Why Should Church Planting Be the Ordinary Means of Missions As Opposed to Mere Gospel Presence?

Why should church planting be the ordinary means of missions as opposed to mere gospel presence?

Gospel presence is important always in every context, but our task is more than just being where God has placed us. It needs to be an intentional presence. It needs to be a meaningful presence. And I would say that we need to live out our presence according to the three-fold office of Christ that has been entrusted to the church.

First, the prophetic role. So gospel presence must be prophetic in the sense of being always intentional in preaching, teaching, witnessing to and proclaiming the gospel. And if a gospel presence is not defined by the proclamation and the preaching and teaching of the gospel, it will be a weak gospel presence and in the end a self-defeating gospel presence.

Secondly, it must be priestly, a priestly presence. That is, a presence that is characterized by prayer, by proximity, by care for the neighbors, the city, and the context that God has placed us in. And so there is no gospel presence that takes place at a distance or separating ourselves from the people.

And thirdly, there is a royal responsibility, a regal responsibility. We need to embody what it means to be followers of Christ, to be part of God's kingdom by way of living out ordered lives according to the gospel, healed lives according to the gospel.

So if we interweave, blend together the prophetic, the priestly and the royal responsibilities, we may pray that God will use all these efforts to make our presence meaningful and according to the gospel.