A missional-oriented community has an indescribable quality about it in that it is committed to living out the gospel in a way that whispers to your spirit. A missional- oriented community may not be perfect. Still, the active presence of the Spirit can be felt, bringing renewal, growth, and transformation both within it and in the world. The Manila Manifesto states that "We are called today to [an] . . . integration of words and deeds. In a spirit of humility, we are to preach and teach, minister to the sick, feed the hungry, care for prisoners, help the disadvantaged and handicapped, and deliver the oppressed. While we acknowledge the diversity of spiritual gifts, callings and contexts, we also affirm that good news and good works are inseparable." A missional-orientated community is a relational community of the kingdom. It is also, an alternative community with an eschatological nature, embracing and incarnating kingdom values as well as being instrumental in God's strategy for promoting his kingdom in this world.
Furthermore, a missional-orientated community is as Lesslie Newbigin points out a community that is committed to communicating and embodying the story of the crucified and risen Christ. It is not intended to call men and women out of the world into a safe and sheltered enclave. Instead, it calls them out of the world, with the intension of sending them back into the world, as agents of the kingdom of God. The community must, therefore, be understood as a band of pilgrims going into the world as participants in God's mission. Consequently, each member of the community must be recognised as gifted and endowed by the Spirit. For participation and service in the mission and kingdom of God.
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