Every time I teach or train on Missional Living or Church Planting, I draw three circles on a large poster paper. This is the simplest way for me to explain what aligning with the mission of Jesus looks like.

Simple Understanding of Missional

Simple is good. It actually takes a large amount of effort to explain things in a simple way.

Here is a Simple Understanding of Missional:

Sent by Jesus
      with the Cross
           in Community
                 to the Culture
                        for the sake of the King and His kingdom!

Typically as I explain each of the three circles – I write the words Cross, Community, Culture in each one. There three words capture the essential components of missionality.

As I continue, I explain the parallel ideas found in these circles:

Neglecting the Cross, the Culture, or Community

If you fail to include any of these Missional Circles, the mission will fail!

(To read more about this, explore: Failing the Mission)

Unfortunately, many churches in America are Missionless. They embrace the cross and experience community, but they never engage the culture. Unless, of course, lost people wake up on a Sunday morning and decide to come to church.

As Len Sweet observes, “The time for getting people to come to church is over. It is time now to get people to come to Christ.” (Faithquakes, p 28)

Today’s Missional Challenge: Embrace the Cross, Experience Community, and Engage the Culture for the sake of the King!