Missional Church: Outposts of the Kingdom

If we believe that the kingdom of God is “advancing forcefully” (Mt 11:12), and that we have the invitation, the privilege to take hold of it and be a part of what God is doing to transform individuals and communities (see last blog), then we will have a much clearer understanding of what a missional church really is!

Jesus’ message about the Kingdom was a message about transformation. Dallas Willard calls this “the revolution of Jesus” (Renovation of the Heart, p.14). He says that Jesus set in motion a “perpetual world revolution” that is still in process and will continue until God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

It seems that Jesus was not trying to establish a governmental, political, or even an institutional power base. Instead, he created the church to be His missional vehicle to announce and represent the kingdom of God on earth. Through the church His plan was to establish beachheads of His person, word, and power in the midst of a failing and futile humanity. The church was to bring the presence of the kingdom and its King into every corner of human life simply by a community of believers fully engaged as heirs of this kingdom. This type of church is transformational.

Willard sums it up this way. “Churches are not the kingdom of God, but are primary and inevitable expressions, outposts, and instrumentalities of the presence of the kingdom among us. They are “societies” of Jesus, springing up in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and to the furthest points on earth (Acts 1:8), as the reality of Christ is brought to bear on ordinary human life.” (p. 16).