Principles of Missional Theology

God is at work in all aspects of life, not just within the church. When we are thinking missionally, we are asking how the church can function as an agent of God's mission in everyday settings. We are asking how to engage with and minister to individuals in various life situations. If the church is both a gathered and scattered community, how can we be God’s hands and feet in the world?

In the video overview of this Lesson, Dr. Eric Hallett lays down three fundamental principles to a missional theology. Let’s look at each of these three.

1. God is at work everywhere.

At the core of missional theology is the realization that God’s divine activity goes far beyond the confines of a church building. When we realize that “God is at work everywhere,” we recognize that God is doing far more in the world than we see in a Sunday service or even in all the activities a church might have during the week. God is present everywhere, and God is in control of everything. While the church is set aside as a special place to experience God, God’s activity far exceeds what he does in church. God is continuously engaged with humanity outside the church in the ordinary and extraordinary moments of life.

Psalm 139:7-12 gives us just a glimpse of God’s omnipresence, his presence everywhere. “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” We can encounter God anywhere. On the one hand, God does seem to have set aside the church as a kind of “sacrament” of his presence and action. A sacrament is something earthly through which God especially seems to do spiritual work, something ordinary that he regularly makes into an extraordinary means of his grace (e.g., bread and wine in communion, water in baptism, human words in Scripture). 

But God is not limited to these ordinary means of grace. God can meet us anytime, any place, in virtually any way. It is not just the church that belongs to God but the whole world. Every moment can become sacred. Every place can become God’s temple. God’s presence is there to be found in every encounter and circumstance.

Practically, this principle drives us to move beyond the walls of the church and to go into the broader community. God is already at work in the world. He is not waiting on us. Every corner of creation is a potential space for encountering God. God is at work in our local context. We should find out where and how. 

2. God’s mission has a church

Missional thinking would have us undergo a paradigm shift. Traditionally, we have long talked about the church having a mission. Missional thinking would have us see it the other way around. God has a mission, and the church is part of God’s mission. 

We need not denigrate the church to realize that God is always working even when there is no church around. The church is not the sole proprietor of God’s mission. Rather, it is a participant in a much larger story of salvation that God initiated. The church is one agent in God’s redemptive story. It contributes powerfully to the ongoing work of reconciliation, restoration, and renewal in the world. Yet the storyline ultimately belongs to God.

Practically speaking, this shift in understanding reshapes the church’s approach to mission. For example, it is easy in the traditional view to see mission as a task assigned to the church. What is our “to do list” to accomplish the mission. We can easily see ourselves in charge and as the ones who are setting the agenda. 

But missional theology sees God as setting the agenda. God is already at work. Where can we join God on his mission? What is his agenda for mission? We are not the ones in charge, but we are participating in God’s charge.

3. We’re all missionaries now.

In missional thinking, we put to an end the older sense that only a select few become missionaries and that their task is to go to some far-away land to share the good news. Rather, it is the charge of every believer to share the good news as they go about their daily lives. Certainly, God may set apart some to conduct this mission full time both near and far. But we are all charged to bring the good news to our individual worlds.

This principle also aligns with the fact that the mission field has never been confined to distant lands. It includes our neighborhoods, workplaces, and the social spheres where we live, work, and interact. The missional believer understands that we are sent by God into these everyday contexts. Our jobs, our daily activities, and our relationships in general are all opportunities for mission.

Practically, this principle dismantles a hierarchical understanding of mission. Every believer is empowered to be a vital participant in God’s redemptive plan. We shift from a compartmentalized faith to an integrated and lived-out mission, and every aspect of our lives becomes a conduit for God’s transformative work.