As I am writing this we are in the final flurry of activity preparing for the GRR Mission Conference. At the same time, I am anticipating a 6 AM flight on Monday, headed for the Strong in the Lord conference—the first national gathering of American Baptist ministers in many years. The coincidence of these two events stimulates my thoughts.

Mission and ministry is fundamental to the existence of a “church.” Not only is that deep in our Baptist “psyche,” it also stems from the very nature of God. Many thoughtful people have pointed out that God’s redemptive work in creation can be seen as “mission” work and that Jesus Christ was the first missionary.” I like that image.

While I confess to a growing difficulty in distinguishing between “mission” and “ministry” today (our minds still work in 19th Century terms, which do not always mesh with our 21st Century world), intuitively I continue to believe these are distinct activities. That is one of the reasons I try to say “mission and “ministry.”

At its root, “mission” is taking the Gospel to someone who has not heard it. The hearing/telling dynamic is always part of mission. This evangelism may take many forms, just as Jesus’ mission work took many forms. Mission work is obedience to the command to make disciples in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and ends of the earth.

On the other hand, “ministry” may be directed toward those who have already heard and responded to the Gospel. Like mission, ministry may also take many forms, but in all these we are following Jesus’ command to love our neighbor and to “feed” His lambs.

Mission and ministry together comprise the work of the church (in fact, the same activity may include both). Any attempt to separate the two or to give one a priority over the other violates the unity of the model we have been given in Jesus Christ. This brings me to the second point in my meandering: Strong in the Lord.

The theme for the conference is taken from Ephesians 6:10. It is a word of encouragement from Paul, which repeats a common biblical theme that strength and encouragement come only from the Lord (Jesus Christ). Jesus Christ, our model for mission and ministry, commanded us to do the same. And it is in this same Jesus Christ that we find strength and encouragement. This suggests to me that there is a relationship between mission/ministry and strength based in Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ gives us the strength to do mission and ministry. At the same time, doing mission and ministry makes us stronger in Jesus Christ. What are the consequences?

The strength of a church is not to be found in the number of staff, the rhetoric of the preacher, the size of its budget, the magnificence of its building, its faddish (or stodgy) worship, the multiplicity of programs, the impact of its political activism, or its rate of growth. The strength of a church is found only in Jesus Christ and is manifested in mission and ministry. The absence of mission and ministry is the painful evidence of a weak (if not disobedient) church. Likewise, activities that may look like mission and ministry, but are not driven by Jesus Christ are mere window-dressing.

The church that longs to be strong will seek its strength in Jesus Christ through mission and ministry. There are no substitutes.

In other places I have asked that 2004 become a season of prayer for churches, the Region, and the larger American Baptist family. I pledge to you is that my prayer for YOUR CHURCH is that you become STRONG in the LORD.

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