"The well-known Latin phrase Ite, missa est can be translated as 'Go! You are sent!' This simple yet profound phrase was proclaimed at the end of Christian worship at least as far back as the third century. The whole dynamic of Christian worship is to form the church (the 'called out' ones) morally, theologically, and spiritually into Christlikeness, in order to be sent on mission to draw the broken world back into the life of the triune God. We gather for worship to be sent, and we are sent to be gathered for worship. Winfield Bevins does a spectacular job of bringing together all the essential elements and implications of such a posture. This understanding of the mutually implicative relationship between liturgy and mission is essential to our common call to be poured out for the life of the world."
James R. Hart, president of the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies
