The sufficient condition, however, is the action of the Holy Spirit, which not only lets words be heard, but causes the conviction to take effect in the person: "Yes, the message of the Gospel is true; it corresponds to what I have experienced in my life. I want to live in accordance with it." We have no power to steer the action of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit blows where it chooses, and whenever it chooses. But our task as the visible church is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to carry it and spread it further, in this world where so much else is on offer, so that people have at least the opportunity to think about it. Here mission and education come close together. In a pluralistic society, mission becomes to a large extent a process of education. In the face of the observation that only three to five per cent of our local church members regularly attend worship, I suspect that young people in particular need other ways of getting to know the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I would like to encourage the churches and mission agencies to move out freely and self-confidently onto this ground where free competition reigns and not to withdraw into inward-turned or ghettoised niches. Every society must solve the problem of how to organise itself with regard to religion. Without definite ideas about humanity and the world, their meaning and purpose, no certainties which can make action possible can be developed.
The best is wherever freedom, justice and responsibility are found in the best and most balanced combination. Our faith, the religion of freedom, need not shrink from comparison with any other religion or world view. We can stand up confidently, in this pluralistic society, for Luther's "Freedom of a Christian", which of course is not identical with the post-modern "anything goes".
In summary we can agree on four elements that broadly describe the topic "Mission in a pluralistic society":