What Is Our Part in His Mission?

If you've ever wondered what your faith is actually for, the answer starts with God, not with you. God doesn't have a mission for His church so much as He has a church for His mission. Your part is to say yes to what He is already doing. Be reconciled to Him, help others be reconciled, and grow into the person He made you to be.

What is the mission of God?

The mission of God is His work of reconciling people to Himself and bringing His original design back to life in the world. It's His mission first, and He was at work long before any of us arrived.

Theologians use the Latin phrase missio Dei, which means "the sending of God." The point is simple. Mission originates with God. He sends, and He invites His people to go.

A weekend message at Calvary opened with everyone repeating Isaiah's response to God's call.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

Isaiah 6:8

Isaiah didn't invent a mission and ask God to bless it. God was already calling, and Isaiah answered.

Why does it matter that the mission is God's and not ours?

It matters because if the mission were ours, God would become optional. Pastor Marty Sloan puts it this way on Beyond Sunday. If it isn't His mission, where does He become necessary in the process? Where does His Word become necessary?

Because it is His mission, God and His Word are essential. He does a work in you first. That inner work is how you serve His mission outwardly.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:18

Pastor Marty calls it a two plus two conversation. There is a mission. God reconciled you. Now you're positioned to help reconcile others to Him through Jesus. Reconciliation means restoring a broken relationship. The most important broken relationship is between people and God.

What is your part in God's mission?

Your part is to join what God is already doing, right where you live. You came to Christ because His mission was already at work. Now that you've been drawn into it, it becomes part of your purpose and even your identity.

God could do all of it without you. He has chosen to do it through you. It is an invitation, and it gives your ordinary days meaning. Your home, your job, your neighborhood, and your friendships all become places where God's reconciling work can happen.

A missional mindset means asking, day to day, "Where is God already working here, and how can I join Him?"

Is the goal of the mission success or flourishing?

The goal is flourishing, not success. Those are not the same thing.

God's mission has often been connected with the Hebrew idea of shalom. It means more than peace. It carries the idea of order out of chaos, blessing, and human flourishing.

Pastor Marty draws a clear line between the two. Success is measured in earthly terms. Flourishing is measured by God's original intent coming to life in you. Think of a seed growing into the plant it was always meant to be. Sin damaged that design. But you can submit to Jesus, be guided by His Spirit, and be guarded by His Word. As you do, you grow into the fullness of who you were made to be.

A person can be a multimillionaire and not be flourishing. Someone can be in great physical health and not be flourishing. Someone else can be suffering physically and be flourishing. Flourishing has more to do with being shaped into God's image than with reaching the world's goals.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:2

Why do you need the local church to be on mission?

You need the local church because it's the vehicle God chose to carry His mission. Pastor Marty says it plainly. We only have a church because God has a mission. Without the mission, the church is irrelevant.

Church history has swung both ways on this. For long stretches, churches made ministry about themselves and kept God at a distance. The idea of God's mission pushed back on that. But some then swung too far. They decided God would do it all and the church had no role. The truth holds both. The mission is God's, and God chose the church to carry it to every people, every generation, and every place.

Pastor Marty admits something about his own lifetime in church. He doesn't remember hearing a message on the mission of God until he came across the term about seven years ago. Churches talk a lot about their own mission. At Calvary that's to study, do, and teach the Word. But a church's mission has to start with God's.

That changes why you show up. You don't come to church just to see friends, sing, give, or serve. You come to be part of what God is doing. That gives everyone a reason to be there. And it sends you back out into your community with purpose.

Common questions

What does missio Dei mean?

Missio Dei is Latin for "the sending of God." It means mission starts with God. He is already at work in the world, and He invites His people to join Him.

What is the ministry of reconciliation?

In 2 Corinthians 5:18, Paul says God reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. Having been brought back to God, we help others come back to Him too.

What is the difference between success and flourishing?

Success is measured by earthly standards like money and status. Flourishing is measured by God's design coming to life in you, and you can flourish even in suffering.

Why do I need a local church to be on mission?

The church exists because God has a mission. It is the vehicle He chose to carry that mission forward, and it gathers, equips, and sends people into their communities.