In his book The Present Future, Reggie McNeal reveals the contrasts in the different ways leaders can think about the church and its ministry. McNeal reveals the different paradigms that pastors can have as they fulfill their ministry in the church.  Being missional is first a shift in thinking about the nature of the church. Once a missional understanding is adopted, the way we do church begins to change.

1. A missional church stresses community transformation over growing the church.
2. A missional church strives to turn members into missionaries over turning members into ministers. 
3. A missional church focuses on recovering Christian mission over doing church better.

In the above video, Tim Keller also offers some insights about the missional church. Keller explains why this label – Missional – is not just new slang for being Evangelistic.

For those who want to explore a little more, let me suggest reading Timothy Corwin’s blog post Being Missional: Is There Really a Difference?  Tim is pastor of The Rock Church of Saint Louis, and has written several thoughtful pieces about the missional church.