The Mission of the Church

To the teacher: Often, adolescents and young adults in the church think of the purpose of the church in two ways: providing the structure for worship and an opportunity for fellowship. If they find more "meaningful" ways to worship or if they find that their friendship groups provide all the fellowship they desire, they often drift away from the church when their parents can no longer insist they attend or when they move away from their parental home. I often hear young people say things like "I feel closer to God when I am hiking in the mountains" or "I experience truer fellowship with my friends sitting on my porch than I do in church." This unit is designed to help the youth recognize that the church exists for many reasons and serves many purposes. Even if they don't always appreciate the style of worship, and even if they do not feel close to everyone in the congregation, when all things are considered, the mission of the church cannot be fulfilled by their circle of friends or through solitary meditation.

Often, these youth who have drifted away from the church return when they start families of their own. They come to appreciate a third purpose of the church: to nurture people, in particular children, in their faith. While this is an important piece of the role of church and many people think that this is the church's principal purpose, the story of the church found in the gospels and Acts of the Apostles describes a broader purpose.

Here are the main points that the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective makes in articles 9 and 10 about the Church. I recommend that you read the entire articles on "The Church of Jesus Christ" and "The Church in Mission," and then be able to share your own understanding and experience of the main points with the youth.

"The church is the new community of disciples sent into the world to proclaim the reign of God and to provide a foretaste of the church's glorious hope."

"Through the work of the Holy Spirit, divisions between nations, races, classes, and genders are being healed as persons from every human grouping are reconciled and united in the church."

"The church's identity as God's people of faith is sustained and renewed as members gather regularly for worship."

"Commitment to one another is shown in loving one another as God loves, in sharing material and spiritual resources, in exercising mutual care and discipline, and in showing hospitality to all."

"The church is called to live and minister as Christ lived and ministered in the world." [The apostle Paul calls the church the body of Christ. We are guided by the spirit to be his arms, legs, and voice in the world.]

"Christ has commissioned the church to be his witnesses, making disciples of all nations, baptizing them, and teaching them to observe all things he commanded."

"The church is called to witness to the reign of Christ by embodying Jesus' way in its own life and patterning itself after the reign of God. Thus it shows the world a sample of life under the lordship of Christ."

As a New Testament scholar, my own understanding of the church is grounded in Jesus' mission and proclamation of the reign of Heaven. He begins that proclamation by calling a group of twelve disciples. The number twelve is symbolic. These disciples signify the restored Israel in fulfillment of the promise of the Old Testament prophets (see for example Isaiah 35:1-2; Ezek 37:15-19; Amos 9:11, 13; Micah 7:8-11). They are called to be "fishers of people," to help all people see themselves as God's people, again in fulfillment of the promise of the prophets (Isaiah 2:2-4; 25:6-8; 27:6; 49:6). Matthew and Paul call this restored Israel the ekklesia. We translate this word with the word church, but because we think of the modern institution, we forget that when they used this word people would have understood it in the context that it was used in their own society. Ekklesia referred to a broader political assembly not simply a group assembled for worship. It was a political term to identify a people. In all likelihood, these early Christians used ekklesia to translate the Hebrew word for the congregation of the Israelites, the qahal. The church is the new people of God, the new Israel. We are to be a people called to be a "light to the nations." We are to make God's glory and sovereignty visible in this world (Matt 5:14-16). We are called to be disciples and to make disciples of all nations. While disciples most certainly confess that Jesus is Lord and that salvation comes through Jesus Christ, this is not the determinative feature of discipleship. A disciple is called to imitate Jesus, to carry his or her cross, to conduct a ministry of healing, to proclaim God's universal reign and to call people to share God's blessing with each other and with those who do not count themselves as our neighbor, but rather see themselves as our enemies and persecutors (Luke 9:1-6; Luke 10:1-24; Matt 10:5-42; Matthew 28:16-21). The word Christian, used first to describe these people in Antioch, means "little Christ" (Acts 11:26). We are to be a little Jesus working in the world, bound together in fellowship through him.

In order to explore what the mission or purpose of the Church is, in the following series of class, the youth will invite members of the congregation to come and share their experiences and understanding. I recommend that you identify and invite the following sorts of people:

1. Someone who grew up without a stable family setting for whom church provided an alternate way of living one's life and a support structure for Christian discipleship that his or her own family could not provide.

2. Someone who works in the care commission or with a local agency funded by the church that provides for the physically or mentally or socially challenged in our community.

3. Someone who has done work with a church mission agency.

4. Someone who has worked with Mennonite Disaster Services.

Session One: Preparing to Interview People about the Church

Begin by sharing your own understanding of the church based upon your reflections on the articles in Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective and your own experience. Explain why you think this unit is important. Then have the youth reflect upon their answers to the following questions. Be sure to ask clarifying questions to help them elaborate. A list of clarifying questions is provided below.

1. Have you ever complained to your parents about having to attend church and what did they said in response?

2. What role has the church played in your life so far?

3. What sorts of temptations has the church helped you to resist?

4. What sorts of things do you do that you would not do if you did not have the church to encourage you or to facilitate opportunities?

5. In what ways are you critical of the church?

6. When do you think the church is at its best?

Activity: Have the youth brainstorm all the purposes of the church that come to their mind. Write these down as they name them on flip chart paper for the guests in the coming weeks to see and to which to add.

Preparation for interviews: Share with the youth the names of the people who will be coming and the areas that they will represent. In advance of the class, put the list with a brief description on flip chart paper so they can refer to them as they do the following activity. In pairs, have the youth come up with three generic questions to ask each person and one question for each particular guest. Collect the questions. If there is time, have the youth share their questions first and write down any additional questions that come to their mind when they hear each other's questions. In advance of each session, prepared a list of questions based upon the youth's questions that will be well suited to the particular guest.

The youth may want to ask the questions that you have asked them. Here are some other suggested or example questions:

1. In what particular aspect of the church's mission do you participate through your work?

2. How does our congregation help you do this work?

3. What do you think is the church's purpose?

4. What would your life be like if you did not have the church?

5. What causes the church to stumble or lose its way?

Encourage the guests to share actual stories from their own experience.

Elaboration Questions:

What do you mean by the word ______?
Can you put that into other words?
Could you give me an example?
Why do you say that?
How did you come to have this view?
Do you think this is true for everyone?
What criteria are you using to judge or decide ______?
What are you assuming about when you say ______?
Who has influenced your understanding?
When did you come to see things this way?