You have been receiving daily quotes for your reflection and inspiration Monday–Friday. We have now added a weekly mission feature, which you can choose by going to the Church of the Saviour website, inwardoutward.org and clicking on Resources > Email Subscription Form. If you do not want to receive the Saturday mission feature, you can update your preferences or unsubscribe at the bottom of any email from us.
Core principles of the Church of the Saviour tradition:
- Journey Inward: Ongoing growth into the image and way of Jesus through practicing various
spiritual disciplines such as centering prayer, prayer of embodiment, Scripture reflection, journaling, and
devotional reading - Journey Outward: Discerning and following God’s call for your life as part of the Body of Christ.
Living into your unique piece of God’s dream of peace and reconciliation (shalom) for all people. - Journey Together: In-depth Christian community in a small covenanted group for mutual love,
support, accountability, shared leadership, and mission in a mission group.
What Is a Mission Group?
The purpose of a mission group is to enable an explosion of unlimited spiritual power and healing into the lives of group members, the Church, and the world. The group is composed of a small, diverse, group of Christians (usually four to eight) called together by the Holy Spirit in
order to: 1) grow personally and spiritually, 2) belong to each other in love, 3) use their spiritual gifts to carry out a shared mission, and 4) faithfully follow Jesus’ call on their lives.
How Does a Mission Group Begin?
A Mission group is usually formed as a result of one of more persons who sense a calling from God to address some need/pain in the community, nation, or world and to carry out the calling in community with others who share this calling. In the course of following this calling, group members often discover that the need/pain that they are called to address relates to need/pain in their own lives. The mission group becomes a setting for both shared mission and personal healing.
The authenticity of the call is discerned and tested not only by the person(s) who sense the call but also by the church or ministry organization related to the group. The governing structure of the church/ministry organization assigns one or two representatives to work with the called
person(s) to lovingly discern whether the call is a legitimate expression of the work of the Spirit, or primarily an expression of the ego needs of the individual(s) involved.
Once affirmed and approved by the church/ministry organization, the called person(s) shares the call with the larger congregation/organization in whatever ways appropriate for the larger group (worship service, ministry team and/or committee meeting, governing body meeting,
newsletters, website, etc.). “Sounding the call” is done with the hope that other people will sense a connection with that call in their lives and become part of a team to shape and develop the various aspects of the group’s life and mission. Persons outside the particular church/ministry organization may hear about and respond to the call that is sounded. In most cases, the mission group is not limited to members of the church/ministry organization. However, the church/ministry organization exercises oversight of the mission groups related to the larger body.
-Jim Melson, Cornelius Corps, New Community Church
