Empowering destitute people towards transforming communities

2Missions with the destitute flow from the Missio Dei

In terms of missions with the destitute, Meyers (1999:209-210) powerfully illustrates the Missio Dei at work in the world. He points out that evangelism (the speaking of the gospel) is often the second act in the story. Using examples from Acts, he explains how Peter’s speech (Acts 3:3:12-13), and Stephen’s sermon (Acts 6:8) were both cases where the gospel was proclaimed in response to questions provoked by the activity of God in the community. That is the Missio Dei at work.
The Missio Dei must represent the starting point of all true mission. Mission is God’s mission: an activity of God Himself, part of the very nature of God (Bosch, 1995:390).
To quote Murray (2001:39): “Mission is not the invention, responsibility, or program of human beings, but flows from the character and purposes of God… mission is defined, directed, energized, and accompanied by God". Guy (2006:1) emphasizes God’s missionary heart when he remarks:

We recognize that it is God who is on a mission. He who created us and has loved us from the beginning, and has sent His Son to redeem us, continues to pursue us, and to work within us. He is the Good Shepherd, who is tending the flock. The ministry is His ministry”.

The principle is that mission is not a programme of the church but rather an attribute of God. Mission originates first in the heart of God and we are caught up in it rather than initiating it. Mission is primarily the work of God and we participate with God in His work.
Aagaard (1973:13) adds that mission is seen as a movement from God to the world; the church is consequently viewed as an instrument of that mission. In this sense the church therefore becomes a participant in the mission of God (Bosch, 1995:390).
What is this mission? Meyers (1999:42) offers helpful insights in this respect:

From the day our first parents walked out of the garden, estranged from God, each other and the earth itself, God has been at work redeeming the fallen creation, its people, and its social systems. God’s goal is to restore us to our original identity, as children reflecting God’s image, and to our original vocation as productive stewards, living together in just and peaceful relationships.

Bosch (1995:390) considers that to participate in this mission is to participate in the movement of God’s love towards people, since God is a fountain of sending (missionary) love. God sent His Son, Jesus, in an act of love, and He is still sending Jesus, the manifestation of His love, through the church to the world. The church is consequently in service to the Missio Dei, representing God in the world, pointing to God, holding Jesus up before the eyes of the world. Scherer (1987:84) adds that in its mission the church witnesses to the fullness of God’s promised reign and participates in the ongoing struggle between that reign and the powers of darkness and evil.
The church is not to be perceived as the only instrument of the Missio Dei. As Kramm (1979:210) comments, since God’s concern is for the entire world, this should also be the scope of the Missio Dei. It affects all people in all aspects of their existence. This signifies, according to Bosch (1995:391), that, in its missionary activity, the church encounters humanity and a world in which God’s salvation has already been operative secretly, through the Spirit. Missio Dei then points to the fact that this is God’s ongoing work: He has been about this before we were here. Others have been serving Him before we were involved. In a sense it often feels as if the church is running late and needs to catch up, but in fact we just need to jump in and do what we can right here and right now with those around us: we simply need to participate with all of our heart in the Missio Dei.
The implications are clear: as church we participate in God’s mission, and when we engage others (including the destitute) we discover God’s salvation has already been secretly operative among them, through the work of the Spirit. The context of this salvation is SHALOM, as will be evident later on in this chapter.
In terms of the destitute, the truth of the churches’ participation in God’s mission is manifested as solidarity with the poor, in line with God’s “preferential option for the poor” (Gutierrez, 1996:143-145; Wagers, 1998:2), as it is often described in literature dealing with liberation theology. This matter is addressed in greater detail later on in this chapter (2.5).
The churches’ journey of missions with the poor has travelled through many stages¹¹, with strong “current” themes emerging as far as missions for our day and age are concerned. Bosch (1995:368-507) identifies these themes as “elements of an emerging ecumenical missionary paradigm”.¹² In the footprints of Bosch, many insights can be gained into the emerging themes for mission today as these impact on missions with the destitute: some of these themes are touched upon here, selected for the way in which they directly affect our understanding of missions with the destitute. The final theme addressed here, “Mission as prophetic dialogue”, was developed by Bevans and Scroeder (2005).

2.1Mission as “Church with others”

In Bosch’s (1995:368-389) view this refers to a shift from mission as the mandate of the church as authorized divine institution to others, towards an understanding that the church must do mission with others as a sign and instrument of the reign of God that is to come. This concept implies recognition of God’s activities in the world outside the church. It requires that the churches’ offices, orders and institutions should be organized in such a way that they serve society, and do not separate the believer from the world.
Gutierrez (1996:236-242) touches on the same idea when he writes about the “church of the poor” and the “church of the people” instead of the “church for the poor”. The basic concept is that we are not the church for the poor or the destitute that reaches out to them in a unidirectional fashion; but that they become part of the church in every sense of the word, an active part of a missionary community; therefore the church becomes church with them.
Once again the implications are clear: no longer can we do missions with the poor in a way that forces them to feel we look down on them, but rather in a fashion that collaborates with them in serving people (including themselves: the destitute). If we approach missions with the destitute in this manner, we should discover God at work in the world outside the church together with the destitute. What an exciting prospect!