Here’s How To Know If the Church You Attend is Missional

It’s not by looking at your church’s vision or mission statement (no matter how beautifully crafted). It’s not by seeing whether a church has occasional outreach events or not (though they can be helpful).

In my humble opinion, the key indicator your church is missional is your lead pastor engaging with his own next-door neighbors.

In other words, I believe a missional church (a church that is intentionally trying to reaching those who do not know Jesus) is probably led by a pastor who knows the names of, talks to, prays for, shares the gospel with, and invites to church, his own next-door neighbors. 

Here are two reasons why I believe this to be true: 

1. How a Pastor Engages His Neighbors Shows Up On the Sunday Service

In a recent conversation with a pastor leading a missional church, he said the following words: “I want to pastor my street before I pastor my church.”

I found these words to be profound, not only because of how intentional this pastor was but because it reminded me how interconnected a pastor’s relationship to his street (neighbors) and the stage (Sunday service) really is. 

If a pastor disengages his street, wouldn’t this naturally affect his sermons? His sermons are more likely to not have the non-believing or care for one’s city in mind. And even if the teaching content is about evangelism or welfare for the city, the posture and tone of the teacher (which is just as influential, if not more) may end up depositing what he did not intend to in the hearts of the people.

And since the pulpit drives the church, he will inevitably create a Sunday ethos that does not facilitate or cultivate a robust sense of city engagement or invitational welcome for the non-believing.

The surprising reality is that the ethos of a pastor inevitably shows up on stage on Sunday. And week after week, sermon after sermon, he shares the culture of his spirituality, not just his content. And this will shape the culture of the church at every level. Therefore, the manner in which a pastor relates with his street inevitably forms the church through the stage towards missional intentionality or unintentionality.

2. How a Pastor Engages His Neighbors Shows Up In the Church’s Ecosystem

The same can be said regarding how the church is led.

If the pastor’s ethos drives the church through the pulpit, the same ethos will be cemented in the church’s overall ecosystem through its implemented systems, structures, processes, and emphasis (which are informed by the lead pastor’s greatest values).

Isn’t this the reality of most churches? Unless the lead pastor has a team around him that intentionally helps cultivate culture (which is one of the hardest and most painful things to do), the ecosystem of the church will be birthed through the implementation of the lead pastor’s greatest passions and truest values. His truest values will show up in the board meeting, permeate the church calendar, direct the staff meeting, and guide how he crafts the weekend experience.

(By the way, this is why church conferences don’t end up changing your pastor no matter how many of them he attends. Church conferences can give pastors a momentary spark. They may even spark a stated value. But a stated value is vastly different from a true value. A pastor’s true values are embedded deep in his heart and are the guiding principles in how he leads the church. Pastors often attend conferences and try to make a tweak or the big-time change, but the culture and eco-system of a church will eventually eat up the proposed changes, which can create more confusion and frustration later on.)

This is why two different churches can have the same outreach event but have vastly different dynamics and results. It’s not because one church is “better” than the other in some capacity. It’s because the underbelly of the church eventually shows up to that specific event (and every other event).

Conclusion

Maybe I’m giving the lead pastor too much credit for how he influences the church.

Surely, no one influences the church more than Jesus, the head of the church. But it seems like the very words of God give an indication for the powerful influence pastors have in the lives of the congregation.

In the qualifications of an elder, Paul the Apostle devotes a lot of real estate to the things that happen in the elder’s marriage, his relationship to his children, and how he’s perceived by outsiders. Why doesn’t he just talk about how the pastor should show up to the church gathering? I believe it’s because Paul knows our nearest circles inevitably influence the church circle.

The lead pastor casts a long shadow over his church and this shadow ends up informing and forming more effectively than what he actually hopes to inform and form. 

If you’re a pastor who wants to grow in being missional, I want to encourage you to know that God desires for you to care about the lost more than you could ever think to or want to. I believe he wants us to come before him in humility and with a spirit of dependence. So if you’re desiring greater change (as I am), you’re in great hands.

Practically, a few immediate steps might be to 1) Dive into God’s Word and read through the lens of God’s passionate pursuit of the lost 2) Repent and ask God for his heart until you begin to sense a change 3) Get to know your neighbors. It’s never too late. 4) Preach the gospel to yourself fervently until it moves you when you consider a gospel-less life, city, and world.

If you’re realizing you don’t attend a missional church, there’s no shame in that. You need to know that your pastor has incredible strengths and a unique calling that’s blessing the church. God has strategically and sovereignly placed your pastor with his values and skill sets in this time and at your location for a reason. You can walk into that with freedom and full conviction.

So as long as you’re there, don’t grow frustrated at your church for not being what it isn’t. We are who we are. Your pastor is who he is. If you long for a missional ethos, you will be acting with cruelty towards your pastor if you expect him to change tomorrow. Instead, pray for him. Pray for your church. And then, you take a step in getting to know your neighbors and humbly invite your pastor for prayer.

Let’s care about the things God cares about. He cares about the lost.

Let’s join Him in caring for those who don’t know Jesus.