This past week, we received a request from Dave, a long-time Brigada participant, asking if we had any favorite responsive readings or “charges” for ordinations and commissionings. We sent him about 5 pages, but honestly, we could use a bit of help thinking up something noteworthy. If you have a block of text, a link, a reference, *anything* — would you mind clicking on “Comment” in the web version of this item so we could deliver something noteworthy to Dave and, in addition, to others as well! God bless you in advance for your help!
Could we see your 5 pages?
Sure. Not sure how well it will format here. I’ll try it.
Prepared for Dave Stewart by Doug Lucas, Team Expansion — 2/11/2012
Sample Commissioning Ceremony #1 (Thanks to AIM for this idea-starter.)
When a church blesses and commissions its missionaries, many different things occur simultaneously:
* A commissioning ceremony gives your church the opportunity to say a resounding “YES” to your commitment to bring the gospel to a lost world.
* It confirms the special bond between the congregation and those they are sending out.
* It gives church members a chance to affirm not only their missionaries’ call, but their commitment as senders to pray for them.
* It provides the opportunity for a period of concentrated prayer on the missionaries’ behalf.
* It cements an accountability relationship between you which culminates in the missionaries’ report back to the church after the project. A commissioning service makes the relationship between goers and senders “official.” It brings a sense of wholeness and participation to the relationship. It cements the emotional link which is already there.
MISSIONARY
Briefly explains the group’s project and its hoped-for fruit.
ELDER
We’re gathered here to send you out. For those Christians consumed with Jesus’ passion for the lost, a commissioning ceremony is as sacramental as is a wedding ceremony or a baptism.
We see at least four instances of commissioning in the New Testament. In each, we see that a call is given, a role is spelled out, a ministry is defined, and a resource is provided.
The first is Jesus’ own commissioning in Luke 4:18-19. Jesus is standing in the Nazareth synagogue reading from Isaiah. He says, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Jesus identifies himself as being called, called or anointed to preach the good news. His role is as a preacher, healer, and liberator. His resource is the Spirit of the Lord. His ministry focus is the poor, the prisoners, the blind, and the oppressed.
In the same way, we as a body of believers are gathered today to validate the call which God has given you. We believe that he has called each of you individually and now as a team to be ministers of the gospel. As God called and sent Jesus to a life of ministry, so we are sending you. You are going on this body’s behalf.
The second commissioning we see in the scripture is the disciple’s commission in Matthew 10:7-8. Jesus has given the twelve disciples authority, and says these words, “As you go, preach this message: The kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.”
Here we see that a commission not only defines a call, but also a role. Jesus tells the disciples that they are to be preachers and healers, following his own pattern. God has given you a similar role. He has called you to preach the good news, to bring near the kingdom of heaven. He has called you not only to demonstrate his care and power, but to reconcile man to God. As you walk the streets of Havana, you will go in his stead as his ambassadors.
The third commissioning in the new testament is the believer’s commission. We know it as the Great Commission. It was given not to missionaries, but to all those who would follow Christ. We see it in Matthew 28:19-20. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
If we saw a call was affirmed in Jesus’ commission and a role defined in the disciples’ commission, then in commissioning all believers, he outlines our ministry: Go and make disciples of all nations. If the group he is addressing is broad (all believers), then so is the ministry target he gives us (all nations). God’s general call He has made particular to you. The harvest fields are ripe; we are witnesses that He has called you to the nations. We endorse the call, the role, and the target ministry that God has for you.
A fourth commissioning is that of an individual man, Paul. In it, we can see that those whom God calls, he equips. He provides the needed resources to fulfill the call. Jesus himself acts as the commissioner in Acts 26:16-18, “I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”
Jesus promises to be not only the cause for which we fight, but our rescuer when the battle becomes too heated. He is the resource-provider, the one who equips us for battle. The Ephesians 6 armor of truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, the Spirit and prayer is given to all believers. Romans 12 tells about the particular gifts which he deposits in individual believers (these may be read).
Perhaps you’ve read the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. In it, Aslan, the great lion who represents Jesus gives special gifts to Edmund, Peter, Susan, and Lucy who represent believers before they go into battle. So, we recognize the gifts Jesus, our King has given you.
MISSIONARY
(In smaller groups which have taken the time to identify the spiritual gifts of members, the commissioner may ask the youth pastor to cite the particular gifts of those being sent out).
ELDER
I made reference to the battle in which we’re engaged. Great nations engaged in war send their best into battle. So it is with the church. We’re sending our best. As you bring the message of hope to a dying planet, you fight not only for Jesus, but on behalf of this body which is sending you out. We can’t go, but we can send you, so you’ll be fighting for us.
We as a body recognize your call, role and place in God’s plan. We affirm the special gifts which He has given you. Were we to reconvene this body 25 years from now, my prayer is that you would report many thousands of lives changed and spiritual victories won. To that end, we commission you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and as a body, join in prayer for you now.
MEMBERS OF CONGREGATION
(At this point, the team may kneel at the front of the church. Leaders of the church, family members, and fellow group members may come to the front to lay on hands and pray for the group.).
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Commissioning Ceremony #2 (Thanks to Vanguard Church), emphasizing the role of every Christian in every marketplace, side by side with those being sent out overseas. [In this ceremony, the speaker emphasizes that he is setting aside everyone present, the entire crowd, and asks everyone to take part. The missionaries are up front, however, and could be recognized in advance. So this is a bit different slant.]
Opening Prayer
“Lord, Redeemer of all, we commit ourselves to the call to be your people, going into all the earth to proclaim that you are King of kings and Lord of lords, bringing harmony and flourishing back to your good creation. We do this for your glory, Amen.”
Scripture Reading
Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule… So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground”…The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” (Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15)
Commissioning
Leader: As those who have committed to following Christ’s call on your lives, will you allow the expression of your personality and the exercise of your spiritual gifts and your natural talents to be directed and empowered for the glory of Jesus Christ as Lord?
Everyone: With God as our help, we will.
Leader: Will you obey the command of the cultural mandate to have dominion over the earth, to work it and take care of it, fulfilling your image-bearing ability to create from that which was created for God’s glory?
Everyone: With God as our help, we will.
Leader: Will you be used by God to transform your vocation so that it reflects God’s Kingdom values in its service to humanity and in its role of cultivating the world’s resources?
Everyone: With God as our help, we will.
Leader: Will you encourage one another toward seeing your work as more than “a job” or “a paycheck,” but as the very means by which God is redeeming the world through His people?
Everyone: With God as our help, we will.
Leader: Will you always give yourselves fully to your work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain?
Everyone: With God as our help, we will.
Leader: Will you work six days and then take a Sabbath day’s rest, trusting in God’s provision and viewing work as part of the rhythm of a holistic life of worship, with no secular/sacred dichotomy?
Everyone: With God as our help, we will.
Leader: In whatever you do, will you work at it with all your heart, because you are actually working for the Lord, not just for human leaders?
Everyone: With God as our help, we will.
Scripture Reading
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1Corinthians 10:31)
Closing Prayer
Lord, we know that our work really, truly matters. All that we do for your glory will last and will be transformed by your purifying fire when we enter the new heavens and the new earth. Thank you for our calling. We want you to show us how you meant things to be, how things are fallen, and how you intend to transform them. And we want to know what you want us to do in our work lives so that we can be agents of your redemption of all things. Your kingdom come and will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven—especially in our vocations. We seek to glorify you in all that we do. Amen.
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Commissioning Ceremony #3 (Thanks Global Mission Partnerships) — emphasizing Thanksgiving
Psalm 134
Behold now, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,*
you that stand by night in the house of the Lord.
Lift up your hands in the holy place and bless the Lord;*
the Lord who made heaven and earth bless you out of Zion.
Litany of Thanksgiving
Let us give thanks to God for all God’s gifts so freely bestowed upon us.
For the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and sky and sea,
We thank you Lord.
For all that is gracious in the lives of men, women and children, revealing the image of Christ,
We thank you Lord.
For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and our friends,
We thank you Lord.
For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve,
We thank you Lord.
For health and strength to work, and leisure to rest and play,
We thank you Lord.
For the brave and courageous, who are patient in suffering and faithful in adversity,
We thank you Lord.
For all valiant seekers after truth, liberty, and justice,
We thank you Lord.
For the communion of saints, in all times and places,
We thank you Lord.
For those who have gone forth from our congregations to witness to your glory and goodness in the lives of all people. We give thanks especially for those who went to Belize, and offered themselves to the building up and care of the community of St. Andrew’s and its school. We give thanks for their offering, the friendships made, the bonds of love extended to them and for their safe return. Help us, to be like them, your faithful servants and active participants in the building up of your realm on earth.
Above all, we give you thanks for the great mercies and promises given to us in Christ Jesus our Lord;
To him be praise and glory, with you, O Father and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.
The Commissioning:
The candidates and sponsor come forward.
Celebrant or officiant:
Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus, we are all baptized by the one Spirit into one Body, and given gifts for a variety of ministries for the common good. Our purpose is to commission these persons in the Name of God and of this deanery to a special ministry to which they are called.
Sponsor:
I present to you these persons to be ambassadors for Christ on behalf of this deanery and their congregation. They have been preparing to go on a mission trip to (place) to form friendships and to (name mission project or community to which they are going).
Celebrant to those called:
You have been called on behalf of your congregation to go out as witnesses to the Risen Christ, as His ambassadors, to uphold and seek to serve Christ in all persons and places. Through Christ and with Him, you will share in a ministry of reconciliation and encouragement, to build up the body of Christ and to care for all who come to Him. Will you faithfully and reverently carry out this ministry to the honor of God and the benefit of this community and all whom you serve?
Candidates:
I will
Celebrant:
Let us pray
Gracious God, your Son before he ascended to glory declared that your people would receive power from the Holy Spirit to bear witness to him to the ends of the earth: Be present with all who go forth in his Name, protect them all the day long and bring them safely home. Let your love shine through their witness, so that all who come to them may see your glory in all that is given, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty God, look with favor upon these persons who have now reaffirmed their commitment to follow Christ and to serve in his name. Give them courage, patience, and vision; and strengthen us all in our Christian vocation of witness to the world, and of service to others; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
In the Name of God and of this congregation, I commission you, (name) as ambassadors and missionaries of this deanery. Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to God. I commend you to this work, and pledge you our prayers, encouragement and support.
The almighty and merciful Lord, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, bless us and keep us. Amen.
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Commissioning Service #4 – With a larger block of text to be read by the go-ers (Thanks Merrimack Valley)
Believing:
That God would have all men to be saved and to come
unto the knowledge of the truth;
That Christ’s death fully atones for our sins, and not for
ours only, but for the sins of the whole world;
That the Holy Spirit empowers us for witnessing unto
Him unto the uttermost part of the earth;
And realizing that the Savior’s last comment ought to
be our first concern.
Also, that the Great Commission, having never been
rescinded or modified, must be obeyed.
We, therefore, do individually and corporately:
Acknowledge our moral obligations to live and labor for
the evangelization of all mankind;
Accept the responsibility to do our full share in taking or
sending the Gospel to the regions beyond;
And, affirm our loyalty to Christ by aiding and abetting the
preaching of His name among all nations!
Hence, the Lord helping us, we shall in the future:
Pray more frequently, fervently, and more specifically
for missionaries, both foreign and national;
Contribute more generously to missions as God shall
prosper, periodically reviewing our material possessions
in relation to the world-wide extension of the
Kingdom of Christ;
And dedicate ourselves more fully to the unfinished task
entrusted to us, knowing we dare not appear before the
judgment seat of Christ without having done our most
to make the Gospel, which is the power of God unto
salvation, available to every creature. Amen!
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Commissioning Service #5 — Simple discussion drawing heavily from Philippi and Antioch discussions in the N.T.
What Do We Expect Of You?
be real
be optimistic
live out grace
make christ clear