Marks of a Missionary Movement - #1 White Hot Faith

How does a genuine movement of God's Mission begin?

"God takes the initiative and chooses unlikely people, far from the center of ecclesiastical power. He works to remake them from the inside out...a growing band of ordinary people emerges who have a heartfelt faith and missionary zeal that knows no bounds. Despite opposition from powerful forces with society and (sometimes) the existing church, the gospel spreads into unreached fields."

That's a quote from a very short but powerful book I have just finished reading and will read again titled Movements That Change the World by an Australian church planter, Steve Addison. You can find out more about Steve @ http://www.movements.net/ The New Testament is a missionary document. Acts 1:1 tells us "In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach." The book of Acts is the continuing story of what Jesus began to do and to teach, not the ending, and that movement yet goes on.

There are no easy steps to create a missionary movement. Addison reminds us "We are utterly dependent on God for our salvation and for the results of our ministries. Nothing can explain the spread of the Christian movement throughout history other than the power of God that is present in the communication of the Gospel of the crucified and risen Jesus Christ."

Addison does point out however that there are 5 observable characteristics that mark a missional movement. The first of these is White Hot Faith. In the southern hemisphere, where the church is growing at an exponential rate, it can be said that "passionate faith is at the heart of the movement...it is the greatest resource...and often the only resource." There, "people are more likely to believe that what they read in the Gospels is happening in their midst. they believe that the world of the apostles is a present reality."

For me that last statement popped off the page, and it is how I want to approach "mission", believing that what I read in the Gospels is happening in our midst right now and that the apostle's world is a present reality for me and for us! That kind of "white hot faith" can be seen particularly in those who have immigrated and have been raised up to share Jesus with their own growing people group right here in Texas. For them, as Steve Addison says "White hot faith is the fuel that missionary movements run on. Nothing happens without a deep dependence on God. Nothing leads us into healthy dependence on the power of God more than to come to face with our desperate need of Him."

I'll be sharing the other 4 marks in the weeks ahead.