Missio Dei
We embrace the Missional Life
When God made the world, it wasn’t a let’s-see-how-this-goes type of endeavor. And when Jesus came to earth, he didn’t spend his time wandering around, curiously assessing the damage caused by the Fall.
Before he ever created the earth, God had intentions for humankind—and his plan was to broadcast his glory across earth, creating joyful worshippers of his Son. So when Jesus arrived on earth, he was carrying out this mission, sometimes called the Missio Dei, “mission of God.” Jesus came to tell us the time was ripe to claim his grace and begin living in his Father’s kingdom.
We believe that the Missio Dei is God’s antidote for the aimless, exhausting routines that can slowly take over our lives. God’s plan for us includes more than lots of caffeine, weekend entertainment and a paycheck. He wants us to live our lives as his citizens in this world. He wants us to dwell on this temporary earth with the understanding that it is temporary—therefore, happiness and urgency should mark our lives.
We’re here to know and love God so well that we become like him. And we’re here to know and love people so well that they get to know Jesus too.
As we live out the mission that God has passed down to us, we’ll find ourselves doing what Jesus did: striking out into this world with the express purpose of serving people and bringing them the gospel in word and deed. Just like he sent Jesus, the Father now sends us. We call this “missional” living.
As we begin to live this way, we’ll look at our friends and our neighborhoods with new eyes, motivated by sympathy and gospel imagination. We’ll find ourselves praying for others, enjoying gospel fellowship, befriending outsiders, and serving our communities in tangible ways.
Clearly, these big-picture concepts are just that: general directives that we need to flesh out in ways that fit our homes and cities. What does it look like to live missionally in your community? How will it affect your habits as a consumer, your involvement in local causes, and your interactions at work or school? How will it change your prayer life?
These are the questions this Order wants to explore together. Not just in a theoretical way, but experientially, as we do whatever we can to live on our time-stamped planet as citizens in Christ’s eternal kingdom.