Scattered and Gathered: How liturgy can serve the missional purposes of the church

What does it mean for the church to gather in worship and scatter in mission? Join Dr Adam Couchman as he explores the deep connection between liturgy and mission—two distinct yet beautifully intertwined expressions of the church’s life and purpose.

This thought-provoking lecture will challenge and inspire anyone interested in theology, worship, and the church’s role in the world today.

👉 Come, be part of the conversation. Be inspired. And it’s completely free!

Abstract

Liturgy and mission are two distinct activities of the church. The well-known answer to Question 1 of the Westminster Shorter Chatechism “What is the chief end of [humanity]?” “[Humanity’s] chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy [God] forever” may suggest that the telos (goal or endpoint) of humanity lies somewhere in an eternal liturgy. Yet, liturgy points beyond itself by the inclusion of an important imperative given at the end to the whole church – “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!”

Go!

There is something worth considering in the relationship between liturgy and mission. Liturgy: the life of the church when it gathers to glorify God and enjoy God forever. Mission: the scattered church sent into the world so that it too may glorify God and enjoy God forever. The chief end of liturgy is mission and the chief end of mission is liturgy. Yet, there is also something distinctly missional about liturgy and something distinctly liturgical about mission. The church that gathers becomes the church that scatters, so that the world that is scattered may become one with the church that gathers.

This paper will consider the relationship between liturgy and mission in the life of the church, wrestling with the way liturgy and mission are both distinct from and related to one another.