Culture and the Mission, Form, and Function of the Church
The mission of the Church is unchanging despite cultural influences. However, the form of ministry used by the Church is readily influenced by culture. In this assignment, you will analyze the interrelation of culture with the mission and form of the Church’s universal and local ministries.
General Requirements:
• Use the following information to ensure successful completion of the assignment:
• Instructors will be using a grading rubric to grade the assignments. It is recommended that learners review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment in order to become familiar with the assignment criteria and expectations for successful completion of the assignment.
• Doctoral learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments. The APA Style Guide is located in the Student Success Center.
• This assignment requires that at least two additional scholarly research sources related to this topic, and at least one in-text citation from each source be included.
• You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Refer to the directions in the Student Success Center. Only Word documents can be submitted to Turnitin.
Directions:
In an essay of 1,250 to 1,500 words, analyze the interrelation of culture with the mission and form of the Church’s universal and local ministries (parachurch or local church). Your essay should include the following:
1. An analysis of the mission of the local ministry and its goals relative to the unchanging mission of the Church, delivered by Jesus Christ at its inception. What are some core goals of the local ministry? Do these goals align with the unchanging mission of the Church?
2. A critique of the form of the local ministry relative to its target culture. What are some key expressions of the local ministry? Are these expressions relevant to the target culture? Why and how so?
3. An analysis of the encroachment of culture on the Church and on the local ministry. Describe where the ministry and mission of the Church may have become unclear or distorted, “conformed to this world,” (Rom 12:2) as a result of syncretism. What are some pressures from the dominant culture to which the Church has conformed? How can the Church correct the resulting distortion of its message and ministry?