Strategic Mission: Welcome to the family

Integration into a local worshipping community

The moment of coming to faith in Jesus Christ is the most precious and important event of your life.

Mission doesn’t end there though.

Too many baby Christians are lost because they never really find a home.

As Joel Osteen said:

“You can be committed to Church but not committed to Christ, but you cannot be committed to Christ and not committed to church.”

Dwight L. Moody said

“Church attendance is as vital to a disciple as a transfusion of rich, healthy blood to a sick man.”

I love that while Fusion is a Christian Mission organisation, we are very clearly not a church congregation.

We (Fusion) have a very high view of the church and it’s role in the pastoral care and support of God’s people. To be a Fusion staff worker means having an active commitment to a local Church (of any denomination that agrees with the major creeds).

It is not a simple thing, however to help people make the leap into the “church culture”.

I like the way my Dad phrases the fundamental questions of this phase of strategic mission:

Integration into a local worshipping community.

Integration happens when somebody becomes part of the life of a church, not just turning up on Sunday.

“Local” is important because what happens Monday to Saturday is as important as the performance on Sunday (actually much more important), Therefore being able to see people from the church during the week not just Sunday is very important.

“Worshipping”  means worship is at the centre of the church. It is quite possible for other things are at the centre of the church  such as business, programmes, the pastor’s ego, music, or tradition.

C.S. Lewis  said:

“It is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men.”

“Community” means I am in your heart and you are in my heart. In a true community I am encouraged to become my best self. M. Scott Peck said:

There can be no vulnerability without risk; there can be no community without vulnerability; there can be no peace, and ultimately no life, without community.”

If these  things are present in the congregation happen, and the other factors of strategic mission are in place, it would be normal that people will want to go to church.

We see this at work in the New Testament church:

Acts 2:41 – 42 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer

If there is not a church that is a local worshipping community that is ready to integrate new people, then we either need to work with the churches so they are, or plant a church that is like it.

So the questions of strategic mission are:

• Is there a local worshipping community?
• Are they ready to welcome and integrate new people?
• If so, how do we work with them to connect to those who are being reached?
• If not, how do we work with churches to either become ready, or plant a new congregation?