After more than 30 years of operation, NASA ended its shuttle program July 21. That morning, I drove two hours to meet with a committee to explore the possibility of serving as the next president of Eastern Mennonite Missions. That same weekend a new nation was to be born in Southern Sudan. I could not help but see the emerging theme.

As a person born and raised in Africa - once considered the mission field for Europe and North America - I could not help but consider the new reality I was living in. The fact that I was being considered to lead a mission agency in the United States was a new frontier for the mission agency and for me. Southern Sudanese for the very first time had their own brand new country, and the shuttle had served its purpose and something new was being envisioned. These stories convinced me that a new era has dawned and with it new ways of living and being the church in the world.

I believe this story is relevant for the church as it engages God's mission in the 21st century. We are living in exciting, as well as scary, times. These times are characterized by great opportunities to innovate and think outside the box. As NASA continues to research and envision the new frontier of space exploration, the church must likewise envision the new mission frontier.

I envision a new generation of missionaries being raised as the church once again rediscovers God's mission in a fresh and new way. We cannot live as if everyone understands what it means to be a Christian, even those who have been part of the church family for years. The Christendom era where we assumed that everybody knew the Bible is long gone. And I think we should celebrate that reality! Still, as we look back, we must acknowledge the successes, as well as the failures, of that era. Like NASA, we must reflect and dream about new ways to be relevant, go to places where the witness of the Gospel has not yet reached, and discover fresh ways to embody faithful Christian discipleship in our own communities.

Taking Van Gelda seriously, I looked at Acts 2. In this chapter, I see the church growing exponentially as the Holy Spirit descended in a fresh way. Numerically, it grew from 120 people to 3,120. As the Holy Spirit took charge, it was transformed and empowered to become an authentic Christian community that ministered to others. It became a community that continually experienced the Lord's hand at work, God's Spirit continued to shape and act in powerful ways. It is no wonder that the author reports, "And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved" (Acts 2:47). This Christian community experienced phenomenal growth as the Holy Spirit descended and the community took seriously their new identity and mission.

Is the Acts 2 experience possible again? Yes, it is! What would the church look like if we lived as Holy Spirit-filled communities of Jesus? What kind of impact would we have in our immediate neighborhoods and around the world? We must actively engage our changing cultural realities with the transforming power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In order to do this, we must once again cultivate the virtues that continue to form us and help us embody the Christian narrative.