God's Mission and the New Creation

Here is another observation from Emmanuel Katongole which gets to the heart of what "mission" is really about.

Being an immigrant can be a blessing. God's mission, as I read it in 2 Corinthians 5:17, is new creation. God is reconciling the world to himself. And there is a sense of journey that is connected with that. When, later on, Paul says that "we are ambassadors of God's reconciliation, God is appealing through us," he is inviting us into a journey toward a new kind of community. People looking at Christians should be confused. Who are these people? Are they black? Are they white? Are they Americans? Are they Ugandans? In Revelation, John sees people drawn from all languages and tribes and nations: an unprecedented congregation. Living on three continents has deepened my understanding of the church as such a congregation; at the same time, it has heightened my sense of Christian life as a journey and of what it means to live as a pilgrim, a resident alien.

In evangelical churches, mission has long been understood as somewhat synonymous with evangelism. Evangelism, in those same circles, has long been understood in terms of "getting people saved," often in a context wholly isolated from a believing community. The era of mass evangelism seems to be waning in America, although there are signs that it is still alive and well in the two thirds world. But the question of whether it is alive or dying is secondary to the question of its effectiveness in fulfilling the true mission of the church. If God's mission, as Fr. Katongole says, "is new creation," then how effective is mass evangelism, as currently practiced, in carrying out that mission?

One could make the case that Pentecost was the first example of "mass evangelism." But the three thousand new disciples added that day "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers" (Acts 2.42). In other words, they were incorporated into the community of believers and the practices which defined that community. They were not simply led in "the sinner's prayer" and then told they could go home, confident that if they died that night, they'd go to heaven. Granted, that is something of a caricature of what happens at present-day "mass evangelism" events. But it does reflect a major shortcoming of this approach to evangelism.

Modern evangelicalism has unquestioningly accepted an Enlightenment presupposition which is diametrically opposed to orthodox Christian faith, namely, belief in the autonomous individual. Salvation, under this paradigm, is a strictly individual choice with responsibility for following up on the experience falling entirely to the person having made such a choice. Converts at mass evangelism events are encouraged to connect with a local congregation, but there is no guarantee that they will. Even if they do, there is the likelihood that the "church of their choice" will be one in which the expectations for spiritual growth are minimal.

The early church was no stranger to "mass evangelism." Indeed, from Pentecost onward, the Gospel was spread from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth by means of proclamation to large numbers of people. The one-on-one evangelism episode involving Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8.26-40) seems to be the exception, rather than the rule. But this was "mass evangelism" of another kind entirely than what passes for "evangelism," mass or otherwise, in the contemporary American church. Salvation was a corporate or communal, as opposed to merely individual or private, experience. Entire households, where deep-rooted relationships already existed, heard and received the Gospel. Entire towns, such as Samaria, were said to have "received the word of God" (Acts 8.14). When one individual convert, such as Simon the magician, tried to take matters into his own hands, he was soundly rebuked by the apostles (Acts 8.20).

Clearly, "mass evangelism" has its place. But, within the wider context of the mission of God (Missio Dei), it can only be effective so long as it remains true to its biblical foundations. The new creation has nothing to do with turning up a bunch of autonomous individuals whose "salvation" is all about getting themselves into heaven. The new creation is the final glorious work of God bringing restoration to the whole of the created order. This work begins with Christ, continues through the church, and climaxes with the great heavenly banquet, consummating the union of Christ and his Bride in the presence of God the Father forever and ever.