For this month's CONNECTION:
- Watch our video on the Church and the importance of integral mission
- Listen to a conversation on integral mission with Living Water International’s COO and Director of Church and Community Mobilization for Africa
- Reflect on the topic of integral mission through prayer and discussion on your own, with your family, or church community
For those who experience an extreme injustice each day such as the global water crisis, a message of God’s love may not always come in the form of a gospel sermon, but rather in the act of providing long-awaited safe drinking water.
Jesus taught us through his actions that healing the sick, caring for those in poverty, and advocating for the marginalized is a demonstration of the gospel. To ignore the world and its struggles is to ignore God’s mandate of serving his kingdom.
Through an integral mission mindset, we can pursue God’s calling of ministering without separating the desperate needs – both spiritual and physical – of his people.
CONVERSATIONS
CONVERSATIONS
Jonathan and Lindani
REFLECTION
Read the scripture passage, pray, and reflect on the concept of integral mission on your own or with a group.
PRAYER
READ: “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:14-17, NIV
PRAY: Dear God, as we work to follow your command to be disciples to all nations, help us to love people fully – caring for their whole being. Give us unity as a global body of Christ so that we can live out your commandment and be and advocate for the sick, the thirsty, and all those who are hurting and seeking you. Thank you for giving your people hearts that are capable of caring for a person’s physical, social, and spiritual needs. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
DISCUSSION
- Reflect on how Jesus lived out integral mission during his time on earth. How did Jesus bring the good news of the gospel through his actions?
- Why is it necessary for both the proclamation and demonstration of the gospel to be so closely interwoven? What are the consequences of having one without the other?
- Reflect on how you can be more intentional about caring for people as a whole – their mind, body, and spirit.
