A frequent priority of the local congregation is to attract people to come to the physical property of the church so as to inlcude the “pagans” in the life of the church. This model began with the Roman Empire, especially after Constantine’s conversion and Christianity became the official Roman religion.

Since that time, a “Constantinian Model” has led congregations to emphasize that what happens in the physical church building or service is “church.”

Consequently, congregations offer worthip services and education programs but are weak in ministry outside the church building.

Those who want to join the life of faith must leave their culture and come join us in our church. The church does not go to them. This “come to us” model functioned in the Western Church in the culture of Christendom. Without much effort, people came to our congregations and adapted to our culture. All too often, Western missionaries planted Constantinian congregations even in non-Christendom lands.

In every age, there are those Christians who see the Constantinian model as flawed. They see the incarnation of Jesus as a call for the church to leave its “safe” building and move into the world of those they are trying to serve. These missional Christians adapt to the culture rather than ask those outside the church to change cultures to find God. They also sense a call to communicate Christ in words and deeds of love.

In previous years, I invited people to church when I met them, thinking in that way they will hear the gospel. I began to see that I was giving the church an unfair advantage. I was asking them to come to my turf, where I was the leader, where I stand and speak while they sit and listen. It was a lack of courage that led me to rely on bringing them to a place where I was the boss and they were the servants. What I had to learn to do was speak the gospel on their terms — in their homes, in their boats — as a friend and as an equal. — Mark Peske, missionary to the Ojibwa.

It seems safer to remain in our congregations and hope people will come to us. Maybe the safest place for the church is to be where Jesus is.

– The Local Church in Mission: Becoming A Missional Congregation in the Twenty-First Century Global Context, Lausanne Occasional Paper no. 39, 2004

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