by Executive Director of VM Canada Guy Shields
The stated mission of Village Missions is Helping Country Churches Thrive. But what does that mean? What is a thriving church? And how does a church move toward thriving? I’ve been mulling over these questions since becoming the executive director of Village Missions of Canada earlier this year.
Biblically defined, a thriving country church is one that is actively pursuing the advance of Christ’s Kingdom (Matthew 28:18-20). A thriving church is one that is faithful to Jesus Christ. A faithful church actively pursues the extension of Christ’s rule in them and through them.
Pursuing Christ’s Rule in Themselves
A thriving church is a church that actively pursues the advance of Christ’s rule in themselves. They continually pursue growth in conformity to Christ. A thriving church is a local assembly steadily making progress toward “Christ formed in them” (Galatians 4:19), steadily making progress toward “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-13), “growing up in every way into their head—which is Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).
This advance of Christ’s rule, this growth in Christlikeness, comes by the Word of Christ. The advance, this growth is pursued by the preaching of the Word. Village Missions pursues this advance by Preaching the Word.
In our travels through the summer and fall, Geni and I visited several of our missionaries and churches. We had the opportunity to worship with them on a Sunday morning. At each church, a key element of the worship service was the missionary’s faithful gospel preaching. We witnessed each missionary pursuing the advance of Christ’s rule in his own life and in his congregation through the faithful proclamation of the Word of God. If the Word of God is being preached, then the advance of Christ’s Kingdom is being pursued. This is happening in our churches.
So a thriving church is one actively pursuing the advance of Christ’s rule in them through the faithful proclamation of the Word of God.
Pursuing Christ’s Rule Through Them
But a thriving church is also one actively pursuing the advance of Christ’s rule through them by their witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ, both in word and deed, to the community around them—and beyond.
Again, we’ve observed this pursuit in our churches. All our churches are looking to bear witness to the gospel to their friends and neighbors and to the community around them and beyond them. Some churches are doing in very creative ways. For instance, our church in Meadowbrook, Alberta, hosted a special outreach to the men of the community called “Axes, Arrows and Ammo.” The event included axe throwing, archery and skeet shooting. One of the men from the church shared his testimony, and the Village Missionary gave a brief gospel message. About 20 men participated, including a good number who do not know Christ.
In another VM field, the missionary and church are reaching out to the immigrant population that has moved into the area. The church family have ministered to them in a variety of ways, from rides to the airport and medical appointments to hosting a soccer “tournament” as an opportunity to bring them together and encourage them. If the people of God are witnessing to the gospel in word and deed, then the advance of Christ’s Kingdom is being pursued. This is happening in our churches.
Shepherd-Teachers
The mission of Village Missions is to help country churches in this pursuit. God raised up Village Missions as his instrument to pursue the advance of Christ’s Kingdom in the small towns and rural communities of Canada and the United States. The Mission pursues this mission by partnering with local churches and providing pastors and salary support. These pastors are Shepherd-Teachers who preach the Word and love the people. In other words, they faithfully shepherd their flock in the Word of God and thereby equip them for this pursuit.
The Word of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ, is the effective agent for advancing the rule of Christ in the hearts of people (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Therefore, God’s Word is central and foundational to a Shepherd-Teacher’s ministry and to the pursuit of the mission. The Village Missionary Shepherd-Teacher will mentor the flock in the pursuit of the advance of Christ’s Kingdom by faithfully preaching and teaching the Word of God.
The Shepherd-Teacher will also model the pursuit of the advance of Christ’s Kingdom. In other words, he will shepherd his people by showing Christ. To this end, he will carefully and faithfully attend to his own growth in Christlikeness (1 Timothy 4:11-16). Out of his own knowledge of Christ, he will mentor his people in this pursuit through faithful instruction in the whole counsel of God (see Paul’s testimony to the Ephesians elders in Acts 20:17-35).
The Shepherd-Teacher will also lead the flock in gospel witness to the community around them and beyond. He demonstrates a Christ-ordered life and shares the good news of Christ and the call of the Kingdom.
Village Missions helps country churches thrive, it helps them pursue the advance of Christ’s Kingdom in them and through them, by providing a qualified Shepherd-Teacher and by supporting him and the church in various ways throughout their on-going partnership in this venture. This is the mission of Village Missions.
