About three years ago I was at my pastor’s house for a New Year’s Eve party. That night we had a conversation that fundamentally changed the way I view the church. With the help of a YouTube video called “Missional Church: Simple” my pastor explained the new direction he believed God was leading our church. Over the past three years I have continued to explore the ideas of the missional church and the more I learn, the more I become convinced of the importance of understanding the church as a sent people.

THE CHURCH IS A SENT PEOPLE

When you think of church what do you think of? Do you think of a building, a pastor, a bunch of programs? Or do you think of people? The church is made up of people. The church is a “sent” or missionary people because we are called out by a missionary God. Just as the father sent Jesus and he sent the Holy Spirit, so God sends us to participate with him in accomplishing his purposes in the Earth.

If the church really is a sent people, then it must shift its focus from attracting people to sending them in order to better live out its identity and purpose. Many churches spend so much money, time and energy thinking up cool programs and events in order to attract unbelievers and to get believers to stick around. Questions like, “How can we get people in the door?” and “How can we get them to stay once they’re in?” guide much of what some churches do. This is all driven by good intentions of introducing people to Jesus. But I think there is a better way.

The focus must be on raising disciples of Jesus that make disciples of Jesus instead of on just getting people in the door. This requires more than just a Sunday service. It requires discipleship that occurs as people do life together throughout the week. It requires friendships and communities where people speak the truth in love to one another, encouraging and challenging each other to follow Jesus.

FOCUS LESS ON ATTRACTING AND MORE ON SENDING

If the church focused less on attracting and more on sending, believers would have more time to spend with the people in their daily rhythms of life that don’t know Jesus. Rather than competing for more of a believer’s time and forcing them to choose between church activities and other activities they are involved in, the church ought to be equipping believers to live out the gospel among the people to which God has already sent them.

For example, say Ted is on a local bowling team and has recently decided to follow Jesus. Rather than quit the bowling team to get involved in more church activities, Ted should stay on the bowling team and seek to live out the gospel among his friends on the team. He should view himself as sent by God to reach the guys with whom he is already in relationship. Because of his established relationships with the guys on the team and their common interest in bowling, Ted is probably best suited to lead the guys on his team to Jesus.

There is no such thing as a Christian that hasn’t been sent. Who has God sent you to?