During this season of spiritual discernment let us embrace a missional approach to imagining our ministry future that is also inspired by a Biblical understanding of our existence.

Such a missional approach requires prayer and sensitivity to God’s call upon us.  We also have to probe deep within First Baptist to take an inventory of the various gifts, resources and personalities God has placed within us as we decide on appropriate mission actions for ourselves.

As we probe we must ask ourselves, “What are the primary or core theological values that shape our existence as The First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, DC?  Which needs within our congregation and community should become priority targets or marks for us to aim at in our mission and ministry?  What is a lean and mean organizational strategy that best reflects our priorities, invites people to participate, and trains them for service in the areas we have prioritized?” After developing such priorities and organizational strategy, we must agree that our best energies and resources—human, financial, and material—will be committed to the mission opportunities that emerge from this new approach.  Strategic priorities, goals, and are not simply abstract concepts, but they are actions that can be written down on paper, laid out on a calendar, allocated for in a budget document, resourced through congregational leaders, lay members, clergy, and church staff.

We might also ask ourselves, is there a narrative or a story in the scriptures that inspires us or that captures the spirit of our self-understanding theologically and missionally?  In Luke 4:16-21, Jesus spelled out his own mission program, and what followed in his ministry in subsequent years were words and deeds that corresponded to the ministry agenda that he articulated.  So too, we have to decide, “What is our biblical mandate for mission, and what are the core values that inform our ministry?”

We refer to the church’s areas of ministry activity as program areas.  People also refer to these as mission areas or mission priorities.  Notice that mission is not confined to simply one segment of our ministry.  However, “Mission” encompasses all aspects of our ministry, including worship, education, evangelism, outreach and in-reach, discipleship, hospitality, congregational care, advocacy, concern for the poor, etc. All these and more are mission areas.

Whatever our organizational strategy looks like it needs to effectively position today’s membership in relation to their passions, perspectives, personalities, and skills sets, in creative circles of mission and ministry that allow them to utilize their talents on a daily basis.  We are speaking now about the process dimension, that is, how we do our mission, which needs to be updated to our contemporary modes of living and acting.  Processes involve how we relate to one another, how we are knitted together, how we maintain morale and climate.  Processes involve us in making decisions, sharing leadership and accountability, communicating with one another effectively, and resolving difficulties.

Our social context is the specific local setting in the world where we find ourselves living and moving.  Included in this particular social context are people from various backgrounds and walks of life.  We can look around us and actually describe the characteristics and cultural traits of our community, including the social groups, institutions, and neighborhoods that comprise our community.  When talking about our social context, we identify and name the various social groups that exist.  We are an international community and a residential community. We are a community of learners, public servants, global and local leaders, and highly talented individuals who have responded to a profound call to come to this city and to make a difference in the world. 

In this specific social context we represent God’s unconditional love for the world, proclaim a message of Good News, and invite all people to join us in forming a beloved Community that honors God, that welcomes all people, that disciples them in the teachings of Christ, and challenges them to duplicate the ministry of Jesus in the world.

Our presence, active engagement, and our witness in this community should give people the sense that Jesus is very much alive in this community, that His presence can be seen and felt in the way the members of this Church interact with one another and with the larger community.  Thus our presence, our proclamation, and our practices through words and actions should effectively draw and compel people to want to know Jesus Christ more deeply.

When taking aim at a high mark, we have to organize ourselves in a way that inspires us, equips us, and enables us to follow through our discipleship commitments, biblical mandates, and our strategic priorities in our daily lives. A mission-driven organizational strategy brings believers together around the most prominent themes of the Gospel for focused study, for personal and corporate, commitment, and planning. 

Our foundation as a church is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, his teachings, his Great Commission to go into all the world, and his Great Commandment to love God and neighbor, and the Golden Rule, to do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and His core values as found in the Beatitudes are enough to get us started.  Thank God for the Holy Spirit that urges well-intentioned Christians to bridge the gap between proclamation and practice by translating our faith into action.  In everything we do we must ask, does our planning translate into actual measurable ministry.  Are we aiming to win, are we pressing toward the goal, and toward the mark of our high calling in Jesus Christ?