Living out a missional livestyle was one of the main themes at the second day of the third Mission-Net Congress.
Embedded in the Theological Leaders Track, the AfeM (Association of Evangelical
Missiologists) Gathering is taking place onsite. About 75 theological leaders,
mainly from German-speaking countries, came especially for this event. The key
topic of the first day was “Mission with a Migrant Background.” In mostly
interactive seminars, the participants discussed several aspects of this theme,
such as why classical mission strategies seem to fail in today’s church and why
people are actually talking about a missional lifestyle. Vivid discussions
ensued and at the end there were more questions than answers. Today the main
topic is “Missiological Reflections on What We are Doing and Why”. Frère
Richard (Communautè de Taizé), is coming to share about how they live a
missional lifestyle in the community of Taizé and how it is
multiplied.
In the Mission-Net Evening Celebration, guest speaker Cristian Barosu (Romania)
challenged the participants to think about why they live and what gives meaning
to their lives. “Choosing Jesus is not one out of many possible ways, it is the
only way,” says the Romanian pastor who studied in the United States. “Even if
there might be a variety of possible ways, there is only one truth.” Barosu
contends that one of the main reasons why so many young people are not
satisfied with their lives is that they are searching for the way. He
challenged the participants to not be like the older son in the parable of the
lost son. After serving at a church for several years, it is easy to be absorbed
by the daily routine and lose the actual goal. The talk concluded with an
opportunity for participants to come to the front and renew their commitment to
God.
The night was still young after the Evening Celebration, and there were many
activities for participants. Many chose to get creative in the Art Zone
and draw what they felt, while others enjoyed a worship concert with Andy
Flannagan (England). The young Europeans could also talk to a counsellor
about a certain issue that might have come up during the Congress so far, take
part in a personality profile, or even enter a data base showing mission
opportunities around the world.
Mission-Net is hosted by the European Evangelical Mission Association and the
European Evangelical Alliance. Chairperson of the Mission-Net Board is Martin
Voegelin from Switzerland. More than 120 organisations, mission agencies, Bible
schools and theological seminaries actively support Mission-Net.