CWM Europe

Here are thirty approaches to shape and form the missionary congregation. There are no detached ideas or stories, but different perspectives that can give a local congregation a distinctive colour.

It is of course also possible to go for a combination of approaches – one approach does not mean the others have to be excluded.

The church does not do mission, the church is mission

The purpose of this resource is to give local congregations something to explore. The models are based in everyday practice and are attractive in practice. Do not attempt them all: make a choice. This resource will help you identify your choices.

As you start reading through the approaches you will find three ‘moments of reflection’:

• “Why missionary?”
• “Prayer and openness to the Spirit”
• “The importance of relationships.”

All three moments encourage you to have a discussion, and are suitable to begin a discussion within the church and at a church leaders meeting. These moments of reflection are very important to the whole discussion.

Next you will find something to help you navigate your way through the approaches. Four preliminary questions can help you make your choice of approaches and help you to achieve your own ‘missionary approach.’

The church of Jesus Christ is a missionary church.   It is not isolated from its community or a closed circle. Though local congregations vary greatly from each other, the whole church finds its origin and purpose in the good news of Jesus Christ.

The Revd. Peter Verhoef chairman of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands said:

“ If I am allowed to emphasise one item of the agenda of the church then this must be the missionary work of the church. You can write that down, this is what sets my heart on fire. Hendrik Kraemer, the great mission theologian said: ’The church does not do mission, the church is mission.’ This is still true today, or rather it is more true now than ever before. Being part of the church means being generous and sharing what you have got.”

On the basis of this inspiration we wish you joy and blessings as a missionary congregation.

This web resource is translated from “30 Models for a Missionary Congregation” published by The Protestant Church in the Netherlands, a member church of the Council for World Mission European Region. We are very grateful for their generous permission in allowing this resource to be translated and shared with the wider family of CWM Europe.

The “30 Models for a Missionary Congregation” was created with the help of the consultation group for missionary work. This consists of representatives of the IZB for mission in the Netherlands, Hearing the Good News, the Freethinking Association of Protestants, the Confessional Association, the Confessional Reformed Council and the Evangelical Working Group. Missionary work is not bound by existing boundaries in the church. They all provided valuable suggestions and additions to the missionary models.

Professor Mechteld Jansen, Dr. Gert Noort, Professor Henk de Roest and Dr. Sake Stoppels also contributed to the contents of the “30 Models for a Missionary Congregation.”