We like to talk about mission these days. A lot.

Many of the books, conferences, and sermons I have been exposed to over the past few years have discussed, defined, or cajoled me toward mission. You might say I am a bit of a mission junky. You see, I am not just a consumer of this missional talk, but I am also a distributor. I am passionate about seeing the church embrace the mission of God.

But with all this talk of the mission, it is important that we keep some things straight. Here are some thoughts for you and your church as you dive into the missional conversation.

Mission Is God’s “Thing”

Since Adam sinned in the garden, God has been on a mission to redeem his creation. From the first promise to crush the serpent in Genesis 4, God has made it clear that he intends to reconcile the world to himself through Jesus (2 Corinthians 5). This is the mission of God that we are talking about when we talk of mission in the church today. This is the arc of scripture and it is the arc of history. When we are reconciled to God through Jesus, we are saved into a story that is much bigger than our own.

So when we talk of the mission, we must do so with the understanding that it is God’s mission. He is working out redemptive history as he invites us as the church to participate in this work of reconciliation (Matthew 28:19, John 20:21). Remembering that this is God’s mission reminds us who is in charge and who should receive the glory at the end of the day.

Mission Is Our Joy

Effective participation in the mission of God comes out of a joy and love for Jesus, not an obligation to a church program or even a rousing pep talk. Missional activity that is borne out of duty betrays itself as insincerity. But when we are moved by the overwhelming, undeserved grace of God, we are compelled by love and gratitude to share this grace with others.

My neighbors know the difference.

If you, your community, or your church is struggling with missional effectiveness, start with your passion and love for Christ. Kindle this relationship first and let it propel you to share it with your neighbor.

Mission Is about Jesus

This may seem like an obvious statement, but the hearts of men are fickle and easily distracted. It is easy to make the mission about church growth, ministry success, or even missional credibility. We are prone to such distractions and must fight to maintain Jesus and his glory as the central focus of mission.

We endeavor to glorify him by proclaiming the truth of his gospel and calling others to worship him as their one and only God because he is worthy to be worshiped.

Don’t Lose Sight

When we lose sight of Jesus, the mission is in peril. Not that God won’t be faithful in accomplishing what he has set out to do—he won’t be thwarted by our faithlessness.

Rather, the mission God has given our church to accomplish is in danger. God will complete the mission. But, he may just use someone else to do it. See the story of the church in Ephesus, Revelation 2:1–7. Let’s not fall into a similar situation, but instead always maintaining Jesus as the focus and purpose of mission.

Mission Is an Invitation

One of the coolest perks of being adopted into the family of God is the invitation to participate in his mission of reconciliation. This should really blow us away more than it does. We have been given the opportunity to participate in miracles. We have been invited to see the spiritually dead rise to new life. We get to see the hand of God touch the hearts of men.

So the question remains, will we join him on his mission? This seems like an easy invitation to accept, but as a said before, the hearts of men are fickle.

Don’t Forget and Don’t Succumb

When we forget that it is God’s mission, we succumb to the fear of men. We don’t act because we lack faith in our God.

When we try to participate in the mission of God out of obligation, we succumb to apathy. We become unmotivated by the yoke of law.

When we forget Jesus as the center of mission, we succumb to indifference. We fail to see the worthiness of Jesus to be worshiped and we pursue success over the exaltation of our Savior.

Each of these pitfalls can lay a deadly blow to the effectiveness of mission in your life and the church. The good news is that they are avoidable as we take our daily bread of the Scriptures and continually remind ourselves of the wondrous gospel. When we remember that the mission is about Jesus, the others follow, our joy comes from recognizing his grace and we cannot forget that this is the purpose of God.

Join and Go

As you consider where God has invited you to participate in his mission, consider these thoughts and walk in faith. Don’t just remain in the conversation—join the mission.

Jesus says to the disciples, of whom we are spiritual descendants, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (John 20:21).

Where have you been sent?