Sola Fide and the Mission of the Church

What is the Mission of the Church?

Over the past several decades, this question has been a matter of considerable debate among Christians. Should the term “mission” be used exclusively to refer to the task of evangelism and disciple-making, or can it be broadened to include socially-oriented activities?

Some missiologists, for example, see mission as “as everything God wills to do in the world, whether through the church or outside it.”[1] It can include anything that people do that reflects God’s will for creation, including “the pursuit of justice, the furthering of human dignity, the reconciliation of hostile groups, [and] the care of the environment.”[2]

Others narrow the definition considerably, insisting that mission must involve the proclamation of the gospel, but calling for a “holistic” approach that also includes “the alleviation of human suffering and the elimination of injustice, exploitation, and deprivation.”[3] In this view, the twin concerns of gospel proclamation and social action work in equal partnership in mission like “two blades of a pair of scissors.”[4]

Others, however, have argued that while believers should not be indifferent to suffering in the world and that they should look for practical, creative ways to express the love and mercy of Christ to those around them, the specific mission of the church—the singular task which Jesus sends his church into the world to accomplish—is making disciples of the nations.[5] Read More