The Church and Her Mission

Tim Davis

The church is like a tree. 

 It began with Jesus—the seed that was buried in the ground. But now it’s grown into a multi-ethnic community that spans tribes and languages across the earth. 

The Bible gives us a compelling vision of the church: it’s the bride of Christ, the body of Christ and a dwelling place for God, just to name a few. But even with images given to us in the New Testament, it can still be difficult to nail down what the church is and its mission. 

So let’s see if we can answer some important questions in simple terms. 

WHAT IS THE CHURCH?

I began with a word picture. The church is “like” a tree.

 But what is it? 

The word church or ekklessia in Greek, “could be translated woodenly as “called out ones” but by the time of the first century the word simply referred to a public assembly (Acts 19:32, 39, 41”.[1] 

I appreciate the good intentions of folks who say, “The church isn’t a building, it’s a people.” However, the New Testament still likens the church to a building—a place that belongs to God. For example, the apostle Paul tells the churches in Ephesus that God’s people are being built together into a dwelling place for God (Eph. 2:19-22). 

The church is also described as the body and bride of Christ. Each member of the body is connected to the head, which is Christ (1 Cor. 12:12). God is also the bridegroom of the bride—that is the church (Eph. 5:31-32; Rev. 19:7-8).

So the church is the assembled people of God. The early Jesus community used language like building, body, and bride to describe her identity.

THE CHURCH’S MISSION

Now that we’ve discussed what the church is, let’s now consider what she does. In other words, what is the mission of the church? 

In short, the mission of the church is the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20). We’re commissioned to make disciples by going, baptizing and teaching.

Another way to think about this question of “mission” is to ask, “What is the thing that if the church doesn’t do it, it doesn’t get done?” 

The point of this question is to guide our attention to the “main things”. We want to avoid the pitfall of saying the mission of the church is anything and everything Christians do. We don’t want to mistake political ambitions or building houses—as great as these endeavors can be—with the mission of the church.

From the gospels to Acts to the New Testament letters, the Church’s mission appears to be summed up in the Great Commission. The Church is called to make disciples by going, baptizing and teaching. We are to proclaim the excellencies of our Messiah Jesus—who he is and what he’s done. Yes, we want to live out a Christian ethic in all areas of life but as we do, let us not lose sight of the main things.