Issue Group 10B: The Local Church and the Great Commission – Tentmaking

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Ways in which we can enable our own denomination/local church to be transformed to become more evangelistically oriented and committed to taking the gospel to both the local community and to the world, with special focus on re-engaging the laity through tentmaking.

The expected outcomes of the work done on this issue were:

  1. Identify relevant strategies for individuals and congregations to communicate the gospel in today’s world by integrating work and witness, re-thinking our paradigm of clergy, laity, church and church planting/multiplication, strengthening and promoting tentmaking or marketplace missions including business for mission, and incorporating the insights of the work-faith movement. Also, identify any approaches which seem especially fruitful in making disciples such as Alpha.
  2. Provide an apologetic for speaking to church leadership about using these strategies and persuading/enabling individuals to be involved in evangelism locally and beyond.
  3. Note the range of ways in which God may call people to repentance and faith such as outlined in Acts and the letters (miracles, healing, visions, supernatural love as well as the proclamation) and the importance of authenticating the gospel and of encouraging one another to pray for God’s intervention in a person’s life.

Leadership

Co-convener:
Berit Kloster,
Norway
Lausanne Senior Associate for Tentmaking  

Facilitator:
David English,
United States
Executive Director,
Global Opportunities  

Read the Lausanne Occasional Paper (LOP) produced by this Issue Group:

LOP 39: The Local Church in Mission: Becoming a Missional Congregation in the Twenty-First Century Global Context and the Opportunities Offered Through Tentmaking Ministry
(.pdf format; 326 KB)