Recently, I was asked by a church member, “Quincy, what would Paul say if he walked into our church?” Admittedly, this question stopped me in my tracks. It was a good question and one that I didn’t have an immediate answer to. 

Unfortunately, I couldn’t step through a time machine and travel back to the first century to talk to Paul. Here are a few answers that came to mind as I walked around for the remainder of the day: “You’re a church passionate about supporting missions and service.” “You’re a praying church.” “You’ve got excellent worship services.”

Perhaps you could add more. What do you think? How would you answer this question?

The question continued to gnaw at me until I began to go back to the Bible and reread about Paul. Anyone who reads about Paul’s activities concludes that, among other things, Paul is foremost a missionary. A missionary is “sent” on a mission since the word “mission” comes from the Latin words that mean “sending” and “to send.” 

A missionary is on a mission from God to proclaim, participate in, and spread Jesus’ peace of salvation, healing, hope, and wholeness into a broken world. So, Paul was often sent to places unfamiliar to him. He describes his mission in terms of action (sent to the Gentiles) and in terms of intentionality (to proclaim the good news about Jesus’ death and resurrection that offers healing and salvation). 

In many ways, God has called our church to join Him in bringing healing, hope, and wholeness to a broken world. Jesus is the center of this mission as He came to restore the relationship between God and humanity, between human beings and one another, the created order, and within people’s inner lives where they struggle with pain and shame, wondering if they have what it takes to live a meaningful life. Our mission statement uses the language of “Welcoming All People into a Growing Relationship with Jesus.” 

So back to what Paul would say to us if he walked into our church: How are we missionaries to the South Gwinnett community? Put another way, what does it look like for Snellville UMC to join in what God is already doing in the South Gwinnett community with intentionality (paying attention to what God is up to in people’s lives and communicating how Jesus offers hope, healing, and wholeness in ways people can hear, relate to and understand)? 

This month, we will address this question in our sermon series: Connect with Neighbors. In this series, we will help you establish habits to build relationships with one another, grow in your relationship with Jesus through community, and see that the time we put into developing with one another is worth it. God can do amazing things personally and collectively through a small group of relationships. 

Being missionaries sent to the South Gwinnett community begins through a small group of relationships with people like you, doing the things you’re already doing, Spending time with God and others, using your gifts, and sharing your stories with people in our community.

Paul would say that we are missionaries who participate in God’s mission of healing, hope, and wholeness when we connect with our neighbors to do life together.

At the Intersection,

Dr. Quincy D. Brown