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By Steve Smith

For most people, the word “mission” conjures up two images. The first is from the bad old days of U.S. and European colonialism — a white missionary dressed in clericals, a Panama hat on his head, lecturing at the natives of any given country. The second is contemporary — the evangelical Protestant or Mormon going door to door to recruit. These images are part of the mission story. But they are not entirely of the mission story. Mission is much more than these two images.

Mission is our human participation in God’s on-going mission in the world. God’s mission, which we join, is a mission of justice and peace so that all of us are able to live fully flourishing, fully abundant, lives. Our joining in God’s mission is embodied in so many ways; the most are service with and for others (soup kitchens, school tutoring, Habitat for Humanity) and social transformation (actions that challenge the systems of oppression that keep so many of God’s children from fully flourishing). In service and social transformation, the missionary moves across boundaries of human experience to share in the lives of others in a meaningful way. Through mission we journey in companionship with others. In that journey, we hope to realize the goodness that God desires for the world — for our neighbors near and far, and for us.

The Rev. Steve Smith is Mission Consultant for the Trinity Grants Program.