History & Practice of Christian Mission

This course introduces the history and practice of Christian mission, and examines key concepts such as mission, missiology, evangelism and missio Dei.

The course begins by examining whether mission was a discernible strategy in the Hebrew Scriptures and Second Temple Judaism periods, and then addresses mission in the New Testament focusing on the mission of Jesus and the twelve, and Saul of Tarsus. Missionary movements within the history of the church are examined (e.g. Cyril and Methodius, medieval monasticism, and the Jesuit missions of the counter-Reformation) with particular attention to the modern missionary period.

The historical overview raises a number of recurring features which become the basis for an analysis of missionary theory and practice. The course examines whether mission comprises a specific set of tasks or is an underlying characteristic of the Christian Church (missionary intention or missionary dimension).

Students will also explore specific questions raised by the Christian practice of mission - including the identification of missionaries, the identification of mission and missionaries as local and foreign, issues of cross-cultural communication, power, paternalism, autonomy, dependency and interdependence. They will be expected to reflect critically on the difference between mission and development.

This course will equip students to reflect critically on contemporary mission theory and practice within the church, noting especially the development of contextual theology, contextualization and inculturation as patterns of mission in the last 50 years. This will necessarily include global and ecumenical dimensions.