Trinitarian Ecclesiology: a Model for Mission

Abstract

Is every local church obligated to have a strategy to take the gospel cross cultures to those who have never heard? If so, what is the biblical foundation that shapes how churches go about accomplishing this goal? Is it the Great Commission? What about the models of Jesus and Paul? As helpful as these are for developing missions strategy, churches and mission organizations must recognize that the Trinity, as revealed in the Scriptures, is the foundational reality from which all missions strategy must be derived. This work argues specifically that missions strategy most faithful to this Trinitarian foundation must strive to proclaim and reflect the eternal love, order, unity, and mission of the divine community (Father, Son, and Spirit); a strategy that cannot be faithfully accomplished apart from healthy biblical community. By the end this work will demonstrate that sending missionary teams, or strategic kingdom communities (SKC’s), from local churches is the most faithful strategy to the Trinitarian nature of God.