The Mission of Worship

Worship gives us a glimpse of the majesty and grandeur of God. But that's not all. It also paints a picture of God's purposes for the world. He is in the process of gathering together a multitude of worshipers from every language and nation.Urbanaworship director Sandra Van Opstal shows that worship both takes people where they want to go and challenges them to go where they need to go. Worship creates a space for us to encounter the mission of God. Having culturally diverse worship gives usa more holistic portrait of God's attributes and character. In missional worship, we proclaim and demonstrate that the kingdom of God is here, accomplishing reconciliation, justice and shalom. Such worship is good news for the world and offers God'stranscendence and healing to all who yearn for his transformation.Worship can mobilize us for God's mission in the world. As we worship, we can invite the world around us to enter into the praise of the one true God.

Sandra Maria Van Opstal is a second-generation Latina pastor, an activist, an author, and a powerful leading voice on the intersection of faith and justice. She is executive director of Chasing Justice, a movement that mobilizes Christians to livejustly. Sandra's distinctiveness comes from working in both local and global contexts as a practitioner and an academic. She has reached audiences around the world on topics of reconciliation, global justice, and worship.