One of the challenges of being salt and light in a global city like Singapore is the need to stay relevant in our constantly changing cultural soup.

As a city, one of the ways Singapore has stayed relevant is by our pragmatism. As a church in the city, we have employed the same cultural trademark of pragmatism to stay relevant.

We are constantly on the lookout for needs that our resources can meet. It is not hard for us to find areas where our resources are needed: The ever-changing nature of our urban environment means that new needs and opportunities are quick to present themselves.

The question is, are we simply meeting needs, or do we see our activities in the context of what God is doing? Do we have a big vision of God that ties together what we do? 

If we are not careful, we may find ourselves engaged in much activity without a sense of the context of what God is doing in the world. This makes choosing what activities to be involved in difficult: Each new need or opportunity seems like a fresh competitor for a limited pool of resources.

We may resolve these conflicts by referring to a specific vision that God has called our local church to, but soon enough, we can take pride in that vision and start criticising or competing with what a neighbouring local church may be doing.

But God is not simply a God of our local church, or even our city. He is the God of the whole world.

He has been working purposefully throughout history so that He may be loved and obeyed by people from every culture.

He has invited us to live for that same purpose.

And so He draws together different efforts to accomplish His global purpose, to establish His Kingdom.

A vision of God’s global purpose allows us to rise above pragmatism (how to meet needs) in order to live for purpose (how to work in line with God’s goal). I want to spend the rest of this article unpacking the implications of this.

Expansive vision

On an individual level, a vision of God’s global purpose means that we need no longer “sweat the small stuff”.

We often invoke the idea of “God’s will” in the context of seeking His guidance to individual decisions: Should we take up this job? Should we send our children to that school?

Because our concerns are about our immediate circumstances, “God’s will” becomes about those immediate concerns: We “shrink” God to a size that we can handle.

But if we have a vision of God working purposefully so that He may be loved and obeyed by people from every culture, then our immediate concerns stop looking so overwhelming. If God is working in such a big way, how much more will He take care of the little things?

The more God has expanded my vision, the more I have been encouraged to trust Him for the little things. I am freed up to pray that God’s Kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven – not just for me and my family, but for the world that God has created and will one day redeem.

A vision of God’s global purpose means that everything we do can be imbued with purpose as part of a bigger whole.

Something as simple as reading the news becomes an opportunity to seek God’s Kingdom in each increasingly desperate looking situation in today’s world.

Our prayers change as our ambitions expand in line with that vision.

I have stopped praying that my children will have God in their lives; I pray rather that my children will give their lives for God and that He will have and use them for His global purposes, whatever the cost.

I have learned not to pray for safety but for obedience. Discipling my children is no longer just about their futures but is filled with a world-sized purpose and significance. 

Global positioning

On a corporate level, a vision of God’s global purpose encourages us to consider goals that are beyond our city.

This means that what we do in our city has relevance beyond our geographical bounds.

One example occurs in the context of migration. Many local churches are now actively engaging as a source of God’s blessing (physical, emotional and spiritual) to migrant communities here.

But are we simply meeting a need, or do we see our efforts as part of what God is doing so that He may be glorified in every culture?

If we see our efforts as primarily meeting a need, we are likely to do the very good work of making friends and inviting migrants into our culture.

But if we are desire that people from every culture may worship God in their own cultural context, we may consider further questions: How can we be learners in a migrant’s culture, instead of simply offering hospitality? What is God doing in that person’s home country/culture, and is what we are doing in line with that?

Cross-border unity

A vision of God’s global purpose encourages unity. If God is working purposefully so that He may be loved and obeyed by people from every culture, then every local church, with its unique socio-cultural makeup, has something to contribute.

We do not need to compete, nor do we need to try to do everything.

Consider the 18^th century Moravian church’s practice of “Congregation Day”. Once a month, they gathered to hear about what God was doing in other places and congregations. This encouraged the community not to take pride in their own particular way of doing things, but to rejoice in what God was doing among and through others.

They prayed for all rulers, all churches and all peoples. They praised the God of “all nations” in song.

This was a community that was starting to catch a vision of God’s mission beyond their little community.

How often do we pray for other congregations, for other denominations, or seek to hear what God is doing in them?

How often do we consider the work of congregations from denominations that may be very different from us, and rejoice in what God is doing through them?

Risk-free mission

A vision of God’s global purpose frees us from the tyranny of control.

We like what we can control. If we think of disciple-making as primarily our church’s mission, I think we will easily slide into seeking greater control, even if it may come at the expense of denying Jesus’ model of incarnation.

However, if we think of disciple-making as primarily God’s mission, we need no longer be so stressed about the outcome. After all, this is God’s mission and He has guaranteed the outcome: People from every nation, tribe and tongue will one day bow before Him and give praise to the Lamb.

We can afford to risk losing control. We can afford the messiness and sacrifice that comes with deep relationships.

Working in the context of God’s global purpose may mean that the issues we face become more complex. But it also means freedom from the burden imposed by trying to meet needs that can never be fully met this side of eternity.

As Tim Dearborn writes in Beyond Duty:

“When the King and His Kingdom are the unifying, controlling source and goal of all we do, then competing calls and opposing ambitions fade under the sound of the King’s marching orders. Participation in God’s mission … becomes a joyous privilege and an adventure of passion and hope.”

We as a church have the privilege of participating in God’s mission.

God has given us many opportunities in our urban centre. Are we willing to let our activities be guided and informed by a vision of God’s global purpose?