Foundation of true disciples needed to ‘Ignite Hope’ in Texas

AMARILLO—A cannon cannot be fired from a canoe, Milfred Minatrea told Texas Baptists at an "Ignite Hope" evening rally at the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting. The key to a cannon—or any powerful force—is solid ground.

"To ignite hope across Texas, it will take a firm foundation," he said.

The foundation for the work that God intends to do in Texas is available in the churches, but it needs to be strengthened by an effort to move individuals from second-order missions to first-order missions, said Minatrea, founder and executive director of the Missional Church Center in Irving.

Milfred Minatrea, founder and executive director of the Missional Church Center in Irving, spoke at the "Ignite Hope" evening rally at the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting.

Second-order missions involved gathering groups of believers to engage in a single mission event with a scheduled time and addressing a specific need, such as a trip abroad or work at a local shelter, he said. While useful, second-order missions events are limited in their scope and resources.

Instead, churches need to use those events to propel their members into first-order missions, Minatrea insisted. This model sees mission activity as a part of daily life, with individuals scattered throughout a community engaging in various forms of service, addressing relational opportunities with others more than ministry needs.

To move to this model, Christians need to abandon their traditional segmented view of life, with the church as one of many elements in the world, Minatrea said. Rather, believers should see the church as intersecting every aspect of life and become missional believers.

"We as Texas Baptists need to rethink the way we understand the church in the world," Minatrea said.

Instead of churches asking for the lost to enter their sanctuaries, "The Father is saying to us, 'I have already placed you out there with lost people,'" he said.

One of the reasons for this absence of "missional" thinking is the lack of emphasis on disciple-making. Far too often, Minatrea stated, the church focuses on providing mass instruction and exhortation, but they do not become engaged in individual, daily accountability.

"Disciples are not made in mass or in class," Minatrea quipped. "Missions depends upon our effectiveness in making disciples of Jesus Christ."

Every church needs individual attention, accountability and challenge to cause individual believers to reflect the actions and heart of Christ, he said. Disciples become disciple-makers themselves and view the world through missional eyes. In turn, they provide a foundation for disciples ready to engage their world with the hope of Christ.