Since the word ‘missional’ is now co-opted to mean all sorts of things, the word that needs to be inserted with it is ‘incarnational.’ Mission just means to be sent. Incarnational is how we are sent, or what we do as we go.
If a church is doing incarnational ministry, they’re moving beyond a program. A church could have a missional emphasis, where they might serve the poor or take up some mission to a local elementary school or a homeless shelter or something like that. But that would still be more programmed. When it’s incarnational, individual people are taking on that mission themselves. It becomes an intuitive part of who they are.
I’ve found people don’t really hang out with people unless they get a heart for them. The only way you can get a heart for a person is to kind of force yourself to be with them. Jesus teaches us that wherever you put treasure, there your heart’s going to be, and it’s not just about money. It’s literally, for a while, forcing yourself to walk across the street and meet a neighbor, or walk into a part of town where people aren’t just like you, and you’ll start to get a heart for them. Keep reading
See also
Incarnational Mission - Hugh Halter [Video]
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