anabaptists

The Anabaptists contributed a great deal to today’s missional ideas. They believed in “the priesthood of all believers”. We can go directly to God with our praise and prayers. They also knew that to become a Christian, an individual must “exercise personal faith”. Being born into a Christian family does not make you a Christian in the way that being born into an American family makes you an American. A third idea held by the Anabaptists of high importance concerning the theology of mission is that “the true gospel had to be proclaimed by every true believer in obedience with the Great Commission.” This is not a job for a select few or to be contained only in certain organized functions of the church. It is important for every believer to make their personal decision to follow Jesus, to know their role and their relationship with the Father and to see his or her own calling into the task of reaching all nations for Christ. If each church member does not see themselves in this way, the church as a whole will suffer.