Missional Church, Missional Liturgy

Abstract

For the past half century, missiologists and theologians have given new attention to mission as a matter of Christian identity, grounded in the missio Dei, the “mission of God.” The term “missional” is used increasingly to express this notion of the church's participation in God's mission. This essay explores this approach to mission and considers how liturgy can be a locus of the missio Dei. Missional liturgy is not a matter of particular techniques but an approach to liturgy in which the worshiping assembly enacts and signifies God's love for the world. The root meaning of “liturgy” as “public service” supports this understanding of liturgy as the church's offering on behalf of the world.