Christian Theology and Mission

Christian theology and mission examines how Christian communities understand their purpose in the world and act on it, tracing the ideas, practices, and institutions through which faith crosses cultural, geographic, and social boundaries. Since 1945, the center of gravity of global Christianity has shifted dramatically toward Africa, Latin America, and Asia, raising serious questions about whose theological voices shape the tradition and on whose terms mission is carried out. Scholars in this area are actively debating how short-term mission trips, diaspora communities, and digital networks are reshaping what mission means in practice, and whether inherited frameworks developed in Western contexts can adequately address urgent concerns like ecological collapse or the spiritual dimensions of urban migration. A persistent open question is how public theology — the effort to bring religious reasoning into conversation with broader civic and political life — can remain intellectually honest while speaking across the profound diversity that now characterizes Christianity worldwide.

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Keywords

Global ChristianityShort-Term MissionsReligious ExperienceMigration and MissionPublic TheologyAfrican Christianity