Studies in Missiology

Missionaries are called to cross boundaries for the sake of the gospel, adapting to new contexts and becoming "all things to all people." In such a role, how are missionaries to negotiate their own national identities? Do they simply suppress them or can such identities, rightly understood, be harnessed for the glory of Christ? In this study of the national facet of missionary identity, Dr. David Symon examines the specific example of Protestant Czech missionaries serving in the countries of the former Yugoslavia. Through interviews and related primary sources, including personal diaries, Symon demonstrates that an awareness of Czech national identity and its interplay with other facets of missionary identity can actually serve as a tool to reduce prejudice and increase effective contextualization for those ministering among Slavs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia. While centered on the context of mission in the Western Balkans, this book has implications for anyone engaged in international ministry for the sake of the gospel.

Christian mission in Myanmar faces a unique set of challenges and opportunities in relation to Buddhism and Nat worship systems. With syncretistic beliefs diluting the theology of Christian mission, confidently engaging with the culture and embedded nature of spirit worship is more critical now than ever. Through extensive historical library research and in-depth interviews, tracing previous missionary efforts and their outcomes, Dr. J. Pau D. Lian presents a case for the mission of God that is rooted in a Trinitarian framework, detailing its necessity in responding to syncretistic arguments. He addresses misconceptions and responds to contemporary attempts to reconcile indigenous culture and faith by providing factual information about both Christianity and Buddhist Nat worship. Revealing its incongruent nature to the theology of Christian mission, Lian demonstrates that Trinitarian missio Dei rooted in the word of God is key to responding to syncretistic Christians in Myanmar. Those ministering in countries with spirit worship practices, particularly to Nat believers in Myanmar, will find the clear goals for mission work and proposed methods for outreach and evangelism in this work invaluable.

God's vision for the world is to see shalom restored, so that all people may live in communion with him, with each other, and with creation. This is the missio Dei, the work of God's kingdom in which every Christian is invited – and commanded – to partner, spreading the good news of reconciliation to every corner of the globe. However, if this message is to be effectively enacted among all tribes and tongues and peoples and nations, then equipping believers for intercultural ministry must be taken seriously as a foundational aspect of church mission. In this contextualized study of Ethiopian churches, Dr. Mulugetta Demissie provides a biblical and missiological rational for equipping cross-cultural workers, while utilizing interviews, participant observation, and focus group discussion to identify the core challenges facing those ministering interculturally in Ethiopia. Drawing on his field research, Demissie develops a holistic instructional design model that would address head, heart, and hands in equipping intercultural workers as effective agents of mission and transformation – in East Africa and beyond. This is an excellent resource for all those engaged in training workers for the harvest, especially in contexts of culturally contextualized ministry.

As the centre of Christianity shifts towards Africa, African migrants have become a significant source of Christian witness in the West, and African diaspora congregations in the UK are springing up and multiplying. In this ethnographically informed study, Dr. Paul Araoluwa Ayokunle explores the factors impacting the growth of three such African diaspora churches in Liverpool, England. His research identifies the challenges posed by hierarchical leadership styles and an unfamiliar, and potentially hostile, cultural context, as well as the essential nature of ecclesiology – one's theological understanding of the church and its calling – in answering these challenges. Ultimately, he proposes a Yoruba-based ecclesiology, alongside an adaptive leadership model, as a way forward for the African church to continue growing in its mission to be a light to the nations, including to the once-Christian West. This book offers a powerful exploration of the richness of grassroots ecclesiology and the role of migration and contextualization in the spread of Christ's kingdom to all peoples and places.

Mission drift is a constant threat to any parachurch organization trying to remain "mission true" and "holistically relevant" in this post-Christian society. Defining it as a phenomenon in which Christian-based mission agencies stray from their God-given vision and identity towards socio-humanitarian objectives, this study considers this in light of Jesus's own holistic mission, exemplified in Matthew 9:35–38 and Luke 4:18–19. This insightful investigation into seven Christian NGOs and NPOs seeks to reveal the underlying reasons and motivations for moving towards mission drift. Presenting an exegetical study of the ministry of Jesus, Dr. Kombaté offers a developed and nuanced understanding of the challenging forces that contribute to mission drift and puts forward tools to minimize its risk. A must-read for missionaries, pastors, and leaders in parachurch organizations endeavouring to retain a strong, biblically grounded commitment to following holistic mission.

In the globalized twenty-first century, there is greater need than ever for intercultural approaches to advancing the gospel in multicultural urban contexts. In this book, Dr. Johnson Ambrose Afrane-Twum explores the history of African immigrant churches in the UK. Examining the implications of black theology in the context of Britain's multicultural landscape, he offers suggestions for how black-led churches can partner with white-majority churches for greater impact in urban ministry and evangelism. Such a partnership, he suggests, would enable both communities to challenge aspects of their respective cultures and theological approaches, recentring both on biblical truth. It would also provide a model of Christian mission built on mutual respect and love, transforming urban communities through an accessible and unifying gospel.

Diaspora churches are positioned to have a tremendous capacity for missions as they practice their faith in the Western world, yet why do they fail to develop effective strategies to break out of their inwardly locked ministries? Addressing this question, Dr. Mehari Tedla Korcho offers a thorough examination of Ethiopian diaspora churches in the United States, encompassing their historical, sociological, and missiological aspects. Drawing attention to the relatively overlooked nature of the 1.5 diaspora generation, those who came to the United States as children, he explores the missional potential of mobilizing the intergenerational context of Ethiopian diaspora church communities. Outlining a familiar narrative found in many diaspora churches, Dr. Korcho provides comprehensive, strategic recommendations for helping the first, second, and 1.5 generations of these communities engage in missions together. This work offers a fresh perspective to the field of diaspora mission studies through expounding the prospective impact of mission by the diaspora and the challenges faced in establishing missional partnerships.

Christian mission in the modern era has generally been conceptualized as a Western endeavour: "from the West to the rest." The rise and explosive growth of world Christianity has challenged this narrative, emphasizing Christian mission as "from everywhere to everywhere." Dr. Las Newman contributes to this revitalized perspective, interrogating our understanding of modern missions history by drawing attention to the role of African West Indians in the spread of Christianity in sub-Saharan Africa. This comparative study of three nineteenth-century missionary expeditions critiques common narratives around West Indian involvement in the missionary enterprise. Dr. Newman proposes that far from being misguided adventurers or nostalgic exiles, African West Indians were fueled by a quest for emancipation that was birthed in the crucible of Caribbean slave society. Acting as agents of the Western missionary enterprise, they nevertheless shaped an understanding of Christian mission as a force for justice and freedom that carried with it personal, religious, and socio-political implications. Dr. Newman argues that it was this conception, embraced and championed by African West Indians, that enabled the missionary project in Western Africa to survive, flourish, and ultimately take firm root in African soil. This study questions historical interpretations of the Western missionary endeavour, exploring the pivotal role of native agents in cross-cultural Christian mission and allowing readers to hear from marginalized voices as they tell their own stories of engagement, struggle, and liberation.

One lacuna in Søren Kierkegaard scholarship is in analyzing his works with his self-described identity as a "missionary to Christendom" in mind. Challenging the international connotation of the term "missionary," Dr. Michio Ogino examines Kierkegaard's works in which he identified himself as a missionary writer, to reveal how he considered being a missionary an integral part of being a Christian. By chronologically and empirically examining the writings of Søren Kierkegaard, Dr. Ogino argues that Kierkegaard not only proclaimed Jesus Christ in his homeland but did so in a manner similar to how Christ had done on earth, incarnating the Christian message for his contemporaries. Through this provocative exploration, Ogino lays out how the application of Kierkegaardian mission can help to overcome five recognized barriers in Japanese evangelization. Kierkegaard scholars and readers will find a new understanding of the motivations and reasoning behind his works, and missionaries, not only to Japan but all nations, will be encouraged in how his approach can be applied in their context.

Proclaiming the gospel is the central feature of Christian mission, thus making communication a critical challenge as missionaries attempt to share the message by learning language and culture. However, very few consider the influence of identity on communication. In this interdisciplinary work, Dr. Benjamin Isola Akano engages with Michael Hecht's communication theory of identity, which argues that it is a multi-layered phenomenon with interlocking and shifting frames that leads to an identity gap between the speaker and audience. Therefore, the employment of Hecht's theory aids in gospel proclamation for people's holistic transformation into those with a kingdom identity. Practical and contextual, Dr. Akano provides a historical overview of missional practice in Nigeria, analyzes missiological concepts of faith proclamation as a communicative experience, and applies Hecht's theory to three selected indigenous missions to accurately convey the current state of missional faith proclamation in Nigeria. He argues that the establishment of identity, language and cultural learning, and contextual biblical translation are all necessary elements for successful intercultural proclamation. Written in accessible language, this book provides missionaries, pastors, and theologians with a framework for powerful and transformative communication practices.

Taiwan is a nation with religious freedom and a long history of missionary activity. Yet, the Christian population has steadily remained as a minority religious affiliation. In this important missiological work, Dr. Chuang seeks to find out why this is the case, and what lessons can be learnt for mission and evangelism in Taiwan. From his in-depth interviews, Dr. Chuang explores the interplay of folk religions and Christianity in Taiwanese attitudes and lived reality regarding religiosity. Focusing on theoretical and theological issues, this work is unique in providing clarity around the nuances of how the people of Taipei conceptualize religion and the unseen realm. Dr. Chuang skilfully demonstrates that to better contextualize the gospel among Han Chinese in Taipei, Christians need to ask the questions that the people are asking to other deities in daily life and frame an exclusive Jesus in an inclusive way. Missiologists, practitioners, and pastors will all benefit from this practical, contextualized approach to gospel transmission in Taipei.