Integral Mission Blog

by Jim Martin

As a North American pastor I am often involved in discussions about what it means for the church to be the church. There are lots of versions of this discussion floating around. Some churches seem to hide within themselves. Some focus on Evangelism, some pride themselves on their "External Focus", some describe themselves as "Missional". And while I would not say the discussion among church people in North America is completely academic (I see many churches doing meaningful ministry), I would say that it has been somewhat frustrating and limited. It seems to fall victim to an all-too-common polarization. Either we have churches that are involved in evangelism and are concerned about the condition of people’s souls, or we have churches that are concerned with social issues like poverty and injustice. Seldom do we encounter churches that are willing or able to embrace both ends of this biblical spectrum.

As a pastor connected with some of what God is doing in Latin America, I have, for the last 10 years, been both humbled and inspired by what so many churches in Central and South America understand as the nature of church. Many of these churches have had to forge their existence in difficult environments. Systemic poverty and corruption are a fact of life in many places in the Third World. The claim that one has "Good News" rings much differently in an environment where human suffering is more pervasive and visible. There must be Good News for both body and soul.

As a result, one of the beautiful things the Latin American church has given us in the last half-century is a rich theological basis from which we can build discipleship and ministry which embrace the fullness of what church should be. For decades now, Churches in Latin America have been talking about the mission of the church as an "integrated mission". The following is a brief description of the concept written by a group leaders who have been practicing Integral Mission for a long time.

From the Micah Network Declaration on Integral Mission:
"Integral mission or holistic transformation is the proclamation and demonstration of the gospel. It is not simply that evangelism and social involvement are to be done alongside each other. Rather, in integral mission our proclamation has social consequences as we call people to love and repentance in all areas of life. And our social involvement has evangelistic consequences as we bear witness to the transforming grace of Jesus Christ. If we ignore the world we betray the word of God which sends us out to serve the world. If we ignore the word of God we have nothing to bring to the world. Justice and justification by faith, worship and political action, the spiritual and the material, personal change and structural change belong together. As in the life of Jesus, being, doing and saying are at the heart of our integral task."

This blog will seek to provide postings and discussion which explore this concept of churches bridging the divide and ministering to the complete range of human needs. We will seek to foster dialogue among church leaders in South and North America in an effort to promote Integral Mission not just in the Americas, but everywhere.