Missional church is a community of Word, Sacrament, and Prayer, which involves certain religious activities to convert non-believers or apologists of other religions to their faith. Mission in a religious context and similar activities, especially in Christianity, are prevalent. The missionary church represents the various movements and denominations that shape it. The Missionary Church in the United States is a member of the National Association of Evangelicals; its mission is to glorify God by uniting and representing evangelicals in the United States. Together, they strive to strengthen denominations and ministries by offering resources to inform and inspire evangelical leaders and facilitate collaboration between movement and group leaders. In addition, by joining together, they also represent the interests of their members in Congress, the White House, and the courts. The Association’s Chaplains Commission supports chaplains in the military and other institutions; World Aid is the humanitarian arm of the associations.
The activity of the missionary church is extensive, but time passes and brings with it changes in the religious sphere. Certain church activities affect the updating of the practice of North American ecclesiology in a post-Western, post-modern, post-Christendom context. In the “post-modern” American society, the attitude towards religion and its role has changed from a survival mechanism rooted in people’s minds at a certain point in history to a way of self-expression. (Kim et al., 2016) This is evidenced by the growth of “New Age” or “body, mind and spirit. ” (Kim et al., 2016, 2008) Against the background of the crisis of church institutions and the mass “exodus” of Christians from the traditional Church, there is a growth of new religious movements (Kim & Kim, 2008). They radically change the past religious practices and testify to the relevance of the category of religiosity in the modern world.
At the same time, along with various occult and esoteric movements of the “New Age” era, a special place is occupied by Christian movements: “Neocatechumenatus” and others (Kim et al., 2016). They represent forms often far from the theology of popular piety. These movements are prevalent among young people when traditional communities are complaining about the complete lack of interest in the Church on the part of the younger generation. There is an explicitly ecclesiastical version of postmodern religiosity in this kind of Christian movements. The reason for the popularity of such practices of North American ecclesiology is mainly in the new form corresponding to the spirit of the times, as a “response to the demands of the postmodern era.” (Tennent, 2007, p. 195)
The growth of religious pluralism and freedom of religion in the United States leads to an increase in the quality of the religious supply and, therefore, an increase in the demand for religious services. One of the movements that developed along the lines of North American ecclesiology was the Emerging Church movement, which appeared in the Anglo-Saxon world in the second half of the 90s of the 20th century. Today, in addition to America, the movement has spread to Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa. The participants themselves understand the “Emerging-Church” movement as the proclamation of a new church in the postmodern era (Kim et al., 2016). The community of the 21st century gains more and more influence in American evangelical circles and finds its place in the theological space of other cultures and confessions. The participants in the movement unite around their confessions while maintaining maximum openness and dialogue through the search for unity in diversity. The religious activity of the missionary church to attract into their circles finds its embodiment in newer practices that are rapidly spreading throughout the United States.
References
Kim, K. & Kim, S. C. H. (2008). Christianity as a World Religion. Bloomsbury Academic.
Kim, K., Kim, S. & Kim, S. C. H. (2016). Christianity as a World Religion: An introduction. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Tennent, T. C. (2007). Theology in the context of World Christianity: How the Global Church is influencing the way we think about and discuss theology. Zondervan.