Images of the Church in Mission

Author: John Driver

(Scottdale, Pennsylvania: Herald Press, 1997) 240 pp.

By Joel Comiskey for Strategies for Today’s Leaders

In the Images of the Church in Mission , John Driver’s central thesis is: The church, by the very nature of its calling, must be mission. To live its mission calling, the church must become  God’s contrast-society of witness (p. 44).

Driver believes that without a proper Biblical understanding of church imagery, the church tends to rely on secular examples. During the Roman empire, for example, the church adopted the images of power to guide its clergy and structure. Today’s church, according to Driver, often uses popular  business models to understand its mission and purpose.

Driver unveils the Biblical evidence that help define God’s chosen people. He expounds on the pilgrimage images, new-order images,  and peoplehood images of the church as a community of transformation. The book thoroughly examines the Biblical text for the church as the people of God, the family of God, a new creation, a new humanity,  sojourners, the way, as well as other rich imagery. 

Images of the Church in Mission is a worthwhile reference tool that you’ll refer to often to deepen your knowledge of Christ’s church.