From Jenni Duffy, Licensed Evangelist
On Sunday 29 January we celebrated Candlemas during our team service, and we were pleased to welcome Revd Miles Baker, the Peterborough Diocesan Director of Mission, as our preacher. Some years ago, I was in a teaching session led by Miles where he gave us the following quote:
“Mission is dancing to God’s tomorrow music today and inviting others to join in.”
Mission is something that we as the Body of Christ are all called to do, to go out and share the reason for our hope and to spread God’s love. It is shown in the way we care for those who are in need, the way we look after our world and the way we welcome those who are different to us. Mission is also shown in the way we interact with each other in our church context, the way we participate in the life of our church community and how we speak of those in our church family.
Evangelism is what we are doing when we invite others to join in, and just like mission, it is something we should all be doing. You may not be like the evangelists we see on TV or in city centres, but that is not the only way! We can all share our faith with those we spend time with and speak about how God has worked in our lives, and we can invite others to ‘come and see’, just as Jesus’ disciples did so many years ago.
The quote above conjures up a wonderful image of a joyful scene with beautiful music and a party atmosphere. I wonder if that is what visitors experience when they ‘come and see’ in our church contexts?
If we are to be the people who invite others to join in with God’s tomorrow music today, we also have to be the ones who provide that party atmosphere and bring about that joyful scene in our interactions with one another and with God, who loves us more than we can possibly imagine.
Now who wouldn’t want to invite others to join in with that?
With every blessing,
Jenni Duffy
Licensed Evangelist