Pioneering mission in new ways

Rick Hill introduces PCI’s first mission pioneers who are carving out new possibilities of mission in PCI.

Just over 50 years ago, the Lausanne Covenant declared that evangelisation required “the whole church to take the whole gospel to the whole world”. It is a call to action that has since served as a rallying call to many in the church and it is the concept of the ‘whole church’ that I wish to point us to.

There has been a well-publicised need for more ministers in our denomination at this time. I join with that prayer that more gifted men and women would sense a call from God to test their call to serve the Church in this way. We need a new generation of ministers to both fill current needs and realise new possibilities.

However, this isn’t all we need as a Church, is it? At the General Assembly in June 2024, the principal of Union Theological College encouraged us to pray, not simply for 30–40 more ministers, but “hundreds and hundreds of gospel workers” to come forward to seek training and join with God in his mission. I echo that call.

In chapters 9 and 10 of Luke’s gospel, we read of Jesus sending his followers out in pairs to the surrounding towns and villages. Their task was to prepare the way, be workers in his harvest field and speak of the nearness of the kingdom of God. It is striking that Jesus sends these disciples out when he is still on earth. The ministry of Jesus was fully active and at its height, yet he still saw the need to involve others and mobilise them in his mission. The whole body taking the whole gospel, through both declaration and demonstration, to the whole world.

On one level this is a reminder that every disciple of Jesus is to be sent, not merely passengers in a pew but participants in his mission. This is a call to us all, no matter our age or stage, our background or baggage, that we each have a part to play in the task of the Great Commission. There has always been a need for more workers for the harvest fields. But there is also a need within the Church for those who give a lead and go first, those who mobilise and pioneer, who deploy and develop, who “equip the saints for works of service” (Ephesians 4:12). That is why, in recent years, the Council for Mission in Ireland has been seeking evangelists, pioneers and church planters to not simply serve the current needs of the Church but, under God, to carve out new possibilities of mission.

Pioneers are those who go first, pave the way and initiate connection with those outside the Church…

One specific pathway for individuals in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland who feel called to this specific kind of missional endeavour is through the role of ‘mission pioneer’. This is a new title for an existing role known as missional auxiliary ministry, approved by the General Assembly in 2023 and opened for applicants in 2024, where individuals could be assessed and approved by the Church before being apprenticed and trained accordingly, in preparation for deployment into new opportunities for mission as they arise. Such opportunities might be new mission projects that seek to lead to church planting or bring a sharp outreach focus to church revitalisation efforts.

Pioneers are those who go first, pave the way and initiate connection with those outside the Church to engage them with both the gospel and Christian community. We are praying for those who would carry a vision for this kind of mission work across this island to be identified and equipped in order to “proclaim this message and spread it throughout [our] towns” (Nehemiah 8:15).

It has been encouraging to deploy three mission pioneers in recent months…

PCI’s Council for Mission in Ireland wishes to identify and release those who can be involved in the sphere of evangelistic outreach or church planting, particularly in the parts of this island where we are least represented. We are seeking suitable pioneer evangelists and church planters to serve in this way to enable the development of fresh church planting or mission activity in areas where it is needed most.

It has been encouraging to deploy three mission pioneers in recent months, as well as consider applications from other interested individuals. Our hope is that this would increase capacity, provide a sharp focus on outreach and pioneer work, and ultimately add more workers to the harvest field across this land.

This may feel like a new thing, but in reality, it is an old desire, as we join in the prayer of Christ, asking the Lord for more workers, yes in the form of ordained ministers to serve our Church, but also pioneer missionaries who can be sent out to the surrounding towns and villages to break ground, prepare the way and reach people for Christ.