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Process, Not Program:
Creating Congregations of Learning and Practice

Adult Faith Formation for Vital Churches
 



Process/Practice > New Language > New Community > Mission/Vision  > Communication  > Goals/Pilgrimage  > Support  > Welcoming Conflict


Mission and vision are also processes (not iron-clad programs) and practices of the Christian life. A mission statement is a living document. And for a church, a mission statement is a locally interpreted understanding of God's mission to reconcile the world to God's own self. Because congregational mission expresses God's mission, it must be responsive to the Holy Spirit and to changes in the world around it. Mission statements need to be revised, reworked, reinterpreted, and rewritten as circumstances change.

Adult formation may be the leading edge of such change—because adult formation is often the most responsive area of congregational need. People's felt spiritual needs are a great resource to understand the problems and shifts in the larger culture. And, if you can respond to them quickly and with theological depth, you are drawing the whole congregation closer to God's mission. But mission is more than statements; good Adult Formation teaches God's mission and practices it by making it tangible in community. Formed congregants and formed leaders take risks because of God's mission.

Vision and mission are related. Knowing God's mission—universal reconciliation—begs the next question: How do we fit? Where are we in relation to God's work? Where would we like to be? Mission is the reality. Vision is imagining us in that mission. Adult formation is more than teaching the Great Commission; it is imagining a world in which God's Reign is a reality. It is imagining a way of life and spiritual practices that provide the adventure of faith. Vision is the creative work of theological imagination that draws us forward in God's unfolding drama and that transforms us. Christian visioning, the development of faithful imagination, takes place no where else in our society other than in congregations. As an adult educator, your job is to fuel the imagination of your congregation and teach the practice of vision.

Questions to consider:

  • How does your congregation understand itself as "community"?
  • Does your church have a mission statement?
  • Does it accurately reflect the life of the congregation?
  • How might you teach and model theological creativity and imagination in your congregation?
  • How do you practice theological imagination in relation to your calling as an educator?