Mission in the Context of World Christianity

This is one of three inspiring courses offered in ETF’s Summer Colloquium, scheduled August 21–26, 2023. This international study week includes lectures, various workshops and times for meeting and reflection. Registration is open until 1 June 2023.

In its assessment of the character of Christianity across the globe, World Christianity scholarship argues that vestiges of colonialism, the accelerated pace of human mobility and the occurrence of pandemics have significantly altered the trajectories of God’s mission in the world. As the academy grapples with implications of these issues in relation to missions, the global south has emerged as the new center of gravity of Christianity. This development not only means that the flow of missionaries now happens from everywhere to everywhere, it also challenges Christian mission in practice to develop fresh perspectives to illuminate its cause.

In that light, this module poses several questions. What is mission in the context of World Christianity? How does the arrival of immigrants from the global south alter the understanding of who a missionary is in the West? How can Christians in Europe prepare for mission in places where Christianity is declining? How can intercultural encounters within the church worldwide enlarge and deepen an understanding of mission and the missionary message in our own contexts?

In examining these questions, this course will highlight the biblical basis of mission, missional implications of migration, and contributions of World Christianity and Intercultural Theology to mission in Europe. Students will gain knowledge, attitudes, and skills to facilitate their understanding of missional changes that have occurred in Christianity in order to view how worldwide interchange within Christianity and arrival of southern Christians in Europe contribute to current renewal in World Christianity.

This course is organized in association with the Protestant Theological University Amsterdam/Groningen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Colloquium ETF’s Summer Colloquium in August 2023 features three inspiring courses which intersect theology, church and society. The two other courses are: ●      “Isaiah and Ecology” by Prof. Dr. Jaap Dekker (Theological University Kampen | Utrecht) ●      “Religious Freedom & Religious Persecution” by Prof. Dr. Jelle Creemers (ETF Leuven) and Dr. Tatiana Kopaleishvili (ETF Leuven) This international study week includes lectures, various workshops and times for meeting and reflection. Our Summer Colloquium is compulsory for ETF Open University students open to interested people with academic qualifications and can serve as additional in-service training for pastors, teachers, and other ministry professionals.