By Doug McConnell Former International Director, Pioneers

I love the Church. It is the Body of Christ, the family of God, the living temple that is being built as a dwelling where God lives! Can you believe that He has raised us up to be part of this wonderful activity?

The Church is a wonderful mosaic of people and cultures. Let me share just a few examples from the world of Pioneers.

• The Romani Church in Skopje, Macedonia. Sitting next to our missionary team leader in the home of one of the church leaders, I was impressed by the way that the entire family had gathered in the larger of the two-room dwelling. We all joined in open conversation as though we were long lost family members. Our discussions ranged from the testimony of each of the older participants to the urgency of the need to meet the needs of over 8,000 refugees fleeing the persecution in Kosovo. This little church is the first of its kind on the outskirts of Skopje. As I listened I was blessed by the vibrancy of their faith in the Lord. What a joy it will be to sit at the feet of Jesus, the Head of the Church, and give praise to Him with our Romani brothers and sisters.
• The Korean Presbyterian Church in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Entering the first of five churches planted in Tashkent by our missionary co-worker, I was surprised that I had to preach in English, which was in turn translated into Russian for a Korean Uzbek audience. During the reign of Stalin in Russia, Koreans were relocated throughout the USSR so that today most speak Russian as their first language. Although it was Russian speaking, this Presbyterian Church felt just like others in various countries I have visited. It was such a delight to participate in a service where two of the first Korean Uzbek Christian leaders had recently been ordained. Today there are new members of the Church of which Jesus is the Head in a land that has been closed to the Gospel for so many years. Imagine the joy of the Lord when we all gather to sing praises to Him around the throne together with the Uzbek believers.
• The Pioneers Church near Cape Coast, Ghana. Arriving after a long flight followed by a two-hour drive, I was delighted to finally be sitting with the believers in this newly planted church. Our missionary gave a kind introduction just before I spoke to our brothers and sisters in Christ. What a thrill it is to see the members of a church join in celebration of our Lord Jesus. After the service, we gathered at a nearby beach to see some of the new believers baptised only a few short miles from the site of a former center of slave trading. Oh the joy that we share as together we praise God together as one new people from every tribe and nation!

All three of these churches and many others within our world are a great example of what mission historian, Andrew Walls, meant when he said, “It is a delightful paradox that the more Christ is translated into the various thought forms and life systems which form our various national identities, the richer all of us will be in our common Christian identity.” I love the Church!

The church is central to our mission statement as an international fellowship.  Reflect on it with me.

We are so committed to this thing that we call the Church, that it is our primary task and the goal for which God raised us up. So, it would behove us to take just a few minutes to review what we mean by the Church. There are so many terms and metaphors for the church, over 100 in the NT that we cannot deal with all of them, so I will focus only on two: the Body of Christ and the household of God.

The Body of Christ

(Romans 12:4-5; Ephesians 1:22-23)

The concept of the body in the NT is varied; however, of the 91 occurrences in the letters of St. Paul, the majority of them refer to the image of a Christian congregation. The Body of Christ has a twofold emphasis. The first is the concept of members of the body joined together in relationship in which there is a true diversity of gifts and functions. By the power of the Spirit, the Body is brought together to minister according to His will as a particular congregation or what we call a local church in our 4th core value.

The local church is both the one who sends us as missionaries in full partnership with Pioneers and the group of believers who gather in the places to which we are sent. We see these local expressions, not as a “part of” or as “a body,” but as the Body of Christ. The wonder of the Body of Christ is that it transcends both our borders and our concepts of presence. Our call is to work with the church, which is both local and universal. To achieve that, we have stated that Pioneers partners with sending churches and whenever possible with national churches. The reason is clear. Both are the Body of Christ. As local churches are planted, they too become the Body. This extension of the Body is what we mean by church planting movements. Every one of these churches is in relationship to the Head, Christ Jesus our Lord. What the Apostle Paul referred to as the mystery revealed at the right time (Eph. 1).

An example will help to identify how significant this concept is for each of us. The Huli Church, which is part of the Evangelical Church of Papua New Guinea, is located in the Highlands of PNG among a people group of 80,000. It began in the early 1960s when a group of missionaries trekked in and made their homes among the people. They learned the language and began the process of both planting churches and translating the Bible. Of course, there were many other activities that formed part of the outreach including education, medicine, businesses, and a range of other activities. These missionaries were sent from local churches in Australia and New Zealand. As the churches were planted among the Huli, they were the Body of Christ as well. Today, the Huli Church has identified a number of missionaries who are preparing to move out beyond the borders of PNG, hopefully to join Pioneers in reaching unreached peoples in other parts of the globe. Together as the Body in relationship to one another and to Christ, the Head of the Church, we will glorify God!

The second emphasis refers to that wonderful truth that heavenly gathering in which Christ, as Head of the Church, is seated and has raised us to sit with Him in the heavenly places (Eph 2:4-7). While we have not yet experienced this, we know that we will by the gift of faith God gave us. That very same hope is one of the most blessed assurances you can hold as you look at the unreached peoples who will soon fill your vision for ministry. It is not an empty promise, but the very word of God that peoples from every tribe and nation will one day join us in singing praises around the throne before the Lamb of God (Rev. 7:9-10). You must cultivate that vision of the unreached peoples as members of the Body of Christ. The living organism called the Church will not be complete until every tribe and nation bows the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil 2:10-11). I love the Church!

The Household of God

(Ephesians 2:19)

The term “household” in the NT introduces the imagery of the family. The basic social unit of the first century was that of the household. These communities were made up of people who were in some way related to the “father” or master of the household. The concept was taken by the Apostle Paul and invested with even greater meaning. God is the Father and those who are redeemed by the Lord Jesus are His children, that is, by spiritual birth into the family of God. A biblical example is the household of Philemon. Each person is a member of the household living in community because of their relationship to the Father. Therefore, members are to treat one another as members of the same family.

It would help us all to pause and remember that we do not choose the members of our family, apart from our spouses. How many of us have wished upon occasion that we could have chosen our siblings! You see the truth about a family is not that we define it, but that it defines us. The way we live must; therefore, be based on who we are as a family not just what we want to do or be. The Apostle Paul captured it so clearly. “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God” (Eph 2:19).

As a movement, Pioneers has chosen to express this reality of the Church in the concept of team. As members of God’s family, we work together in teams to glorify God in our ministries. Our 5th core value is that we are team centered. We work together “Using various gifts and methods while modelling Christian unity.” Please hear me clearly on this one! Our very unity is an expression of the Church and is not an option determined by some random administrative action. By our very life together, we witness to the Head of the Church as the household of God. Brothers and sisters, this raises the significance of our interpersonal relationships to a whole new level, not to mention the necessity to learn to resolve conflict Christianly.

One of the most exciting examples of this unity and the challenges that surround it is our Bosnia team. Part of the ministry of the team has been the establishing of the Sarajevo Baptist Church. In the early stages of this church plant, it was obvious that there was a need for both a local language congregation and an international congregation. The two congregations shared a facility holding two services each Sunday morning. I remember looking across the English speaking congregation and noticing the amazing diversity of the group who gathered to help rebuild the Bosnian society after the tragedies of war. There were people from many different countries gathering each week to worship God in the unity that belongs to the family of God. And even more dramatic was the second congregation with people representing all three of the warring groups in Bosnia. What a thrill to my heart to see Serbs, Bosnians, and Croats in worship as members of God’s family, our brothers and sisters! I love the Church!!

Brothers and sisters, the church is central to all that we do as Pioneers! As members you are commissioned to be part of teams to glorify God among unreached peoples. Each of you has a unique contribution to make to the fulfilment of our mission and we need you. It is so exciting to witness this reality and to know that you are touching the world by your obedience to the call of God. Each of you is a special member of God’s family and together we make up the fellowship of Pioneers!

You embarked on one of the most significant callings in the world: the missionary calling. It is full of highs and lows, but don’t forget that every new day is also full of opportunities to exercise your faith in the Head of the Church. The exciting thing about the Church is that it stretches around the globe and members of God’s family that you have not even met will surprise you by their love for you. As the Church we are called to love one another as a witness to Christ (John 13:34-35). Perhaps the best summary can be found in the words of Dan Geijer in an email we received recently.

“We are approaching our last week in the large city before moving to the regional center. We kind of feel ambushed by the emotions of leaving. Last year we were prepared for saying goodbye (we had known we would leave for nearly 2 years) and even though it hurt, we expected it, which took off some of the edge. This time it is different. The team here has really become our family this year and we love them dearly. They were the folks that received us, showed us the ropes, and who have loved us well. On the field they say you find either the worst or best of situations on a team. I think we found one of the best - the oneness of purpose and mind you find is unparalleled. I only hope that we can develop a similar bond in the team we are trying to start in our new city. Many tears will be shed this next week as we say our goodbyes. We already went through one with our language class. It was hard but encouraging.”

Oh the joy that fills us when we remember that we are members of the Body of Christ, the household of God. I love the Church!