distraction from global missions. “The real work,” the thinking goes, “is to just share the gospel.” Ok. But what are they supposed to do after they come to faith? Who’s going to baptize, disciple, and care for them? What do they do on Sunday mornings? Who’s going to instruct them how to grow in their faith? These aren’t unimportant questions. Missions without the local church is like a boat without a rudder—it might get far, but it’s directionless. May the Lord bless our church in establishing other churches—both near and far.

Pastor Chance Sumner