Encountering God - Encountering relationship and Christ

Wholistic Mission

The Unity of Wholistic Ministry

Our ministry can be summed up as bearing witness to the character of God and his mighty acts of redemption. This includes proclamation, service and fellowship. We announce the good news of repentance and faith in Christ; serve the needy and counter evil and injustice; and share fellowship in the Body of Christ. In this way we fulfill the mandate to make disciples, to reconcile and restore broken relationships in a sin-spoiled world, and so reflect the unity of the Triune God.  These aspects of our ministry belong together and cannot be separated. Together they contribute, in different ways, to our overall witness.

The Diversity of Wholistic ministry

Within this unity we recognise diverse dimensions, which also need to be held together.  To some extent they exist in tension and this is part of their power to transform.  They include:

Word and Action

The proclamation and demonstration of the gospel cannot be separated.  And yet, there is a time for a loving action unaccompanied by words.  And a moment for words made all the more compelling by loving action undertaken unconditionally in an earlier moment.

Personal Life and Ministry

There is no separation between our personal faith and our actions, between believing and being. We express this in the various communities in which we live (family / neighbourhood / Interserve / local church / city / nation etc.).  Wholistic ministry is impossible without integrity in our lives:  What’s inside and what’s on the outside being in alignment.

Professional Activity and Ministry

Each of us has skills for our daily life and our work - for example homemaking, professional or vocational skills, parenting, leisure activities. For some these may be our main activity, on which our visa or financial support is based. For all of us these skills and activities are part of our service to God and our neighbour. So they are equally important to the way we live and how we relate to those amongst whom we live, work and serve. They have value in their own right and form a part of our ministry.

Watch video on Wholistic mission by Chris Wright