Our Mission: To prepare biblically-grounded, missional leaders who join the mission of God in diverse communities by incarnating the gospel with culturally-appropriate resilience while seeking the spiritual transformation of people and communities that connects all peoples to God in worship in their own heart language.
We strive to deliver quality missional and ministry training designed within the framework of our core values. Each course and program incorporates these core values. The uniqueness of Missional University can be summarized in these six distinctive areas:
For Missional University, the scriptures are the foundation for both faith and practice. This means that we don’t just study the text to memorize basic bible truths and learn systematic theology. Instead, we study the text to learn how it speaks to us within our cultural context and informs our ministry and missional practices. We value a missional perspective of the Bible that provides the theological framework for missional and ministry practice in light of the cultural context of both the scripture and community cultural groups. Each course and program builds on the implications of a theology of mission. The mission of God encompasses all of creation to which God draws all things unto himself. Practicing biblical shalom (peace) in a cultural context embraces demonstrating God’s love and care for all things as we participate in God’s mission to redeem all things to himself.
Missional University is driven by the concept that Christian believers should become part of the missio Dei — the mission of God in this world. We desire to join in with God where he is at work — in our homes and communities — so that we may see the spiritual transformation of people and communities. We value a missiological understanding of the missio Dei that enables believers to discern where God is at work among peoples in the community and join in God’s mission in the world. Each course and program identifies implications of the missio Dei in relation to its missional and ministry practice.
Missional University celebrates the cultural diversity that exists in this world as a reflection of the creative nature of the image of God in humanity. We desire that all peoples would have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We desire that Christian believers learn how to express their faith in their own social context in culturally-appropriate ways. We desire that Christian believers learn how to interact with culturally different peoples in grace-filled, appropriate ways. We value embracing diverse cultures and fostering authentic, culturally-appropriate faith expressions. Each course and program embraces culturally-appropriate missional relationships and communication.
Missional University encourages students to be exposed to demographic, psychographic, and sociographic data for their local communities to enable them to develop missional ministry approaches for their local contexts through roles in faith-based organizations and in occupations where they engage people at their point of need. We value various forms of cultural research that inform both the student’s understanding of the sociocultural contexts within their communities and their own missional and ministry practice. Whatever messages we share and the methods we employ must be “contextualized” for the audience to whom we are communicating and serving. Each course and program should incorporate contextual information as foundational for the delivery of missional and ministry messages.
While theory that underlies missional practice is important, the practical understanding of doing missional ministry is the central focus of the Missional University. Missional ministry skill development enhances the student’s usefulness in missional ministries in the neighborhood, community, and the world. The scope of missional ministry includes both addressing spiritual issues with the words of the gospel and a wide range of deeds of compassion, mercy, and justice that address personal and social issues. We value missional and ministry skill development that enhances the personal giftedness of each student and prepares them for their unique missional and ministry role in the community and congregation. Each course and program enhances the personal effectiveness of missional ministry functions.
Integrated throughout all of the training at the Missional University is an experiential orientation with a heavy dose of “field practice” where concepts that are discussed in class are lived out in the real world. Reflection, integration, and collaboration flow out of the relationships that are formed between students and faculty. This experiential learning has a transformative power to equip students with missional skills. We value theological and missional reflection conducted within a community of missional practice that informs and interprets those experiences. Each course and program interprets missional practice by reflecting biblically, theologically, and missionally.
The board of directors, administration, faculty, and staff adhere to the doctrinal statement set forth by the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization known as the Lausanne Covenant, a movement started by Billy Graham and John Stott in 1973.
We, the board of directors, faculty, and staff of the schools of the Missional University, and members of the Church of Jesus Christ praise God for his great salvation and rejoice in the fellowship he has given us with himself and with each other. We are deeply stirred by what God is doing in our day, moved to penitence by our failures, and challenged by the unfinished task of evangelization. We believe the Gospel is God’s good news for the whole world, and we are determined by his grace to obey Christ’s commission to proclaim it to all humankind and to make disciples of every nation. We desire, therefore, to affirm our faith and our resolve, and to make public our covenant. For more information
We, the trustees, administration, faculty, staff, and students embrace global service in the mission of God as an evangelical community that stands within the tradition of Christian orthodoxy and pledge our energies and resources to further the kingdom of God across the world.
We gladly take up the mantle of the early missionary pioneer, William Carey, who together with his colleagues drafted the Serampore Covenant to guide the development of their Christian mission in 1805 Serampore, India. We covenant together to embrace ways of living in keeping with the spirit and intent of this missionary document. For more information
