When a survey in the Mennonite Church asked people how they understand the term "missional church," one wit responded, "Ironically, when my spell checker got to ‘missional’ it offered one alternative: ‘minimalism.’ In other words, [missional church is] the lowest common denominator that brings us together in the new denomination." Indeed, the survey responses ranged from this somewhat cynical remark, to bewilderment, excitement, or even relief that the church was promoting a vision that respondents could support.

When I think missional church, I think concretely. I think, for example, of the Belmont congregation in Elkhart, IN, where mission is in its DNA—its very nature and identity. For years it has hired not only pastoral staff, but also a community worker. Based on results of a neighborhood survey, Belmont started a Sunday evening worship service that fit the schedules and needs of people living near the church.

When Belmont decided to build a new facility, it didn’t relocate to some highly visible place along a major thoroughfare, as church consultants might have recommended. Instead, they recommitted themselves to the working class neighborhood where they were. Their building plans incorporated a multi-purpose facility with a gym that is used by the congregation and the community alike, as well as a room available for neighborhood functions.

When I think missional church, I also think of Toledo (Ohio) Mennonite Church. When it built a new facility in 1995, it located itself in a working class, bi-racial community with the expressed purpose of serving it in some way—even though members come from all over the city and beyond. Their missional vision became focused when several women in the congregation announced that they had a call to start an after-school program for elementary children, especially for those who went home to empty houses with no adult supervision. Since the church is strategically located near three Toledo schools, these women asked the principals how they could serve their students. What emerged was an after-school tutoring program in a school system that was performing poorly in the statewide, standardized test.

The missional church is one that takes its own context seriously. For too many congregations, however, geographical location is mostly happenstance. It just happens to be where their building is located, or it just happens to be where their members meet once or twice a week for worship, nurture, and fellowship. To be a missionary, we once thought we had to ask, Where is God calling us? It assumed geographical relocation.

But the question the missional church asks is: What is God doing in the world, and how can we be part of that? The missional congregation is one that looks for opportunities to extend hospitality to others, offering the healing and hope it experiences as a gospel-formed community.

A missional church isn’t one that simply adds more outreach projects and gets busier for God. To answer the question "What is God’s call right where we are?" calls for a congregational commitment to spend "down time" in prayer, listening together to the Spirit of God. It asks: What is our passion? What are the needs in our community? What are our gifts? What would we really like to be doing—not just where our church is located, but where we all live and work? To be missional means to engage in spiritual discernment—a sacred plumbing of the deepest longings of our congregation.

Frederick Buechner once said, "The place God calls you to is where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet." He intended this for individuals. But it applies just as well to congregations. Especially missional ones.

Richard A. Kauffman