One Mission. One Movement.
- Dr. Wayman Ming Jr.
Loved ones, in less than two years, our PCG family from across the country and around the globe will gather together in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to “celebrate our past” and “seize our destiny.” A new chapter will be written—the “First Chapter of a 2nd-CENTURY PCG.”
The night before Kimberly and I were elected to serve the PCG in the general bishop’s office, our Heavenly Father began downloading an overwhelming call to four words: One Mission—One Movement. With clarity, He began to say, “Become a voice for One Mission—One Movement and express the prophetic utterance that the PCG started as a missional movement in 1919, and must live again as a missional movement in 2019.”
Down through the years, I have studied our PCG history. When I served in the general secretary’s office, I notated the highlights of every convention written in the archives from 1919 to the present. In fact, when I studied the notes of our founding meeting held December 29-30 on Halstead Street in Chicago, Illinois, I noticed our undeniable and unwavering commitment to move toward God’s mission on earth.
The Notes – 1919 Founding Meeting in Chicago, IL
(1) The name became “The Pentecostal Assemblies of the USA”
(2) The Pentecostal Herald was recognized as the official paper with a circulation of perhaps three times that of any other Pentecostal
paper and was especially committed to “taking the gospel to those outside of Pentecost.”
(3) Delegates were seated with a voice and vote as representatives of their local assemblies.
(4) Ida Tribett was the first person ordained.
(5) Right hand of fellowship was extended to “The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.”
(6) Went on record to disapprove of any issues that divide and confuse God’s people to no profit and decided that “aggressive evangelism”
be our motto.
(7) Resolved that “we shall not be confined…to those who are affiliated with us, and that we shall not discriminate against any member of the
Body of Christ…”
(8) Resolved that we create a fund, which shall be known as the Home Missionary Fund, for the purpose of opening up works in new
districts in the United States and supporting them until such time as the work can be put on a self-supporting basis and that this fund
shall be distributed at the discretion of the Executive Committee.
(9) Resolved that due attention be given to the foreign missionary work, and that by every available means through the General Assembly
and the Local Assemblies, we encourage and assist the Foreign Missionary enterprise. The primary Scripture emphasized was
“endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).
(Reference: PCG Archives & Our Story, Aaron Wilson, pp. 75-82)
When we reflect on this first gathering, phrases such as “taking the gospel to those outside of Pentecost” and “aggressive evangelism” affirm our passion to live as an inclusive, grassroots movement of people committed to the mission of Christ. The statements of resolve that specified we would “open up works in new districts in the United States” and pursue “foreign missionary work,” clearly and specifically affirm our commitment to planting churches and reaching the world with the gospel.
WHAT IS “ONE MISSION?”
The phrase “One Mission” is not novel or new because our PCG mission’s emphasis has been One Mission for the last few years. In essence, One Mission is not too complex and could be defined as…
• To win the lost and equip and send the found; to embody the
mission of Christ in our world.
We simply engage our neighborhoods, communities, and world as Jesus did in the first century. We literally become salt and light (Matthew 5:14-16). Spiritually speaking, we live God’s mission statement to our world.
Many churches and organizations have developed mission statements and rightly so, but what I am suggesting is that we’re not seeking to write a mission statement but rather live a mission statement. What would the PCG look like if every person, every church, every district, and every nation would embody the mission of Christ in their world?
When Kimberly and I were in Dallas, Texas, for the 2011 General Convention six years ago, our Father spoke ten words to us that forever changed our lives: “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” So I resigned from the general secretary’s office and followed God to figure out what those words really meant. Candidly, I didn’t really understand those words! I had pastored for years, traveled to over 40 nations of the world, and served in denominational leadership, but I didn’t really have a missional heart. I was “oiling the machinery” more than “moving in the mission” of Christ.
So God began to do such a work in my heart that I couldn’t help but share my faith. I would drive through my neighborhood and pray that every house would be baptized with the fire of God. I started teaching a Higher Living class that challenged people to move from their “head knowledge OF Christ” to a “heart passion IN Christ.” I was enthralled with challenging people to transition from seeing Jesus as their Savior to knowing Jesus as their Lord. I started closing just about every message I preached with a call to salvation.
Through a commitment to personal evangelism, I introduced my next-door neighbor to Christ. Here was a man who grew up in the Church of the Latter Day Saints as a child and hadn’t donned the door of a church for over 40 years. He often chided, “If I ever attend a church, the church will be flattened by an earthquake.” Thankfully, my good friend accepted Christ five years ago and is still attending church to this day.
Over the past few months, I have been asking the question, “Do we have an organizational machine or a missional movement?” If the former is true, how do we change it?
Personally, I continue to be grieved when I come to our biennial conventions and hear reports that we have lost constituents, ministers, and churches from the previous biennium. If we truly look at the numbers, we haven’t gained ground over the past 50 years; we have lost ground.
How does each church and district relate over the last 5-10 years? Are we growing or declining? What is the high-water mark for the past five years? Is it right now or in the past? So again I must ask, “Are we living as an organizational machine or a missional movement?” Whatever the answer is, we must engage in a reformative process to become and live as a missional movement.
In the month of November, I encouraged our denominational leaders and boards to begin with the following:
(1) We must seek God for a missional heart.
Can we engage in some spiritual heart surgery until Christ awakens us with a missional heart? As the people of God, we must make a decision that anything less than sharing our faith and engaging in the mission of Christ is unacceptable. Consequently, all decisions and processes must begin filtering through the grid of winning the lost and equipping and sending the found. The solution that we seek in the Spirit must remain tethered to a missional heart.
(2) We must implement a strategic plan to multiply ministers and churches.
Allow me to affirm the notion that “accidental church growth doesn’t work.” We must act intentionally to multiply our ministers and missionaries, plant new churches, and grow our existing churches.
(3) We must engage in every church’s and district’s growth.
We must actively commit to not only seeing OUR churches and districts grow, but seeing ALL the churches and districts growing. We must move past the “me mindset” to the “we mindset.” The PCG will not experience reformation if we continue down a path of “my church, my district, and my movement.”
Several years ago, I made a conscious decision to get rid of the pronoun “my” and “mine” when talking about the mission of Christ. I stopped saying “my church” because it really wasn’t mine; it was His. I stopped saying, “my district” because it’s really wasn’t mine; it was His. I stopped saying, “my movement” because it really wasn’t mine; it was His. Fortunately, I realized that when I stopped saying “my” or “mine,” I removed the implication that others needed to come through me to be a part of “my” church, “my” district, or “my” movement. Most people truly desire to be a part of “our church,” “our district,” and “our movement” that ultimately belongs to Him.
WHAT IS “ONE MOVEMENT?”
From the government’s perspective, we are a denomination. From a business perspective, we are an organization. From a church perspective, we are an affiliation. Yet, many of our leaders and pastors refer to the PCG as a “movement.” Ultimately, when the word “movement” is used, people get bright-eyed and sit forward in their chairs. The excitement of living as a grassroots movement of people who embody the mission of God in our world becomes palpable. Movement speaks to movement—moving toward God, moving in His mission, and moving with His Spirit.
Our history punctuates the notion that the PCG existed as a movement because of two essential characteristics—the unity and power of the Spirit. Earlier the theme verse of the 1919 founding meeting in Chicago was written: “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).
If we unveil the Greek meaning of this verse, the word “endeavor” (Gr. spoudazo) refers to a passionate pursuit or an accelerated pace. In other words, the Apostle Paul was challenging the Ephesian church to an all-out pursuit or purposeful expediency in keeping or preserving the unity of the Spirit.
Furthermore, the word “unity” relates to our English word “unison.” Those who sing a verse and chorus of music in unison sing the same song on the same notes. Is it possible that we can sing the same song with the same notes? Is it possible that we can be so unified that we are living the mission of Christ in unison? Our PCG forefathers thought so because they emphasized the importance of accelerating our pace toward the unity of the Spirit.
The other primary component included the “power of the Spirit.” The PCG wasn’t birthed as any kind of movement, but as a “Pentecostal movement.” A theological rubric was formed that placed the power of the Holy Spirit at the epicenter of faith and practice. In other words, mission did not move without power—His power! The proclamation of the gospel was confirmed through signs and wonders.
So the definition of “One Mission—One Movement” is not really complex. It refers to a “unified movement of people who live the mission of Christ in our world through the power of the Spirit.” Or allow me to state it this way:
• The PCG must live as a unified movement of people who live the mission of Christ in our world through the power of
the Spirit.
For the last few years, we have said, “We are PCG.” This is a wonderful statement that speaks to our identity, but not to our destiny. As a 2nd-Century PCG, we must return to our roots and live as a missional movement. Each person is a mission. Every church is a mission, and every PCG district or nation is a mission. So today…
Join with me as we: (1) Seek God for a missional heart; (2) implement a strategic plan to multiply ministers and missionaries; and (3) engage in every church’s and district’s growth.
Join with me as we pursue “aggressive evangelism,” taking the gospel to those outside of Pentecost, opening up works in new districts in the United States, and “foreign missionary work.”
Join with me as we become “a unified movement of people who live the mission of Christ in our world through the power of the Spirit.” Or, live as
One Mission—One Movement.
By American Indiam Missions Director David Petty
