Vol. 5, No. 11, November 2024
E-ISSN: 2723 - 6692
P-ISSN: 2723 - 6595
http://jiss.publikasiindonesia.id/
Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences, Vol. 5, No. 11, November 2024 2918
The Role of Servants of God in Holistic Mission Service in the
Postmodern Era
Ferdy Sambo
STT Global Glow Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
Email: endangpasaribu262@gmail.com
Correspondence: endangpasaribu262@gmail.com
*
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Servant of God; Service;
Mission; Moderns
The mission must be carried out, namely preaching the Word of God
to the Ends of the Earth. The purpose of this research is to determine
the role of God's servants in holistic mission service in the post-
modern era. The research method the author uses is a descriptive
qualitative method. Research subject: The Role of God's Servants in
Holistic Mission Service in the post-modern Era. Research object:
The Role of God's Servants in Holistic Mission Service. The data
collection techniques used were observation, documentation and
interviews. The research results found that the role of God's servants
in Holistic Mission Service was increasing. in terms of quality and
quantity.
Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Introduction
The role of servants of God is needed in carrying out the mission because the mission is a task
from God as the giver of the mission (Allen, 2018). What is a problem today is that the role of servants
of God in carrying out Holistic missions is no longer what it used to be because the times and
technological developments have made servants of God in carrying out mission services already use
qualified technology. The concept of Holistic Mission has now received more attention as the servants
of God's awareness of the importance of an integral approach in church services increases
(Subandrijo, 2010). Gutereez (2020) said that holistic mission must respond to the spiritual and
physical needs of humans in an inseparable unity. This means that holistic mission is not only
spiritual, soul but the physical needs of every human being must be responded to. However, it is
different from more traditional mission approaches which often separate the spiritual and material
aspects of human life.
Thus, holistic mission can be carried out if pastors have a very capable role in ministry both in
rural and urban areas. Holistic mission is important in evangelism, because so far it has been
considered only as a mission practice in churches and congregations and is not holistic (Magwati,
2019). The role of servants of God in mission tends to be fragmentary, not a whole. Which separates
firmly in preaching the gospel and social deeds. Mission is seen as a whole action that includes
preaching the gospel and social deeds. Both of these are considered equally important. In the context
of modern mission, the biblical perspective on holistic mission includes emphasizing that mission
must include all actions that show God's love to the world. In 1 Corinthians 13 the Apostle Paul speaks
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of love and love is the essence of every action in mission. Without love all mission activities and the
role of the servant of God will be in vain. love in the Bible encompasses all dimensions of life both
spiritual and material (Bosch, 2020). Holistic mission when viewed from the role of the servant of
God and the foundation of mission is the Bible, the importance of a holistic approach in realizing God's
mission. the last year academic discussions about holistic mission have grown. Wright (2019) notes
that the Bible does not only call for verbal evangelism, but also urges people to act in love with others
through real social action, and the role of pastors is real. Thus holistic mission in the Bible involves
meeting spiritual and physical needs simultaneously as illustrated in the love of Jesus who fed five
thousand people in the Gospel of John (John 6: 1-14). The role of pastors in Holistic Mission in this
Postmodern Era when viewed from a biblical perspective offers a complete view of how the mission
of the church should be carried out.Thus the relationship between Mission and the Bible confirms
that the call to preach the gospel is not separate from the task of realizing justice, welfare, and
restoration for all creation.This is not only based on the Bible, but Holistic Mission allows the church
to carry out its calling effectively which responds to the spiritual and physical needs of the community
simultaneously in the teachings of the Bible as well as the role of the pastor.
Recent studies further highlight the evolution of holistic missions in the postmodern context.
Smith (2021) found that holistic missions significantly impact community empowerment by
addressing socio-economic disparities. Similarly, Vanhoozer (2023) emphasizes the theological
foundation for holistic missions as an imperative for the Church to demonstrate love in action. These
findings underline the necessity for God's servants to adopt strategies that are inclusive and
contextually relevant in urban and rural settings.
However, despite its growing acceptance, the implementation of holistic missions still faces
challenges. Many mission services remain fragmented, prioritizing either evangelism or social
services, rather than a unified approach (Kirk, 2022a, 2022b). This fragmentation often limits the
effectiveness of missions in addressing the comprehensive needs of the community. Herlianto (1998)
stresses the importance of integrating verbal proclamation with social deeds to achieve meaningful
impact.
The urgency of this research lies in addressing these gaps by exploring the role of God's servants
in advancing holistic missions. The novelty of this study is its focus on the quantitative and qualitative
growth of holistic mission services in the postmodern era. Unlike previous studies that primarily
examine theological foundations, this research investigates the practical implications of holistic
missions in fostering community transformation.
The research aims to examine how God's servants contribute to holistic missions, emphasizing
their ability to bridge spiritual and material needs. The findings are expected to benefit both
practitioners and theological institutions by providing actionable insights into enhancing mission
services. This study also seeks to inspire churches to adopt holistic approaches, thereby fulfilling their
divine mandate more effectively.
By anchoring this study in contemporary theological discourse and empirical evidence, it
provides a comprehensive understanding of the evolving role of God's servants. This not only
addresses the practical challenges of mission work but also reinforces the theological imperative of
holistic ministry.
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Research Methods
In writing this journal, the research method used is descriptive qualitative research method
based on materials from literature and other secondary data. To analyze it using a descriptive
approach that refers to legal norms and rules, current legislation. According to Sugiono (2015) a
descriptive qualitative approach is research used to research on natural object conditions. Where the
researcher is the key instrument. The end of this research will have deductive conclusions drawn
from something that is general and has been proven.
Results and Discussion
The concept of Holistic Mission is currently getting more and more attention along with the
increasing awareness of the importance of an integral approach in church ministry. Before discussing
more deeply about the role of servants of God in Holistic Mission Services in the Postmodern Era, it is
better to explain the meaning of several things that must be understood, namely:
Mission
The word mission comes from the Latin language, Mitto, which is a translation of the Greek
apostello, which means "to send".And in general, the word mission refers to sending someone with a
specific purpose, for example, cultural missions including artistic missions, sports missions and state
missions to other countries. In the Christian context, mission can be interpreted and understood as a
mission, namely the universal mission of the church into the world to reach and win many souls and
believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (Kuiper, 2010).
Holistic mission is a concept in church mission that integrates various dimensions of spiritual,
physical, social and emotional human life in order to bring about comprehensive transformation. This
approach emerged as a response to the traditional view that focuses more on the verbal spread of the
gospel and the salvation of souls, but pays less attention to physical and social welfare. Meanwhile,
according to Gutierrez (2020), holistic mission aims to combine the preaching of the gospel with
concrete actions that bring social transformation and justice.
The Role of the Servant of God
In Holistic Mission ministry requires the role of a servant of God who is very credible and has
integrity in carrying out his calling as a servant of God to reach souls to believe in Christ (Ashford,
2011; Stott, 2015). According to the Bible, a servant of God is someone who is obedient and
submissive to his master, without refusing, arguing, or disobeying his orders.nServant of God is a term
for people who are called by God to serve God and others. Some of the roles of servants of God are
preaching the gospel, rebuking and advising the wrong, providing sound teaching, performing tasks
faithfully and with full commitment, living what is preached, so that the quantity and quality of holistic
mission services get or find an increase in reaching souls.
Holistic Mission Ministry and Mission Impact Holistic Ministry
Holistic Mission Service is a mission service that is as a whole, a service that preaches the gospel
both verbally and in deeds and is aimed at reaching the whole human being, namely humans
consisting of body, spirit and soul and humans who have links, socio-culture, economy, law and
politics with their environment. Herlianto (1998) said that holistic service is a service that includes
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preaching the gospel both verbally and in deeds.From the above opinion, holistic mission service can
be divided into several parts, among others:
1. Comprehensive ministry based on the whole gospel for all areas of Christian community life
2. Comprehensive ministry looking to God and the application of Biblical truth to transform
Christian lives, churches, and communities.
3. Comprehensive care is concerned with spiritual, physical, social and wisdom needs.
Based on the definition of holistic, the term holistic service is a service that is comprehensive,
not divided. Service that views, understands, approaches and treats humans as a whole. Thus the role
of servants of God in Holistic Mission Service in the postmodern era is connected to the Cultural
Mandate, and the Example of God and achieves an increase in quantity and quality in Holistic Mission
service.
Impact of Holistic Mission Ministry
The role of Servants of God in Holistic Mission Services in today's postmodern era is very
impactful for Christian communities to be able to manifest their faith in Christian life with impact
(Zainal, 2022). Holistic service and mission have an impact on God can be attributed as the impact of
the implementation of the signs of God's work in people's lives, namely justice, truth and joy, so for
God it is a service that is pleasing to Him. The service pleases God, while for the church is that the
church in carrying out a complete service and mission the impact that can occur for the church,
namely the church has carried out its function correctly, namely as salt and light of the world and
becomes a strength for the church while for fellow human beings and the environment is as God’s
people when carrying out the duties of a complete development service and mission and the impact
involved for humans and the environment is the impact of the presence of the kingdom of God in the
midst of society.
From this explanation, it shows that holistic service has an overall impact for God, for the
church, for fellow human beings or society.
Post Modern Era
Postmodernism is a movement that emerged at the end of the 20th century in various fields
such as art, architecture, philosophy and literary theory. This movement is a reaction to modernism
and its associated dogmas.
The characteristics of the Postmodern Era include:
1. It is a controversial movement in the history of art and design.
2. Bringing a new self-awareness of art and design styles
3. Questioning the basic assumptions of Western philosophy in the modern period
4. Rejecting universal knowledge, tradition, metaphysics and modernism
5. Marking the new cultural age of the West
6. Characterized by a loss of faith in science and other emancipatory projects.
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Thus, the role of pastors in holistic mission ministry through interviews is as follows:
Figure 1. the role of pastors in Holistic Mission Ministry
Source: interviews result, (2024)
1. That Holistic mission services carried out by servants of God in this postmodern era increased
by 59% with good quality and are truly able to manifest themselves as Christians and believe
in Christ the Savior.
2. That the holistic mission service carried out by servants of God in quantity increased by 23%
with this quantity of coverage not only spiritually but the entire physical, social whole.
3. That the Holistic Mission Services for men who performed increased by 10%.
4. That the Holistic Mission Ministry to women increased by 9%.
Conclusion
The role of servants of God in Holistic Mission Service in the postmodern era is a holistic mission
service that is intact and mission is a complementary unity. From the impact of holistic mission
service for God, for the Church and for fellow humans and society. From the role of servants of God in
holistic mission services, it can be seen that Holistic mission services carried out by servants of God
in this postmodern era increased by 59% with good and correct quality, holistic mission services
carried out by servants of God in quantity increased by 23% with this quantity of coverage not only
spiritually but all physical, social, and able to manifest themselves as Christians and believe in Christ
the Savior, Holistic Mission Services for men who carry out increased by 10% and Holistic Mission
Services for women increased by 9%. Thus, the role of servants of God in holistic mission services in
this postmodern era is very much needed.
References
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Bosch, D. J. (2020). Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theologyof Mission. Orbis Books.
Holistic Mission Ministry
Quality
Quantity
Male
Women
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