The joy of not knowing everything 

Most weeks, without fail, we go to a quiz night. Sometimes it is with a large group of people from church other times, just a friend or two.

I enjoy quizzes not because I know all the answers, but because they introduce me to things beyond my everyday world. They spark curiosity, encourage me to think, and remind me how much there is still to discover.

I wonder whether this has something to teach us about mission as a church.

Sometimes we approach mission with a clear idea of what we want to offer, what people need, or how we think things should be done. But what if mission begins with curiosity? What if, rather than arriving with all the answers, we begin by asking questions, listening to people's stories and discovering what matters to them?

Jesus often met people where they were. He listened, asked questions, shared meals and crossed boundaries to connect with those around him. His encounters opened up new possibilities for people to experience God's love.

Perhaps our calling as a church is not simply to bring God's love to others, but to recognise where God is already at work in our communities and to join in.

This requires humility. We must be willing to learn from people whose experiences differ from our own, to be surprised, and sometimes to have our assumptions challenged. Mission becomes less about having the right answers and more about building relationships in which we discover together what God's love looks like in practice.

Quiz nights remind me that there is joy in exploring the unfamiliar. Perhaps the same is true of mission: when we step beyond our comfortable circles and become genuinely curious about others, we create space for connection, understanding and growth.

We don't need to know all the answers. We simply need to be willing to show up, listen and discover.

Perhaps mission begins with a question rather than an answer.