The Primacy of Worship and the Necessity of Mission – Some Reflections

The Convener of the General Assembly's Theological Forum explores the relationship between mission and worship in a post-Christian context. It examines the Five Marks of Mission, the purpose of the Church, how the ascended Christ works upon and within the church to achieve this, how Christ's action in worship leads to missional fruit and what the relationship between worship and mission should be. It argues that to supplant worship with mission, or to place mission before it, will only weaken mission and harm both church and world. It concludes that worship, teaching, and sacraments precede mission theologically, temporally, and practically, and mission is contingent on them. Mission is not the root of the Church but its fruit.