The motor is Mission

I fly often. I try to get seats from the middle to the front of the plane and often on the aisle. When flying smaller planes, that is especially the case because the back of the aircraft is so noisy. It's where the motors are. Nobody misses where the sound is coming from on a smaller regional jet. But, I would not want to fly and have the sound stop. Because those motors drive, propel that plane through the air. And we all know that as well. So, we put up with the noise because of the indespensability of the motors. Without those motors, those planes will not fly.
In the MCC Missions Committee we have been having some exciting conversations about our church motor. What's the motor that "drives, flies" the church? Picking up off the last article, we all agree that Missions is THE motor that drives the church. Jesus died and rose for us that we might know him and have eternal life through him. That's a big deal. And while it is important for those of us who already know Jesus to enjoy God and worship him. That's not the whole story, not the whole deal, not the whole plane. There are lots and lots of people who do not have that wonderful, life-giving relationship with Jesus. Some of those people live in distant lands. Some of those people speak different languages. Some of those people come from different ethnic backgrounds. Some of those people are from our same culture, speak our same language, come from our ethnic and cultural heritage. But they don't know Jesus...and they need to. That's Mission; crossing the bridge to people who do not have a living relationship with Jesus.
That means that everything we do here is, and should be, Mission. We should be doing mission, training mission, supporting mission, encouraging mission, celebrating mission. When a 5th grader brings her neighbor to club 56 and that neighbor has no church home....that's mission. When a 7th grader has a lunch-room conversation about why he thinks Confirmation is good for him with his friends....that's mission. When a homeowner brings a tray of cold drinks on a hot day to the yard crew and has a drink with them...that's mission. Missions is less about distance, language and ethnicity than it is about focus, view and intention.
There is no disagreement that our culture is post-Christian in that less than 19% participate in any sort of church life. So, Missions must be the motor that drives MCC. Is it kind of noisy and messy? Yes it is. Is it necessary? Absolutely!