The 21st century offers the church exciting and challenging ways to express faith. Jesus stated something eloquently in Acts 1:8b when he said; “and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the world.” This is not new news. What is new however, is how faith will be expressed. Our God is a sending God. He sent his Son, his Son sent the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit sends us. Christian witness is being redefined. This is taking place within a global cultural paradigm shift, with a movement from Modernism to Postmodernism. The church is now being forced to rethink its approach in engaging the culture.

The church remains a powerful entity. Jesus has given us the ministry of reconciliation. Within God’s Kingdom we are his visible agents, entrusted with the task of making him known within the community. The culture of the day then becomes the beneficiary of the redemptive lift that occurs when we enter into it and within the confines of the Kingdom of God.

Given this, it is within the local community that the church begins its quest for mission. It is here where we work, socialize, play, worship, and have our being. It is here where our spiritual footprints take us any given day within our very own world of influence. As the local church engages the community, it lives out the mission strategy of Jesus practically, vibrantly, carefully, and contextually.

Modern culture helped to define how we think, who we are and our witness engagement. For the most part we were happy to send out missionaries globally, and our pastor locally. Postmodern culture is demanding a new engagement. This will involve and require every one within the local church. The pastor will move from professional witness to teacher, and playing coach, helping the faithful to know how to live out their faith.

It is vital then that the local church understand this new approach to witness. This will involve a shift in approach. This will be our conversation over the next few months. We will discuss how the local church empowers the faithful to live missionally within the community where they reside. In March we will examine this cultural shift, and show how the church can engage it properly. I hope you will communicate your thoughts with me as we construct this new approach to engaging our communities for Christ.

This is the first in a series of four articles submitted by Dr. Bryan Hagerman (Regal Road Baptist Church). A new one will be posted each month. We invite your comments on the form below as we dialogue about these issues. Comments submitted will be posted after approval is granted.