Abstract:
The research addresses the contributions of sustainability to the church's missionary task, presenting new perspectives and possibilities. It employs in its trajectory a broad bibliographic and documental framework that dialogues with different fields of knowledge and wisdom. In the current scenario, sustainability has been considered a popular word and used in different social contexts. However, its concept is plural and considered as still under construction. Given this, the thesis deepens the historical understanding of the term and formulates a conception that supports its use in the ecclesial environment. Pursuing its purpose, it deepens and gives foundations to the missionary task, in particular, of the Evangelical Church of Lutheran Confession in Brazil (IECLB) spreading the vocational potential that flows from the experience of the spirituality of Lutheran confessionality and Christian ethics. It presents contributions from contextual theologies in the discussion and highlights the emergence of a hermeneutics that puts mission and sustainability in dialogue. It also offers a rereading of biblical texts contributing to the challenges launched today. Both from the perspective of sustainability and the missionary task, education and training are presented as relevant contributions to leverage knowledge, coexistence and empowerment for participatory and engaged social action for the good of the community and the planet. The commitment of leaders, the mobilization of people and resources, community management, as well as institutional attribution add up to create stimuli for the missionary task based on the search for sustainability. In the Lutheran confessional context, it is possible to ascertain narratives and actions to enhance the missionary task and aspects related to sustainability. These are experiences that point to the need to strategically plan missionary actions and leverage practices that testify to the Christian faith and attribute credibility and legitimacy to the Church within the context of each community. In missionary planning, sustainability, in addition to having a political and hermeneutical role, has a practical role in accompanying the reading and interpretation of the process that involves the implementation of strategic planning through ecclesiastical sustainability parameters and indicators. Therefore, the research highlights the relevance of sustainability in the missionary task of the church and invites new perspectives and possibilities.
