EMQ » April–June 2020 » Volume 56 Issue 2
By Craig Ott
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2019
144 pages
USD $19.99
Reviewed by Tenny Li Farnen, Chinese Baptist Church of Richmond, Virginia.
The Church on Mission provides a fresh and biblical understanding of the calling of Christians and the mission of the church. It compels the church to think about the contemporary issues facing our world. The book is based on the mission statement of the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) to glorify God by multiplying transformational churches among all people. A series of biblical and theological lectures given by Craig Ott on this mission statement to ReachGlobal was at the origin of this book. It is biblically based and can be used by all evangelical churches.
The first chapter casts the vision of God’s glory as the source and goal of transformation. Chapter 2 focuses on the church as a transformational community with a mission, a community which gives its members a foretaste of God’s kingdom. Chapter 3 explains how this transformation happens through the power and truth of God’s Word. Chapter 4 describes the influence the church should have in the world as salt and light. In chapter 5, Ott points out that the church’s influence should extend to all people. He argues that the influence should embrace and transcend all ethnoreligious, socioeconomic, gender, and cultural divisions. The last chapter emphasizes the exponential potential of fruitful discipleship, multiplying churches, and transformational leadership. Such growth can allow the earth to be filled with God’s glory.
In spite of its brevity, the book provides a simple yet comprehensive study of the word transformation from the first century New Testament reader’s perspective, a study based on the word’s usage in Jewish literature and in the New Testament. It challenges the reader to reflect and contemplate on the glory of God. The goal of missions is not mission itself but worship. The book highlights the missionary nature and role of the church as a community with the Great Calling (to worship the Lord), the Great Commission, and the Great Commandment. It discusses the role of the church as salt and light in the world. This role forces the church to have a transcultural barrier-breaking mission that encompasses all people. Ott discusses how the early church accepted the Ethiopian Eunuch into the church, providing a significant breakthrough in spite of the Semitic view of Africans during this era.
The Church on Mission can help churches and their leaders to review and reflect on their missional responsibilities to carry out the task God has given them. It is a good launching point for deeper theological discussion regarding our faith and our identity as a church. These discussions can result in renewed understanding of our mission. Whether in a Sunday class, a mission committee, or seminary class this book would be beneficial in reflecting on the nature of the Church’s mission.
