A Church for God’s Mission: Shaping Ecclesiology Through Missional Hermeneutics by Daniel Bannister

Evangelical Missiological Society, "EMS Southwest Regional Meeting", April 4th 2024Daniel Bannister, Gateway SeminaryA Church for God’s Mission: Shaping Ecclesiology Through Missional Hermeneutics Traditional approaches to mission often seek to exposit the “biblical basis for mission,” identifying passages that directly address evangelistic and missional activity. However, missional hermeneutics offers a paradigm shift by emphasizing the missional basis of the text itself. Rather than merely finding mission in Scripture, it frames Scripture as a product, record, and instrument of God’s mission. This paper explores the implications of missional hermeneutics for ecclesiology, arguing that missional hermeneutics not only shapes biblical interpretation but also the community of Christ that interprets the text. Interpreting Scripture through the lens of the missio dei, the church identifies herself as gathered and sent—shaped by centripetal mission as a witnessing community and propelled by centrifugal mission as a participant in God’s redemptive work. This perspective challenges ecclesial self-perceptions shaped by Christendom, calling the church to reorient its theology and praxis in a post-Christian world. Furthermore, the communal practice of missional hermeneutics and cultural exegesis ensures that the church not only interprets Scripture but embodies its message through praxeological engagement in its local context. This paper contends that missional hermeneutics is not merely a theoretical framework but a formative practice for ecclesial identity, compelling the church to align herself with God’s mission in both being and action. Practicing missional hermeneutics in community will transform not only the church’s interpretation of the text but also her understanding of identity and function within the biblical narrative, leading to active participation in the divine mission and embodying the kingdom of God in the world.