Jump to     PRACTICES Who Do We Want to Be? Sharing Our Stories Dwelling in the Word Hospitality Mission Initiatives Overview and Questions for Leaders

The Congregation Embodies
Christ’s Mission

by RON HARMON

In Eugene Peterson’s The Message Bible there is a unique rendition of John 1:14: “The Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood.” Jesus of Nazareth fully embodied (that is he gave a tangible or visible form to) the nature and will of God on a relatively small piece of geography and for a limited time span.

The simplest way to imagine what it looks like to embody Christ’s mission is to ask, “What would it look like if Jesus moved into my neighborhood?” “What would Jesus be saying and doing?” “Who would Jesus be associating with?” A mission-shaped congregation is always addressing these essential questions. The content and character of worship, study, prayer, proclamation, and action as individual disciples and as a congregation are in response to these questions. When the congregation approaches congregational life intentionally asking these questions it is preparing itself to be Christ’s living expression of “evangelism, compassionate service, and justice and peacemaking” (see Community of Christ Mission Initiatives at www.CofChrist.org/mission).

Christ’s mission is the entire reason for being a congregation. Christ’s mission is not merely a ministry of the congregation, like community outreach or pastoral care. Again, mission is the entire reason for being a congregation.

The pastor and leaders of the congregation are challenged to create an environment where the above questions are the starting place for every decision and ministry of the congregation. It does not matter whether the congregation is deciding to pave a parking lot or begin a new ministry. When considering any congregational decision ask, “What would it look like if Jesus moved into our neighborhood?”

A good way to begin asking this question is reflecting on and discussing scripture as a part of every congregational experience. “Dwelling in the Word” is a simple but powerful practice that helps ground the congregation in the Living Word. Choose scriptures from the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Lead the congregation in discernment and planning by use of scripture and remember to ask, “What would it look like if Jesus moved into our neighborhood?” For more study see the article “Scripture in a Mission-focused Congregation.”

God calls the church to be “a new community of tolerance, reconciliation, unity in diversity, and love” (Doctrine and Covenants 164:5). When the congregation encounters the living Christ it no longer sees itself or others from the same perspective. The character and quality of the congregation’s interactions with one another and the world look different because it sees and acts through the eyes of Christ. Through words and actions the congregation provides a preview of the “new community” that is emerging, the Zion of our hopes, amid an imperfect world.

Creating this “new community” in a society that places an emphasis on individual satisfaction and choice is challenging. Many Christians shuffle between churches and denominations in search of what best meets their needs. A mission-shaped congregation is not about meeting the individual preferences of its members. A mission-shaped congregation is about coming together to become like Christ for the sake of the world.

The more the congregation understands about Jesus the more it understands about the mission of the church. The pastor’s leadership team should shape how the congregation forms disciples through Christian education, small groups, worship, spiritual practices, and service. It is not enough to ask individuals to serve in various roles of leadership. The pastor’s leadership team coordinates all avenues of formation. This coordination leads to a deeper understanding and fuller expression of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ in the congregation and community.

The church is part of a global movement of disciples and congregations that also asks, “What would it look like if Jesus moved into our neighborhood?” Asking this question helps everyone see more clearly the needs for reconciliation and wholeness that are near. Also, asking this question helps everyone hear the voices of those in other parts of the world who desperately seek a future of hope.

Although many agree that Jesus Christ is central to the congregation’s mission, people bring their individual biases and tendencies. Individual biases and tendencies reduce the mission of the church from Christ’s mission to individual ones. Congregations can reduce the mission of the church to matters of preference over worship style, format of the Sunday morning experience, and building and property issues. Congregational leaders must raise the congregation’s conversations to a new level of urgency and intent.

How can leaders engage the congregation to envision the future with a bias toward those it serves? A good starting place is to develop a clear understanding of who we are as Community of Christ in our local neighborhoods. The church’s Enduring Principles, grounded in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, provide the foundation and lens through which the congregation can discern its future and respond to Christ’s mission.

How is the congregational experience (including its activities, ministries, and priorities) transformed by how it chooses to live out the Enduring Principles? For example, the pastor’s leadership team may spend several months exploring the Enduring Principles with the congregation to translate them into specific behaviors that bring the Enduring Principles to life. When the congregation “lives into” new behaviors it allows itself to be transformed by the Enduring Principles. Consider using the “Who Do We Want to Be?” practice. This practice helps the congregation translate the Enduring Principles into values that shape the congregation’s experience together.

Congregational leaders have a special calling to cultivate an environment where disciples and seekers encounter mission as Christ’s invitation, hospitality, and healing presence. The congregation’s understanding of Jesus’ message and mission as recorded in scripture takes on added depth and urgency when experienced through the eyes of a hurting world.

The Enduring Principles provide a helpful way of thinking about who the congregation wants to be. The Mission Initiatives provide a helpful framework for thinking about what the congregation wants to do. The Mission Initiatives express in clear ways what it looks like to embody and live out Christ’s mission as a congregation. The Mission Initiatives don’t prescribe exactly what a congregation will do. The Mission Initiatives provide five key areas of focus:

Invite People to Christ Christ’s mission of evangelism Abolish Poverty, End Suffering Christ’s mission of compassion Pursue Peace on Earth Christ’s mission of justice and peace

Develop Disciples to Serve Equip individuals for Christ’s mission Experience Congregations in Mission Equip congregations for Christ’s mission

The pastor’s leadership team can discern and lead mission by understanding and applying the Mission Initiatives to real challenges in their towns, cities, nation, and world. Helping the congregation connect the Mission Initiatives with real opportunities, locally and globally, is an effective way to lead mission. Consider reviewing the practice “Mission Initiatives Overview and Questions for Leaders” with your leadership team as you plan ministries.

With God and one another the church can accomplish so much more than it can as individuals. This is one of the primary ways the church embodies Christ’s mission in the world. Through actions together the power of just a few changes the world. This creates hope for all that Christ’s vision and mission are possible.

Creating loving and purposeful community is challenging. Everyone has personal gifts needed to contribute to the totality of Christ’s mission in congregations, neighborhoods, and the world. Everyone has something meaningful to contribute.

One of the most critical roles of congregational leaders is to discern and use intentionally the gifts of all ages. This requires a commitment to develop meaningful relationships, spiritual sensitivity, and opportunities for others to discover their gifts in service to the congregation and community. For more study see the articles “Becoming Sacred Community: A Foundation for Mission,” “Sharing Leadership and Ministry,” and “Orienting Mission around the Gifts of All Ages.” Training and other resources are available through Peacebuilding Ministries, www.CofChrist.org/peacebuilding, phone 1-800-825-2806, ext. 2353.

 

1. What would it look like if Jesus moved into our neighborhood?
2. If Christ’s mission is the sole reason for being a congregation, what would Jesus do if he visited your congregation?
3. How can you incorporate scripture reflection into your times of gathering to ground conversations and decisions in Christ’s mission?
4. How can the pastor’s leadership team coordinate with other leaders to provide an environment that leads to a deeper experience and understanding of Jesus Christ?
5. Specifically, how can Christian education, small groups, worship, and spiritual practices lead to a deeper experience and understanding of Jesus Christ?
6. How do we envision the future together with a bias toward those whom we are called to minister?

		Who Do We Want to Be?
	PRINT THIS PRACTICE	Return to Top

OBJECTIVE
To describe how the Enduring Principles (see Sharing in Community of Christ, 2^nd edition) can be lived out in the congregation by asking, “Who do we want to be?” The Enduring Principles help answer the discernment questions listed in the chart below (“The Enduring Principles and Who Do We Want to Be?”) and they inform the congregation’s decisions and life together.

PROCESS
There are three basic steps:

Step One (several weeks)—The pastor and the pastor’s leadership team meet to study the Enduring Principles, to pray, and to discuss the discernment questions for several weeks.

Step Two (10 consecutive weeks to explore our name and the nine Enduring Principles)—During the Sunday worship service the pastor introduces and leads the congregation in exploring the Enduring Principles. Begin with an exploration of “Our Name.” Each week one enduring principle is introduced. For each enduring principle invite a person to share a testimony about an enduring principle to encourage the congregation to consider the question, “Who do we want to be?”

Step Three (one four- to five-hour session)—On week 11 the congregation meets to explore the Enduring Principles and the discernment questions. The goal is for the congregation to outline in specific ways how to live the Enduring Principles in congregational life.

1. Designate 10 places to post a description of “our name” and each enduring principle on a wall for all to see. Using flip chart paper may be helpful.
2. Divide participants into groups that will eventually meet at each of the 10 places. Assign a facilitator for each group.
3. Each time a group meets at one of the 10 places the group outlines how the principle can be lived out in the life of the congregation. Ask participants to use the chart below as they discuss each enduring principle and the accompanying discernment questions. After 10 minutes for discussion invite individuals first to reflect silently on the questions and then write on sticky notes their insights and responses to this specific question: “How would you see this enduring principle being lived out in our congregation?” Then place the sticky notes for all to see. Placing sticky notes on flip chart paper may be helpful. After 15 minutes (10 for discussion and 5 for writing and placement of notes), at one enduring principle move on to the next enduring principle. Repeat this process until all the Enduring Principles are covered. Each group will add and categorize sticky notes to the preceding group’s notes.
4. After all groups have discussed each principle assign participants into groups that will review the sticky notes and look for themes for each principle. Ask each group to provide a report to the large group on how their assigned enduring principle can be lived out in the life of the congregation. Each group should ask one person to take notes and share a report on behalf of the group.
5. In the large group, receive reports on how each enduring principle could be lived out in the life of the congregation. It is not important at this stage to get the words exactly right. Look for the key concepts.
6. From the reports and notes, draft short concise statements that capture common themes and describe clearly what it looks like to live out the Enduring Principles in and through the congregation. Or, assign this last task to a small group to write the statements.

Step Four (ongoing)—The pastor’s leadership team uses the insights from Step Three as a guide for continuing conversation, discernment, and decision making with the congregation.

PROCESS TIP
Encourage and ensure that each participant listens carefully and that each one has an opportunity to share perspectives in table groups. Begin the session with prayer and consider singing together “Now in this Moment” Hymns of the Saints 58.

The Enduring Principles and Who Do We Want to Be?

Our Name and the Enduring Principles www.CofChrist.org/ourfaith/enduring principles.asp	Discernment Questions		What Does This Look Like in Our Congregation?
1.“Community of Christ,” your name, given as a divine blessing, is your identity and calling. If you will discern and embrace its full meaning, you will not only discover your future, you will become a blessing to the whole creation. Do not be afraid to go where it beckons you to go. —Doctrine and Covenants 163:1	What does it mean to become a sacred community? What does it mean to follow Jesus Christ? Where is Christ leading?
2. Grace and Generosity We generously share our witness, resources, ministries, and sacraments according to our true capacity.	Why are grace and generosity connected? How have we received both grace and generosity in our encounters with God and others? What does it look like to generously share our lives, resources, and witness with others for the sake of the peaceable kingdom now?
3. Sacredness of Creation We join with God as stewards of care and hope for all creation.	How is God still creating in our world? How is God inviting us to join in that creation? How do we join God as stewards of hope and care for our Earth?
4. Continuing Revelation In humility, individually and in community, we prayerfully listen to understand God’s will for our lives, the church, and creation more completely.	How is God moving our lives? How is God moving in our congregation? How is God moving in our neighborhoods? How do these understandings shape and form everything we do?
5. Worth of All Persons We join with Jesus Christ in bringing good news to the poor, sick, captive, and oppressed.	Who is invited to the table of fellowship and reconciliation? How did Jesus respond to the poor, sick, captive, and oppressed? Does our congregation engage in practices and behaviors that devalue others? How do we recognize and respond to systems, structures, and relationships that devalue basic human worth?
6. All Are Called We respond faithfully, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to our best understanding of God’s call.	Have we sensed God’s call to be a disciple? What does this look like? How does our congregation help individuals find their contribution in ministry and leadership?
7. Responsible Choices We are called to make responsible choices within the circumstances of our lives that contribute to the purposes of God.	How do our choices impact others locally and in other parts of the world? How does our inaction contribute to maintaining the status quo? What does it look like to make decisions based on a vision of God’s peaceable kingdom in the present?
8. Pursuit of Peace We celebrate God’s peace wherever it appears or is being pursued by people of good will.	How is God calling us to experience the peace of Jesus Christ amid the questions and struggles of life? How are we called to share all the dimensions of Christ’s peace through relationships and our engagement in transformative ministries? What does it look like to envision the future in our congregations and communities from the perspective of “we” instead of “me”?
9. Unity in Diversity We confess that our lack of agreement on certain matters is hurtful to some of God’s beloved children and creation.	How do we truly understand and embrace our diversity? When will our congregations look more like our neighborhoods? How do we seek consensus and practice discernment? How do we envision the future as “we” instead of “me”? How do we provide room for theological diversity and yet unite in mission?
10. Blessings of Community We are called to create communities of Christ’s peace in our families and congregations and across villages, tribes, nations, and throughout creation.	How do we define sacred community and what does it look like? How can our faith communities signal that change—God’s vision for creation—is coming? What does it look like to be a faith community that stands with the poor (spiritual and physical), marginalized, and oppressed in our neighborhoods?

		Sharing Our Stories
	PRINT THIS PRACTICE	Return to Top

OBJECTIVE
This practice helps disciples develop their story of faith and prepares them to listen to the stories of others on their journey of faith. Each disciple is a sojourner living her or his faith in daily life. Often, disciples have opportunities to share their faith and beliefs. Although it may be difficult to talk to a stranger this scripture encourages each disciple: “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15 NIV).

PROCESS
This practice includes writing or journaling and prayer.

Write answers to these questions:

• What people and events on your faith journey influenced your life? What do you sense God was doing through these people and events?
• When and how have you experienced the good news of the kingdom? What was happening in your life at the time of those experiences? What changed in your life as you experienced the good news?
• What would you say if a stranger asked, “so what is the gospel?”

Pray this prayer every day: “God, who’s out there that you are wanting me to trade stories with? I need to listen to their stories and they need to hear mine. God, bring me together with the people that you would like for me to be in a witnessing relationship with. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.” As you offer this prayer, be prepared to respond to the opportunities God will present as you meet fellow sojourners.

PROCESS TIP
No one tool alone will bring a person to Christ. Whatever tool is used, use it with prayer and a genuine concern for the people who are searching for an authentic relationship with Christ. “Remember, the conversion process isn’t just about people hearing the truth; it’s about people being ready to receive the truth.” (Hugh Halter and Matt Smay, The Tangible Kingdom, Creating Incarnational Community, [San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008] 96)

		Dwelling in the Word
	PRINT THIS PRACTICE	Return to Top

OBJECTIVE
To read and hear scripture as a spiritual practice that leads to new understandings. “Dwelling in the Word” is a practice based on our understanding that God continues to speak to us in the context of our day and calling. Listen for God’s voice in scripture to connect with God’s mission in Christ. Listen to the voices of others about what God is doing in their lives. This practice is not about gaining information about scripture. Rather, it is about listening to how God is speaking, calling, and sending us to join in Christ’s mission to our communities and the world.

PROCESS
Provide a printed copy of a scriptural text. A printed copy allows participants to hear and see the words for reflection. Read the scriptural text out loud and pause for a few minutes to allow people time to reflect on what they’ve heard.

Read the passage a second time. Ask people to make note of a word, phrase, or image they are drawn to as they hear it read again. After a short pause, form into small groups of no more than four or five people to provide opportunities for each person to share their responses to questions like ones provided below. If someone wishes to remain silent, that is acceptable. It is important to make sure the reflections are personal and do not become an exercise in biblical interpretation.

Here are some questions:

• Is there a place I feel drawn to dwell or explore?
• What words, images, or phrases are speaking to me in this text?
• What is God’s invitation to me in this scripture?
• What is God’s invitation to our congregation in this scripture?

This is a practice of discovery, be expectant that God’s mission in Christ is among you as you gain insights from listening to one another and to God.

PROCESS TIP
Be patient with the practice. Encourage participants to remember it is a spiritual practice that invites scripture to transform our understanding and our way of being and doing. Do not let this become an intellectual exercise which will limit the transformative impact of this practice. Like any practice, this will take time to fully understand.

		Hospitality
	PRINT THIS PRACTICE	Return to Top

OBJECTIVE
For members and friends of the congregation to practice the hospitality of sharing one’s home. “Hospitality is not about impressing others with well-decorated homes and gourmet cooking. It’s not simply for the gifted or those with clean homes. Neither is it just for women. Hospitality is a way of loving our neighbor in the same way God has loved us.” Parker Palmer says in his text, To Know as We Are Known, that hospitality is a way of, “receiving each other, our struggles, our newborn ideas with openness and care.” “It means creating an ethos in which the community of truth can form.” (Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, [Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2005] 139)

PROCESS
Pray for the people you invite to your home. Pray for them as you invite them. Pray for them the day they visit. Pray for them as they leave your home.

Suggestions:

• After your guests have left ask, “How has sharing my home given me deeper ways to hold my guests before the Lord? Send a note with your prayers to your guests.
• Be spontaneous. Hold a “craving potluck.” Ask everyone to bring something they crave. Don’t try to make it perfect. Focus on the guests.
• Help your children grow in understanding God’s hospitable heart. Help them plan a party for their friends. Encourage them to think about what will make each one feel most welcome.

Process Tips: Have fun thinking of ways to welcome the other. Be patient. It is important to realize that not everyone will be comfortable in practicing this as part of their family practice. It is important to provide people an opportunity to welcome and to be welcomed. Make sure people who “always have guests” will also be invited to experience what it means to be welcomed.

(Ideas for process taken from Spiritual Disciplines Handbook)

		Mission Initiatives Overview and Questions for Leaders
	PRINT THIS PRACTICE	Return to Top

OBJECTIVE
Each time the pastor and leaders meet they reflect on the five Mission Initiatives.

PROCESS
Begin each meeting with a review of a mission initiative and consider the questions and ideas for each initiative described below.

1. Invite People to Christ: Christ’s mission of evangelism—to bring good news

This is evangelism in the fullest sense: proclamation in word and action, invitation, and welcoming hospitality. According to President Veazey, “The good news is that the resurrected Christ lives in community that restores people to right relationships with God, others, themselves, and the earth.”

How do we as congregational leaders cultivate an environment where we first practice Christ’s invitation and hospitality with each other? What does it look like for the good news to be proclaimed and lived out among us? What does Christ’s invitation, hospitality, and healing look like in the congregation when we engage in:

• Experiences of worship—how we encounter God individually and in community?
• Relationship-building activities—how we create sacred community?
• Practices of discipleship—what we study, share, and experience as disciples on the journey?

What does Christ’s invitation, hospitality, and healing look like when we engage:

• With our neighbors and friends?
• With strangers in need of loving community and healing?

Evangelism is not optional for those who pursue Christ’s mission. It is the call to invite others into the possibilities of new life in Christ. Congregational leaders are called to model the way by inviting persons and extending radical hospitality. The congregation is called to critically evaluate every dimension of congregational life (for example, worship, fellowship, practices of discipleship) in light of this central aspect of Christ’s mission.

See the “Sharing Our Stories” and “Hospitality” practices.

2. Abolish Poverty, End Suffering: Christ’s mission of compassion—to bring good news to the poor and recovery of sight to the blind

In his April 2011 address President Veazey challenged the church to live Christ’s mission and be “caring and healing ministry for the hurt, grief-stricken, and brokenhearted.” He also challenged us to be Christ’s “compassionate ministry with people who are physically, spiritually, or emotionally hurting, which at one time or another is all of us.”

Caring for those who are suffering and working to alleviate conditions that perpetuate such suffering is not optional for those who pursue Christ’s mission. Congregational leaders are called to first model compassionate ministries and then help their congregations connect with opportunities to alleviate poverty and suffering locally and globally. Something significant occurs when people encounter the suffering of others. Words on gilded pages become an urgent call to action and change becomes more than a hope for those who suffer.

Poverty and suffering can seem overwhelming. Where can congregational leaders begin? Here are four steps:

• Create Awareness—Congregational trips to community-based ministries and service organizations, guest speakers on Sunday morning, resources for Christian education, and volunteer service in community-based ministries.
• Partner with Organizations—Discuss opportunities to partner with community-based ministries to make a difference.
• Identify Unmet Needs—As congregations become more aware of what is happening to address human suffering locally and globally they also become aware of unmet needs. These unmet needs can become opportunities for new forms of ministry.
• Commit to Ongoing Awareness, Partnering, and Engagement—Over time a culture and environment of concern and responsibility develops in the congregation.

The pastor and leaders can create a sustainable mission-shaped culture by intentionally following these four steps on a consistent basis.

3. Pursue Peace on Earth: Christ’s mission of justice and peace—to release the captives...to let the oppressed go free...to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

The time is now to restore harmony and balance, and remedy social and economic injustices. It is not enough to just care. President Veazey challenges us, “The mission includes ministries that release people from unfair and crushing conditions that cause suffering. We must address the root causes of poverty, hunger, discrimination, and conflict.”

The cause of Zion (the pursuit of peace, the kingdom of God, and the reign of God) has deep meaning for us and calls us beyond random acts of kindness to promoting the peaceful reign of God on Earth as it is in heaven. It begins one person, one relationship, and one situation at a time. As millions around the globe catch this vision, we, together with God create an alternative future.

For congregations this is an opportunity and challenge to learn about the systems and structures that create conditions in our world that hold people back from becoming fully and completely who God created them to be. For many congregations learning and discussion is the appropriate place to begin. The pastor and leaders of the congregation can begin the conversation and suggest resources for study.

Here is a list of issues and resources:

• Extreme Poverty—The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time by Jeffery D. Sachs
• How Systems and Structures Contribute to Oppression—Everything Must Change: When the World’s Biggest Problems and Jesus’ Good News Collide by Brian D. McLaren
• Responsible Consumer Choices—The Better World Shopping Guide: Every Dollar Makes a Difference by Ellis Jones
• Environmental Sustainability—Living Green: A Practical Guide to Simple Sustainability by Greg Horn
• Ideas on How Others Are Changing the World—World Changing: A Users Guide for the 21^st Century, edited by Alex Steffen
• Raising Peaceful Children —Raising Peaceful Children in a Violent World by Nancy Lee Cecil
• Justice—Justice in the Burbs: Being the Hands of Jesus Wherever You Live by Will and Lisa Samson

Addressing root causes of suffering will result in questions and discussions that may lead to disagreement over causes or solutions. Congregational leaders will need to be intentional in setting expectations for respectful dialogue. Equally important is an awareness that seeking to change the status quo will result in resistance. Leaders are called to model Christ-like love in exposing injustice and offering alternative solutions to bring justice and healing.

Seek the guidance of your mission center president and field team for support as you work to Pursue Peace on Earth in your part of the world.

The last two initiatives describe our inward journey of preparation and learning. Disciple formation in our congregations is where we have the opportunity to test and experiment with new understandings in a safe environment. Congregational leaders create a safe environment by modeling collaborative relationships and encouraging participation of all ages in the following two Mission Initiatives.

4. Develop Disciples to Serve: Equip individuals for Christ’s mission

Developing disciples is a key concern for congregational leaders. It is a primary function of a congregation to prepare disciples to live out Christ’s mission through the first three Mission Initiatives. According to President Veazey this preparation is for all ages and occurs “through spiritual practices, community experiences, and educational curriculum for disciple formation.” In short, it is critical that we are intentional in what we study, share, and experience in our congregations.

Where do congregational leaders begin?

• Provide leadership to the congregation’s Christian education. What the congregation studies and experiences should lead to a clear and compelling understanding of Christ’s mission! What the congregation studies makes clear to members and visitors the congregation’s priorities for mission.
• Be grounded in God’s revelation in Jesus Christ. Who is Jesus Christ? What was Jesus’s message and mission in first century Palestine and how does that inform us about mission today?
• Use resources that help disciples view contemporary problems and issues through the lens of the gospel. Whether studying scripture or world poverty, we want to continue to press the issues and challenges of our neighborhoods and world up against the message and mission of Jesus Christ. Failure to do so reduces the gospel to private spirituality and limits its transforming influence.
• Equip and develop disciples to serve! If our efforts don’t lead to concrete actions we have missed the mark. Our studies and experiences should lead to confidence and skills to make a difference!
• Build community and promote healthy relationships. We are in this together! We are not individual disciples trying to find our way but a community of Christ’s followers supporting each other on the journey. Creating experiences and opportunities to strengthen relationships creates a foundation for everything else we do.

See the “Disciple Formation Guide” at www.CofChrist.org/dfg for ideas on creating experiences, practices, and curriculum that lead to mission. Also contact your mission center president or field staff for ideas on helpful resources.

5. Experience Congregations in Mission: Equip congregations for Christ’s mission

President Veazey challenges us, “Individual preparation and effort is not enough. We especially need congregations that are living expressions of the personality, love, spirit, and mission of Jesus Christ.”

Congregations are called to more than routine social activities. A key question posed to congregations by President Veazey is, “Where is the love, spirit, and mission of Christ calling us to focus or redirect congregational activity?” Everything our congregations do must be “evaluated in terms of mission alignment.” The congregation has no mission apart from the mission of Jesus Christ.

How we embody Christ’s mission is the journey of a lifetime. For each of the five Mission Initiatives ask, “What would it look like if Jesus moved into our neighborhood?” Seek to cultivate congregational environments that are aware and engaged with physical and spiritual suffering. Let’s participate in God’s activity and join God in all the places and relationships in need of healing and restoration.

Our Enduring Principles help us define what we want to be and our Mission Initiatives help us define what we want to do as Community of Christ.