Pastor's Circle - Rurel Ausley

 Rev. Rurel Ausley, Lead Pastor of Niceville United Methodist Church, joined the Pastor's Circle to talk about what the "missional" church looks like. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

There is a popular word flying around the church world: missional. What is that about?

That is one of the big buzz words right now.  As a Wesleyan this is part and parcel to who I am.   

I believe that John Wesley tried to embody the methods of Jesus of taking the gospel to people where they are at.  We are trying to take the message of the church outside our walls.

Talk about the difference between a maintenance outlook and a missional outlook. What about taking care the people in the church?

I don't think of this as an either/or, but rather a both/and.  The great commission teaches us that we should do both.  Spreading the gospel, but also discipling and growing those who are in our churches.   

If we are the sent ones we have to be out in the community first.  I think of our Sunday gatherings as "huddle time" like in football; we get together and then break out and get in the game.

Why is this vital?

I think the reason most churches don't exist missionally is the tendency is to maintain because we focus on ourselves.

What are some of the ways your church is missional?

Some of our small groups tried to make food for the homeless, but then no homeless people showed up.  They went out trying to find someone to give the food to.   

After awhile of doing it this way it occurred to them that maybe people weren't going to come to them, so they just went to planning on taking food to the homeless, those that need it.   

It has grown from a few people to over 1000 meals each Saturday.  But we realized we had to not just be willing to make the food, but also head out into the community to find those in need. 

 Now we see this ministry even extending to many of the children of these families being very involved with our church's attendance.

Can you give some examples of how other churches can get started in this type of missional ministry?

The other type of ministries you might do in a particular church are really dependent on the church's size.  Many small churches need to understand what they can handle and not try to focus on too many things at once.   

The larger church has more possibilities.  We have been able to start a clothing ministry and a benevolent ministry that helps those who can't pay their bills. This opens up possibilities for counseling and sharing Christ.

How does this impact your congregation?

It has been huge for us.  Some of our older members have found what they feel like they were meant to do, and we see some of these people becoming spiritual giants among us.