A plea for the honour of God: Gisbertus Voetius’ mission proposals at the National Synod of Dordrecht and his mission theory

Abstract

This article searches for the dynamic in human terms that produced today’s global church. It will focus on the role and the vision of Gisbertus Voetius (1589–1676), the father of the Reformed science of missions. As a significant representative of early modern Reformed theology, Voetius set his seal on the mission paragraph in the decisions of the National Synod of Dordrecht, held in 1618–1619 in one of the oldest cities in the then young republic of the Netherlands. In addition is the far-reaching influence of his mission principles in Reformed missions. The focus in this study is on Voetius’ missiology which, as we will see, is that, in the whole discipline of his theology and mission ideas, the honour of God was his highest aim.

Keywords

• Ecclesiastical mission
• Mission
• Missionaries
• Pietism
• Reformation
• Reformed
• Confessions
• Reformed theology
• Synod of Dordrecht