Before the Proto-evangelium, the Proto-missio 1

The missio Dei conversations of the 20th century shifted the focus of mission from an ecclesiocentric position to a theocentric position (specifically, Trinitarian). Mission did not belong to the Church, but to God. The world did not set the agenda for the Church to carry out mission, but God established the agenda, power, and means. This shift has been described as Copernican revolution in missions.

And though such a shift in theology is to be welcomed, many of our conversations about the missio Dei are quick to turn toward the New Testament, believing the Old Testament has little to offer regarding mission foundation and praxis. One example of this reality is that many people are quick to leap to Acts 2 to find the intersection of ecclesiology and missiology. Yes, the coming of the Spirit (Joel 2:28-32) did mark the last days and birthed the Church from an in utero gathering in the upper room to a Spirit-filled, global, disciple-making force unleashed in Jerusalem. However, Christopher J. H. Wright is correct that if we want to get to this intersection, then “the link must be traced much further back than Pentecost but right back to the Old Testament” (The Mission of God, 189).

Genesis 3 is an important starting point. Many scholars have pointed out that 3:15 is the proto-evangelium (the first gospel). The promise to crush the serpent’s head, via the Seed of the woman, offered good news to a couple in the depths of despair. And while we are quick to draw attention to this message that finds fulfillment in Jesus (Gal 3; 4:4), we often fail to recognize that the sending of God preceded this divine proclamation of hope.

God’s apostolic nature brought Him to the darkness of Eden. He did not have to show up. He did not have to say anything. It could have ended with the curse. However, for God so loved the world, He came to the Garden. This movement on mission is what Francis M. DuBose called the “incipient sending” and the “proto-missio.”

Remember: before the proto-evangelium, the proto-missio.

It is here in the beginning, the Church finds the origin of the mission to which she has been elected. Du Bose was correct, “What flowers ultimately in all Scripture has its roots in this primal mission and the purpose behind it” (God Who Sends, 57).