The Kingdom of God and Missions

In Let the Nations be Glad, the emphasis in the first chapter is that missions is not the most important aspect of the church, but worship is. Worship is the glorification of God by man and creation, and anything that gives God glory is attributing to worship. The fall however, ruined the intended perfect worship that man mas designed to give to God, in eating of the forbidden fruit Adam and eve distanced themselves and all of their offspring from God until the end of the age. Missions exists only because worship does not, because of the fall, missions must take place in order to share the love of Christ with those who are distanced from him by sin, and show them that a reparation of this separation is possible in Christ alone. Missions can work as an aid to worship, in that it brings glory to God by introducing the nations to him, and

The term ‘Kingdom of God’ (or as is otherwise referred to as ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ in Matthew's Gospel) is mentioned throughout the Four Gospels. Over the centuries many scholars have reached the same conclusion that the central theme of Jesus’ message regards the ‘Kingdom of God.’ But what did Jesus mean by this term? This essay aims to discuss the meaning of the term ‘Kingdom of God’ and what Jesus must have meant by this.

My personal view of mission revolves around Servant Leadership or what can be better called “Incarnational leadership”. This is rooted in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, as “He took a towel” (John 13:2-5) and washed Peter’s feet. He was efficient with people, had goals in sight, but was also relational over being task-driven. This kind of leadership produces new churches filled with real purpose and motivation as people are called, appreciated, loved, encouraged, discipled, involved by mentoring and discipleship before they are deployed in ministry (Prov. 27:23; Mark 10:35-45; Luke 22:26; John 13:2-17; 1 Cor. 3- 4; Eph. 4:1-16; Col. 3:13; 1 Thess. 5:13-14; 1 Peter 3:8;

Acts 8:26-40 teaches us a variety of things about mission as well as evangelism’s role within it. It reminds us whose mission it is, that radical inclusion is anticipated, that evangelism is an important aspect of but is not in itself mission, and that the Holy Spirit plays a fundamental and essential role in mission and effective evangelism.

Mission was very important in the development of the early church. The goal during this time was to spread the Christian Faith and to help those in need, just as Jesus did. The people that undertook this mission were sent out by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Jesus and God.

Some estimate that 70 percent of the worlds bible-believing Christians (as opposed to nominal or cultural Christians) now live in the majority world.”1 This reality should entirely changes the way we think about missions. If the greater part of Christians no longer live

Sustaining missionaries already on the mission field is absolutely critical in the expanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

God 's mission in the world. For me as a pastor, I enter into this mission field through the local church, but not exclusively based in the local church, but constantly reaching out to near and distant neighbors. This definition is a simple introduction to the concept of “missio Dei” which is basically saying that the work or mission of the church is a part of the work of God in the world, rather than something with an independent disposition. The overwhelming motive for mission is the compassion and love of God for his creation and the telos of mission is the Kingdom, the reign of God over his people.

Subsequently, the church has a mission which is to go into all the nations making disciples, baptizing them, and to teach them to observe the ways of Christ as noted in Matthew 28:19-20. When looking at the differences between the missional model and the attractional model is the missional goes out to win the lost, and the attractional seeks to bring the lost in not focusing the cultural boundaries. Stetzer and Hirsch state, “Missional represents a significant shift in the way we understand the church. As the people of a missionary God, we are entrusted to participate in the world the same way He does—by committing to be His ambassadors.” In retrospect, Hirsch cites that, “The attractional model, which has dominated the church in the West, seeks to reach out to the culture and draw people into the church—what I call outreach and in-grab. But this model only works where no significant cultural shift is required when moving from outside to inside the church.” Both have their uniqueness, however, they are designed to seek and make disciples.

We know several people who have been on short-term mission trips. Perhaps you’ve even been on one yourself and proclaimed to others that you gained more from that trip than the people you went to serve. Maybe you’re a full-time missionary living in another nation (at least for the majority of the year). Most likely, you’re an average church member who knows the Great Commission but doesn’t feel called to long-term overseas ministry. Regardless of where you stand, “Missions” by Andy Johnson is an excellent introduction to missions. Johnson provides readers with ways to be mission-minded, live missional lifestyles, and serve those who are on mission at home and abroad.

The Kingdom may exist in the individual human heart, in groups, in institutions, and in nature. The Kingdom of God is as broad and as overarching as the presence of God which renews and transforms and recreates everything touched by it.

John Stott says, “The highest of missionary motives is neither obedience to the Great Commission (important as that is), nor love for sinners who are alienated and perishing but rather zeal—burning and passionate zeal for the glory of Jesus Christ.” We have the urgent task of bringing people to know Christ. The Apostle Paul discovered God’s plan for his life: “But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by His marvelous grace. Then it pleased Him to reveal His Son to me so that I would proclaim the good news about Jesus to the Gentiles” (Galatians 1:15-16).

My personal mission theology is disciplining and proclaiming the pure word of God in the correct context to those that claim to be abiding in Jesus Christ. This includes pointing out and warning them against false doctrine and belief systems. Contrasting what the modern institutions preach about what it means to be a child of God against what scripture actually says it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

No matter what path God calls a missionary to, the initial goals are the same. These goals are: 1) Build and edify the church, 2) Meeting needs, and 3) Spread the Gospel. The task of utmost importance is that of building the church, a community of believers. It is through evangelizing that men come to hear, know, and accept the redemptive plan of God through Jesus Christ. This is done by preaching and teaching this message when opportunity arises. It is also done by living out your faith in the day to day of mission life. We are to make the book of Acts our living example in growing and edifying a body of believers (Warren 26-31) (Hodges 61-62)

First of all, any missional mental model should be derived from missio Dei itself, which is "the mission of God to bring about redemption of the world" (Sunquist 2013, 7). When we carry this mission out in suffering for God’s eternal glory, we need to imagine how in the future his goodness, his beauty, and his harmony will cover the entire creation. I think it’s necessary for us to have this vision of his glory and be aware that whatever we do is not our own ministry. The idea of us joining the ministry of Jesus Christ is