Description of a Missional Church

• A missional church is one where people are exploring and rediscovering what it means to be Jesus' sent people as their identity and vocation.
• A missional church is individuals willing and ready to be Christ's people in their own situation and place.
• A missional church knows that they must be a cross-cultural missionary (contextual) people in their own community.
• A missional church will be engaged with the culture (in the world) without being absorbed by the culture (not of the world). They will become intentionally indigenous.
• A missional church understands that God is already present in the culture where it finds itself. Therefore, a missional church doesn't view its purpose as bringing God into the culture or taking individuals out of the culture to a sacred space.
• A missional church is about more than just being contextual, it is also about the nature of the church and how it relates to God.
• A missional church will seek to plant all types of missional communities.
• A missional church is evangelistic and faithfully proclaims the gospel through word and deed. Words alone are not sufficient; how the gospel is embodied in our community and service is as important as what we say.
• A missional church understands the power of the gospel and does not lose confidence in it.
• A missional church will align all their activities around the missio dei -- the mission of God.
• A missional church seeks to put the good of their neighbor over their own.
• A missional church will give integrity, morality, good character and conduct, compassion, love and a resurrection life filled with hope preeminence to give credence to their reasoned verbal witness.
• A missional church practices hospitality by welcoming the stranger into the midst of the community.
• A missional church will see themselves as a community or family on a mission together. There are no "Lone Ranger" Christians in a missional church.
• A missional church will see themselves as representatives of Jesus and will do nothing to dishonor his name.
• A missional church will be totally reliant on God in all it does. It will move beyond superficial faith to a life of supernatural living.
• A missional church will be desperately dependent on prayer.
• A missional church gathered will be for the purpose of worship, encouragement, supplemental teaching, training, and to seek God's presence and to be realigned with God's missionary purpose.
• A missional church is orthodox in its view of the gospel and scripture, but culturally relevant in its methods and practice so that it can engage the worldview of the hearers.
• A missional church will feed deeply on the scriptures throughout the week.
• A missional church will be a community where all members are involved in learning "the way of Jesus." Spiritual development is an expectation.
• A missional church will help people discover and develop their spiritual gifts and will rely on gifted people for ministry instead of talented people.
• A missional church is a healing community where people carry each other's burdens and help restore gently.