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TL;DR:
Every Christian is called to help make Christlike disciples in the nations, and everything a church or believer does should align — or be mission-fit — with that purpose. Being "mission-fit" means programs, people, resources, practices, and decisions work in harmony with the church's core mission of making disciples in the nations, rather than drifting into unrelated or inconsistent activities. The mission-fit concept extends beyond "good chemistry" to include strategic alignment and core value compatibility.
Ideas Affecting World Missions Today
The officially stated mission of the Church of the Nazarene is "to make Christlike disciples in the nations."1 Although this particular wording was adopted later, global outreach has been part of Nazarene identity from the beginning.
Our mission statement announces that we go beyond counting "decisions for Christ." Our core value of being a "holiness people" is reflected in the mission statement's emphasis on Christlikeness. In addition, we Nazarenes have never been isolationists. From the start, we have been involved in disciple-making around the world as well as in our own neighborhoods.
That mission of making Christlike disciples in the nations belongs to the whole church, including missionaries sent by the World Mission office. Finances, personnel, and planning at every level of the denomination should "fit" or be synchronized with both phrases of that mission statement. There must be coherence between what we do and what we say our mission is. Our actions must contribute to the end result we have in mind. For this reason, every Nazarene should be involved in some way with both phrases:
At the local, district, regional, and global levels, we must allow the mission statement to determine what we do, when we do it, and how we do it. We must be prayerfully asking: Does this activity or emphasis or decision fit who we are? Do our congregation's values and vision align with our mission statement? Is what we are doing and how we do it consistent with the objective of making Christlike disciples in the nations? Do we avoid activities undertaken merely because we can do them or because an opportunity happens to present itself? Do we choose activities because they advance our stated mission?
Organizations, businesses, and churches have often said there was "good chemistry" when people, programs, and resources came together to accomplish the group's stated goals. "Mission fit" goes beyond "good chemistry" by asking whether people, programs, and resources align with an organization's mission and core values. This includes filling church positions with people who have the necessary qualifications and skills and whose values and vision align with the church's mission.
If we are to carry out our church's mission, the following items need to be "mission-fit" for us:
If some of these things fail "mission-fit" inspection, we may have settled for things that are inconsistent and perhaps even incompatible with our denomination's stated mission. We need to ask:
Many words ought to describe how we carry out our God-given mission. Words that come quickly to mind include God-centered, transformative, sustainable, culturally appropriate, transparent, reproducible, and empowering. Wouldn't the "icing on the cake," though, be having "mission-fit" stamped on everything from how our church spends money to the activities we seem to be the most passionate about?
1 Note: In the Bible, "nations" frequently refers to peoples or ethnic groups rather than only to modern political states. In the Great Commission, the phrase emphasizes the worldwide scope of Christ's call to make disciples among all peoples. Return to text
Other ways to express the concept of "mission-fit" include:
A program, resource, or person is "mission-fit" when its purpose, values, and contribution align with an organization's mission. For individuals, this includes both the skills needed for a role and a shared commitment to the mission. For projects and initiatives, it means serving a clear purpose that advances the organization's goals.
To achieve the mission of making Christlike disciples in the nations, we must evaluate whether everything we do aligns with that mission. Every Christian has a part in disciple-making locally and globally. As we address challenges of cultural relevance and sustainability, regularly evaluating mission fit will help us pursue effective, transformative ministry that honors God.
— Howard Culbertson, hculbert@snu.edu
This reflection is one of 12 articles in the "Mission briefing" series published in Engage magazine. Articles in that series dealt with issues such as unreached people groups, contextualization, indigenous churches, dependency, sustainability, leadership development, those who go and those who send, culture shock, and globalization.