I had a sense of God‘s presence throughout my childhood; we‘d occasionally go to church as a family (sometimes I even sensed God there!). It was at university that I came to understand more of what it meant to be a Christian, discovering who Jesus is and why he died. There, I was introduced to the concept of mission, which seemed quite scarey! We were encouraged to practice sharing our stories of coming to faith, but mine seemed a bit dull and unconvincing, more likely to lead to failure to share anything of importance, and embarrassment. So I find the 5 marks of mission that we’re currently looking at really helpful and releasing too. Whilst they aren’t the last word in how to ‘do mission’, we discover that the mission isn’t ours as individuals or even as the church - mission is God’s. That’s sometimes referred to in Latin (just because!) as the Missio Dei. It’s God’s mission to draw the world into his love. And we are wonderfully invited to join in with what He’s already doing. We simply take the opportunities He presents, and use the gifts He’s given us. That sounds more like an invitation to join a party than a duty to be feared or failed!
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