This module gives a biblical-theological vision for the missional nature of the church and the patterns of life, action and speech which that requires. The importance of this for an understanding of the nature of the church and its perceived mission in other times and places is identified. With awareness of the way social and cultural factors contribute to the form of the church, the learner is assisted to form a vision of missional service for the contemporary church. The learner is helped to develop personal postures, approaches, and capacities that will help them cultivate and lead missional communities with effectiveness and confidence.

On successful completion of the module a learner will be able to:

1. Describe the biblical and theological foundations for the practice of diakonia in the local church.
2. Demonstrate an appreciation for the historical, cultural, and contextual nature of the church.
3. Discuss the church's engagement with the world in terms of the Missio Dei and the Kingdom of God.
4. Distinguish between the church with a missional commitment and the missional congregation.
5. Define what it means to be a "missional church" in contemporary society.
6. Make personal commitments regarding qualities of heart, soul and practice necessary to participate in missional community.
7. Propose a personal theology of service.
8. Employ practical theological research methodology to identify a specific pastoral concern.
9. Design and implement a practical theological intervention to address a particular pastoral concern

Module Content

An introduction to missiology which helps learners to develop proficiency in their understanding of the interaction between church and culture, and as a basis for doing theology, will be presented. The module outlines the nature of diakonia which identifies the call of the gospel not only to serve God with our prayers and our words, but also to bring him glory through the way in which we serve other people and his creation through self-sacrificial acts of love.

While Leitourgia focuses on God and Koinonia focuses on the congregation, in Diakonia the focus falls on the world (creation) and on people who are outside the congregation.

The learner is introduced to the concept of Diakonia and the social relevance of the church and the social consequences of her actions. The learner explores the roots of mission in the trinity and God's covenant with creation and how these lead to action for the "other" . Human mission as an expression of God's delight in humanity, and God's response of delight to human unity, fidelity and sacrificial service is described in the light of God being the one who delights in and watches over his people

The church's love and unity hold ultimate significance for the world as the visible basis of the gospel's power and legitimacy. The church itself is in fact the promise of the gospel. The universal invitation to believe the gospel includes the invitation to enter a community that searches to believe and live under God's reign. Learners are exposed to the theme of the reign of God in the Old and New Testaments and various biblical scholars' perspective are considered. The call of the people of God to bless the nations and the ethical dimensions that would flow from such a conclusion become an important consideration in the course of study.

Our responses of compassion and service and our actions for peace and justice are signs that the Kingdom of God is already present in our world and that the kingdom of God is also the way as our future. The relationship between Church and state is explored historically. Various historical and current missional practices are considered: the church's response to the poor, to AIDS, and to governments in lobbying for just laws; solidarity with oppressed peoples; initiatives in caring for marginalized peoples; and responsible care for God's creation. Learners will be required to articulate the contextual nature of missional responses while being able to highlight the positive and negative implications of this awareness.

Moltmann's political theology is examined as well as his view regarding suffering. Learners are required to examine the place of suffering in theological thought and of the church's response to human suffering. We ask the question of how the church proclaims the good news in the face of suffering. Announcing the Kingdom of God with compassion and justice comes as a spontaneous expression of gratitude, humility and joy when it occurs in the context of being God's forgiven community.

The module explores the statement that "the church in mission may be characterized by signs of the Messiah's coming." It follows that the broader community that houses the church community would be impacted by the church, if our being, doing and speaking are signs that his coming is "already" and "not yet." The local church and community development and the implications for the local church are considered.