The Church must send or the Church will end

• God meant for His Church to be a sending institution
• If churches are not sending people to reach the lost around the world, they are ignoring a key part of their reason for existence.
• If a church congregation is truly 'in Christ,' it will be is involved in world missions.
• To be part of the body of Christ is to embrace the nations with Him.

A slogan to awaken the Church

Sayings about world evangelism that stir hearts and move people to action

"The Church must send or the Church will end." -- Mendell Taylor, church historian

Mendell Taylor's "sound bite" on the Church's obligation to send missionaries sounds poetic. It should. Taylor liked saying things in ways that would stick in people's memories.

Taylor was a church history scholar. However, his interests extended beyond centuries of doctrinal development (as important as that is) and church squabbles (as fascinating as those can be). In addition to those things which church history buffs sometimes concentrate on, Taylor seemed drawn to the Church's missionary outreach and world evangelism efforts. He was a founding professor of Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City where, right from the start, he taught a History of Nazarene Missions course. Out of that course's content, Taylor wrote a three-volume history of the first fifty years of Nazarene world evangelism. He also authored a hefty textbook titled Exploring Evangelism: History, Methods, Theology.¹ A significant part of that book is given to global evangelism through the centuries.

During a sabbatical semester away from the seminary, Mendell Taylor made an around-the-world trip. It was not a pleasure jaunt on board a cruise ship. Rather, it was a five-month long trip to visit Nazarene missions work in 20 countries. Taylor used notes he made on the trip to write a book. That Nazrene Missions International mission book was titled 50,000 Miles of People, Places and Practices.

The observation that "the Church must send or the Church will end" reflects what Taylor saw in church history as well as what he personally observed. Taylor had read the Bible. He had studied church history and he knew current trends. It was clear to him that God meant for His Church to be a sending institution.

Taylor knew that if the Church was not sending people to reach the lost around the world, it would be ignoring a key part of its raison d'etre, its reason for existence. Mission drift happens to organizations. When groups such as churches distort or drift away from their original mission, they often wither and die. That is the principle that Dr. Taylor was expressing. (More on mission drift)

Taylor's pithy sentence "The Church must send or the Church will end" is more than just a well-formed phrase. It is the truth. The Church must send or it will die. At best, a church that is not involved in sending risks becoming a mausoleum which may seem beautiful on the outside but is essentially lifeless inside.

That image calls to mind the words of Revelation 3:16: "So, because you are lukewarm -- neither hot nor cold -- I am about to spit you out of my mouth." It also evokes the strong words of Jesus to Jewish religious leaders of His day: "You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean." -- Matthew 23:27.

There is an antidote. As some unknown author wrote, "The best remedy for a sick church is to put it on a missionary diet."

What Mendell Taylor said has been echoed by others:

• "Any church that is not seriously involved in helping fulfill the Great Commission has forfeited its biblical right to exist." -- Oswald J. Smith
• "There is nothing in the world or the Church -- except the church's disobedience -- to render the evangelization of the world in this generation an impossibility." -- Robert Speer, leader in Student Volunteer Movement
• "Only as the church fulfills her missionary obligation does she justify her existence." -- Unknown
• "The mark of a great church is not its seating capacity, but its sending capacity." -- Mike Stachura
• "Missions is not the 'ministry of choice' for a few hyperactive Christians in the church. Missions is the purpose of the church." -- Unknown

Discussion questions

1. How do you evaluate the significance of the phrase "the Church must send or the Church will end"? In what ways can it be said to reflect the Church's obligation to global mission and evangelism?
2. How does the principle of mission drift apply to the Church's involvement in global mission? How can churches prevent mission drift and stay true to their calling to send missionaries?
3. What are some common misconceptions or excuses that churches use to justify not being involved in global missions, and how can they be addressed?
4. In what ways do you think Mendell Taylor's background and interests in missionary outreach and world evangelism shaped his perspective on the role of the Church in sending missionaries?
5. What are some practical ways that churches can participate as "senders" in global mission and evangelism efforts?

Afterword

Mendell Taylor's powerful phrase, "The Church must send or the Church will end," should be a stirring reminder of the Church's divine mandate to engage in world missions. It reflects the essence of the Church's existence as a sending institution, called to reach the lost around the world. The principle of mission drift is a real danger for churches, and when they deviate from their mission, they risk becoming lifeless and ineffective. Therefore, churches must prioritize their missionary calling. Churches should actively participate as senders, supporting and commissioning missionaries to fulfill Christ's Great Commission.

    -- Howard Culbertson,

¹Note: In addition to books dealing with evangelis and missions, Taylor also wrote two devotional books: Every Day With the Psalms and Every Day With Paul.

You might also like these

• More in Engage magazine's series "Slogans that awakened the Church"
• Two congregation's attitudes toward world missions
• When should world missions support start in new churches?
• Churches need to be deeply involved in worldwide gospel proclamation.

World missions history resources:    Black Americans involvement in world missions     World mission history crossword puzzle     Historic world missions slogans    Doing missions well: Missionaries exemplifying an important focus or characteristic     Brief overview of world missions history     Monastic missionary strategy     Nazarene Missions International history     PowerPoint: Epochs of world mission history    World evangelism from 1600 to the present    Missions history syllabus    Year-by-year timeline of world missions outreach    It happened today in world missions history     Evangelizing the Vikings     William Borden's story