Missio Dei: Messages on the missional church

By Kevin Wilcock

Kevin Wilcock is the Senior Pastor of Life Church, Newcastle, Australia as well as the founder and leader of Ozreach Australia. He is a leading practitioner in missional churches in Australia as well as leading a relational movement of missional churches. Amongst other things, they run Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) 7 days a week, Seafarers Mission Life Houses emergency accommodation, Pub Church and Soul Café, a feeding program for the homeless and needy, also providing a doctors clinic, Legal Aid, counselling, Centrelink, clothing, and general support.
The chapter titles are
Chapter 1 - Things are changing
Chapter 2 - The missional life
Chapter 3 - Uncluttered Christianity
Chapter 4 – Understanding cultural trends and spiritual climates
Chapter 5 - Missio Dei
Chapter 6 - Communitas
Chapter 7 - Missio Dei & Communitas
Chapter 8 - Leadership in a missional world
Chapter 9 - Discipleship in a missional world
Chapter 10 - Pastoral care and shepherding in a missional world
Chapter 11 - Evangelism in a missional world
Chapter 12 - Meetings in a missional world
Chapter 13 - Church buildings in a missional world
Chapter 14 - The 5 marks of a missional church
Chapter 15 - The strengths and weaknesses of missional church

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wayne Back
• Release date: Jan 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311820433

Kevin Wilcock

Born in England in 1964, Kevin migrated to Australia with his family and lived in Wollongong (south of Sydney, New South .Wales, Australia), from the age of five. Kevin gave his life to Jesus Christ in 1981. Since the early years of conversion Kevin has been involved in ministry on a very active level from Youth Leader to Senior Minister. Kevin has pioneered and pastored a number of growing churches. Kevin's realness and relational ability to the Australian culture has allowed him to travel extensively across the nation and beyond.He now serves as Team Leader of Life Church Newcastle and OzReach Incorporated. Kevin, his wife Tracey and two daughters, Faith and Rachel, are currently based in Newcastle

Book preview

Missio Dei

Messages on the missional church

Kevin Wilcock

Published by Kevin Wilcock at Smashwords

Copyright 2015 Kevin Wilcock

All inquiries about this book should be made to [e-mail]

Information about ministry and other resources from Kevin Wilcock, go to www.ozreach.org

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - Things are changing

Chapter 2 - The missional life

Chapter 3 - Uncluttered Christianity

Chapter 4 – Understanding cultural trends and spiritual climates

Chapter 5 - Missio Dei

Chapter 6 - Communitas

Chapter 7 - Missio Dei & Communitas

Chapter 8 - Leadership in a missional world

Chapter 9 - Discipleship in a missional world

Chapter 10 - Pastoral care and shepherding in a missional world

Chapter 11 - Evangelism in a missional world

Chapter 12 - Meetings in a missional world

Chapter 13 - Church buildings in a missional world

Chapter 14 - The 5 marks of a missional church

Chapter 15 - The strengths and weaknesses of missional church

Chapter 1 - Things are changing

I was sharing with some people recently that are more part of an attractional style of church. Not being able to share with their own group, they shared with me some of their dissatisfaction with what they are seeing and sensing. One young guy just finished a big tour among some of the larger youth ministries only to find things have been more shrinking rather than growing over the years of him ministering in these circles. Others have said despite their huge efforts and large crowds they are seeing less and less people coming to Christ, and more and more just coming to be ministered to.

Two styles of church

It’s like ministers within the attractional style are feeling more and more like Christian event managers instead of being shepherds feeding sheep, many have become comperes, entertaining goats. Please don’t get me wrong, it’s not that we’re seeing massive results ourselves in the missional world. I think sometimes we feel more like a social worker trying to reach people that don’t want to change. I think we’ve just got to be a little more honest about what’s really happening or what’s not happening when it comes to kingdom growth. I don’t think it’s about one style over the other, I think both are important. I believe the early missional style churches within Australia reacted to the excessiveness and the large transference growth of the attractional church and started forsaking and putting down the importance of the coming together for worship and teaching and putting everything into mission, only to find themselves with no money and lack of workers to serve in the missional expression they were adopting.

Shift happens

I see the Sunday celebration as the equipping time, the refreshing time, the gathering of new workers to the mission of what God has called us to. Let us not forsake the gathering together as is the habit of some, but may we just steer our churches, our lives, our ministries a little closer into the world. I personally believe that there is again another major shifting in the body of Christ underway. Sadly the prodigals that have left the church for various reasons possibly far outweighs those that are now in the church. And those coming to church, come less often and our level of new converts has decreased dramatically. Some things that once built our church no longer work. Our post-modern Christian world is coming to an end and the need to launch our churches into deeper water has arrived.

I think if we ignore these changes we could possibly miss out on what God is doing in our generation. We just recently visited a great attractional church that had a very popular speaker. The place was packed, the atmosphere was pumped, all the bells and whistles were in place and I really mean this—it was really a great night. From the worship to the word, from the carpark to the cuppa, the night was brilliant. The presence of God was there. But what made the night a real winner for me is we brought our missional model to this event, about 40 unchurched, pre-believers to this meeting. About 15 of them made a public commitment to Christ and some were powerfully saved. I think with our missional style and their attractional style, it made a great combination for God to move.

Going where we have never gone

When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. Joshua 3:3-4a. If you ask