Twelve Marks of Mission...

Adapted from Church of the Savior, Washington, DC

1. Mission comes to you as good news--energizing, life-giving, creating. It is not ultimately dominated by a sense of 'oughtness'.
2. Mission carries a sense of the transcendent--awe of God and the possibilities that it raises.
3. Mission is true to your basic nature. It follows the thread of your own inner love and your own life story.
4. Mission usually seems impossible to be fulfilled--on the basis of your own resources. Usually accompanied by feeling of inadequacy and need for God's grace.
5. Mission persists over a period of time.
6. Mission is contra-cultural. It goes against the prevailing norms of the culture in addressing the needs of that culture.
7. Mission is risky. It can succeed or fail--but it is measured not by success as humanly seen; but by faithfulness. Persecution is a possibility.
8. Mission is costly--it involves a giving up.
9. Mission is evolutionary. It develops as you move into it.
10. Mission finds a point of specific focus.
11. Mission comes from a deep empathy--often out of your own woundedness.
12. Mission requires the identification, development and exercise of your gifts.

How does this idea of mission compare with your previous understandings? What can we learn from these principles? What could be added?