The Church and Mission Creep

There is a new term that has been coined that I think needs to be reflected upon by the local church. The term is "mission creep." Here's how Wikipedia defines it: Mission creep is the expansion of a project or mission beyond its original goals, often after initial successes.

The phrase first appeared in articles concerning the UN Peacekeeping mission during the Somali Civil War in the Washington Post on April 15, 1993. The writer of the article argued that a humanitarian mission to Somalia turned into a military operation which did not have clearly spelled-out goals and for which the soldiers on the ground were not prepared.

In the same way, it's easy to lose our way in the local church. We simply lose sight of our mission and in our passion for relevance, we end up subordinating the strategies that Christ promised to bless to our own action plans (see M. Horton, The Gospel Commission, 16).

But the strategies that Christ promised to bless are specifically related to our calling: to be a sign and agent of the kingdom of Christ. Hence, our mission and strategies are to be geared to that end alone. Consider Ed Clowney's words in this regard: In the pursuit of holiness, in the proclamation of the gospel, in the service of the poor and friendless, the church of Christ builds a spiritual culture, a foretaste of the kingdom to come (The Church, 176).

Let's beware of mission creep!