North American Christianity has developed a fracture between spirituality and mission. On the one hand, we’re reminded to ‘read the Bible and pray every day.’ On the other hand, we read that ‘faith without works is dead,’ so we should get out and do something. So pragmatic of us. How should spirituality and mission relate to each other?

In Faithful Presence, David E. Fitch offers a prescription to heal the fracture. No, that’s not quite right. Fitch insists that there is no gap to begin with. Spirituality and mission are the same thing.

For Fitch, the Christian life is about presence. We live in a world where we witness how Jesus brings in his kingdom, “slowly, patiently, with love, through his faithful presence” (15). The church bears witness to that faithful presence by participating in disciplines. Fitch brings seven into focus:

1. The Lord’s Table
2. Reconciliation
3. Proclaiming the Gospel
4. Being with the “Least of These”
5. Being with Children
6. The Fivefold Gifting
7. Kingdom Prayer

Of course, more could be added—the Pentecostal altar experience, for one! But these seven are deliberately chosen because the were practiced by Jesus and by saints throughout history.

Faithful Presence is not your average how-to-grow-spiritually book. It’s an integrated way of viewing Christian life and mission. Fitch situates our Christianity within the missional paradigm of three circles.

1. In the closed circle, we practice these disciplines among committed Christians, submitting to each other and Jesus as the host.
2. In the dotted circle, we practice these disciplines in our homes, among mixed company where the Christian disciple is the host.
3. In the half circle, we practice these disciplines in our communities, where the people in our neighbourhood are the hosts.

In each of these circles, the goal is to leave space for the faithful presence of Jesus.

So spirituality and mission are one in the same. An individual piety that is not caught up in the missio dei enters “maintenance mode” (42) and misses the point. A missional emphasis without roots in the closed circle enters “exhaustion mode” (42).

In the epilogue, Fitch writes,

This is the challenge of being a Christian today. We have forgotten how to live together in Christ’s kingdom and invite the world along. (181)

So let’s live the faithful presence of Jesus. Let’s experience the eternal life of the Kingdom of God. Let’s view spirituality and mission as two sides of the same coin as we see his kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

Fitch, David E. Faithful Presence: Seven Disciplines that Shape the Church for Mission. InterVarsity, 2016.