Les Henson
Suppose we, as the people of God in a given location, are to become a missional congregation that seriously encounters and engages the peoples, cultures, subgroups, and networks we are called to engage within our local context. In that case, our congregation will need to be both deep and wide. By that, I mean that as a missional congregation must be as concerned with the depth of our liturgical, sacramental, catechetical, and catholicity of life as we are with the width of our influence in evangelistic, holistic, socially conscious, culturally and creationally engaged ways.
We must be as intensive in our ecclesial life, as a life-giving congregation, as we are extensive in our world engaging influence. Indeed, we are called to convey the story of the incarnational God who so loved the world that he sent his only son into the world to redeem it from itself and to restore it to its full potential. Thus, we must convey this story of this loving and incarnational God. We are to do this in and through: our liturgical life, our sacraments practice, our catechetical formation and discipleship, and the catholicity of our life and engagement with all people of both faith and non-faith. Similarly, we must be willing imitators of Jesus incarnational lifestyle and ministry, open to the empowerment of the life-giving Holy Spirit and willing participants in the mission of God in and to a broken world if we are to become a truly missional congregation.