Published on: 08/09/2026
Anyone? Anyone that God calls. The mission of the church to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20) is the Missio Dei, the mission of God. All disciples are called to make disciples, so anyone can join in with mission. Leadership is a gift (Romans 12:8) and recognised in the church by having a calling. In the list it appears in, all the other gifts are recognised as gifts exercised by both lay and ordained people, so is leadership. Leadership in mission then is a gift or calling from God which we can recognise not just in ordained people but in everyone. How do you know if you have it?
In my experience, leadership in mission is about seeing things differently and being able to communicate that positively. That’s because by its very nature, Mission is about going beyond the usual activity of church as we experience it. In the past this has often been a quite dramatic ‘going beyond’, I grew up thinking mission was something that happened in distant places. In fact, by and large the Church of England’s mission has taken place in other countries. There’s nothing wrong with that, except at this time in history, our own country is a mission field.
You might see the truth that we live in a mission field, and that mission is the necessary priority of the church and want to do something about it. That is probably evidence enough of calling to missional leadership. How do you go about joining in with that in our diocese?
Many people in many churches are already reaching out beyond their four walls with the idea of making disciples. Coffee mornings, parent and toddler groups, Messy Church, Bubble Church, Café Church, after school clubs etc. They are creating communities which are in themselves a good thing. However, in these communities we can also make relationships and gossip the gospel or invite people on to Alpha, Christianity Explored and nurture groups of all kinds.
Along with these people there will be others who haven’t yet translated their ideas for mission into practice, and are maybe looking for some help or advice. Starting a new thing or seeing the need for a different outlook can be a lonely thing. Maybe that’s you and you would welcome someone to journey with you.
In the autumn, with a date to be confirmed, we are gathering lay people who are already involved in mission, or those who sense a calling to it, for an evening gathering. This will be to share ideas and pray with each other; we intend to meet 3 or 4 times a year and create a supportive and encouraging network. It would be great to meet you and hear your story and connect you to like-minded people.
If you would like to take part do send me an email, john.marsh@sheffield.anglican.org.
If you want to read more about missional leadership there is another earlier blog here.
This week’s Blog post was written by John Marsh, Mission Development Adviser