Flourishing through our Missional Living

Sent people: Why We Live Missionally

“As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” (John 20:21)

• We live missionally because God is a sending God. The Father sent the Son, and the risen Jesus sends us in the power of the Holy Spirit. Mission is not something we initiate or accomplish on our own. God is already at work in the world, including in and through Renewal, and He invites us to participate in what He is doing.

• Our missional life flows from our communion with the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. It is the overflow of being loved by God and sharing in His life, rather than an obligation to earn His favour.

• God gathers us in worship, forms us as His people, and sends us as witnesses and ambassadors of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18–20; Acts 1:8). We are sent not only to distant places or special ministries, but into the ordinary places where we live, work, learn, and play.

• We gather in worship and scatter in witness, participating in God's work for the flourishing of all people in all places.

The Theology of Missional Living

• God Lovingly Sustains His Creation, Earth and Heaven Together. The living God is present in the world as a loving Creator. He loves and sustains all that He has made, and the future He promises is physical heaven and earth renewed. Because “in Him all things hold together,” our knowledge and work in the created world matter. Science, the marketplace, and culture are all part of God’s good creation, upheld by Christ and made to reflect His glory

• Missional living begins with God: “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working” (John 5:17). Resurrection and Pentecost has changed everything forever. We are sent by Jesus in the power of the Spirit. As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21).

• We Are Children of God Before All Else: Before we are called to do anything for God, we are welcomed as His beloved children. Through Jesus Christ and by the Spirit, we have received the gift of adoption, becoming sons and daughters who can call God our Father (Rom. 8:15–17; 1 John 3:1). Our identity is rooted not in what we accomplish, but in whose we are. We do not live missionally to earn God's love or prove our worth. Rather, secure in the Father's love, we are free to participate joyfully in His work, reflecting the family likeness of Jesus wherever we go.

• We Share in the Priesthood of Jesus in a World Filled With God’s Presence: Jesus is the true Priest and the true Son. Through the Spirit, we share in His priestly life (1 Pet 2:9). Because God’s presence fills the whole world, every place becomes a place of worship, witness, and blessing. We are a priestly people—standing with Christ for others, carrying His mercy into homes, workplaces, neighbourhoods, and cultures.

• Every Place Holds the Potential for Holiness: There is no place in the world that is closed to God’s presence or incapable of becoming holy ground. As we live among our neighbours with integrity, mercy, and goodness, our lives bear witness to God’s character. Even when misunderstood or opposed, our good deeds can open a window to God’s glory, so that others may ultimately recognize and glorify Him “on the day He visits us” (1 Pet 2:12). Holiness is not confined to sacred spaces, God makes Himself known through the faithful lives of His people in every ordinary place.

• We Resist Living as If God Were Not Here: It is easy to slip into practical atheism handling life as if God were absent and everything depended on us. Missional living calls us back to awareness and dependence: trusting that God is present, active, and leading us in every part of our lives.

How We Living Missionally as a Community 

1. Who has God placed in our lives this season?

• Think about the people and relationships God has given us:

  • At home, at work, at school, and in our weekly rhythms

  • Through our relationships at Renewal Church

  • Among our neighbours and communities in Barrhaven

  • Through our missionaries and ministry partners

• Where do these relationships take place? Describe the ordinary places where we encounter these people, share life, and build relationships.

2. What do we notice God doing in these places?

• As we consider these people and places, where do we see signs of God's presence and goodness?

• What is flourishing? In relationships, work, community life, well-being, and small acts of goodness?

• What is praiseworthy? What can we celebrate and give thanks for?

• What needs prayer? Where do we see suffering, brokenness, unmet needs, or opportunities for healing?

• What fruit of the Spirit is taking root? Where do we see love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?

3. Who else is present in these places?

• Look beyond our immediate relationships to the wider community.

• Who else has God placed in these places?

• Who might be overlooked, isolated, or in need of care?

• What are we moved to pray for?

4. How might we participate in what God is already doing?

• As a community, consider how we might respond together.

• What opportunities are emerging for us to love, serve, and bless others?

• How might our gifts, skills, relationships, and ministries contribute?

• What small, faithful steps could we take together?

• Our calling is not to bring God into places where He is absent, but to recognize His presence, discern His work, and participate in it together- for the flourishing of all people in all places.