Mission unpacked

The church that Jesus founded was from the beginning, a missionary movement. Howard Marshall

The English words “mission,” “missionary,” and “missional” come from the Latin missio, meaning “to send.” Missio is the equivalent of the New Testament Greek word apostolos, also meaning “to send.” Jesus told His disciples, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” Then He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:21b-22).

The Gospels tell the story of what Jesus began to do and teach (Acts 1:1). The book of Acts tells the story of the continuing ministry of the Risen Christ through his followers. The church as a missionary or missional movement is called to carry on the ministry of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Following an extensive study of the mission of Jesus and the early church Eckhard Schnabel concluded:

The term “mission” or “missions,” refers to the activity of a community of faith that distinguishes itself from its environment in both beliefs and behavior, that is convinced of the truth of its faith, and that actively works to win other people to the content of faith and to the way of life of whose truth and necessity the members of that community are convinced.