St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology (May 2024)
Missiology
Abstract
This article highlights key themes from history, current practice, and future directions in missiology. It traces the development of missiology as a discipline, highlighting some of the key voices, groups and movements along the way. It provides a brief overview of the history of missiology, noting voices and influences from the Majority World. The social, political, and religious changes of the twentieth century had a significant impact on missiology, and the article considers some of the missiological movements and organisations which emerged during that time. The issue of evangelism and social action in ecumenical councils receives particular attention. Contextualization and attitudes to culture are considered in some detail, and a critique is offered of some of the contemporary understandings of contextualization. Various themes in missiology are explored, including liberation; the significance of women’s voices; the increasing importance of contextual theologies; the urgency of caring for creation; issues around land; and the emergence of Indigenous voices and theologies in each of these areas. Questions of ecclesiology are also discussed from a missional perspective. The article concludes with some key questions for missiology. Colonial assumptions of mission are considered, arguing that in the non-Western world, mission and colonialism were two sides of the same coin of imperialism. Therefore, more recent missiological reflection from the Majority World is urgently needed to correct this. A non-Western approach to mission is considered via a brief study of missio Dei and the Bantu concept of ubuntu, which argues for a holistic approach to mission and careful stewardship of creation. Finally, the role of pneumatology in mission is highlighted, and an integrated understanding of divine and human action in mission is called for, based on participation in the work of the Spirit, which has sometimes been lacking in missiological reflection. The entire article is written with a commitment to listen to and learn from diverse and global voices. It considers mission from liberative, communal, and collaborative perspectives.
