Global Trends and the North American Church in Mission: Discovering the Church’s Role in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

Change has always been a part of human experience in history, but perhaps never at the accelerated rate that we are witnessing in the early twenty-first century. It may be easier to identify change than to assess the implication and its effects. This is certainly true of the modern missionary enterprise. The center of Christianity, in terms of growth and vitality, has moved outside of North America to South America, Africa, and parts of Asia. A new set of trends now characterize missions from North America. These changes require new responses in order for the North American church to fulfill a new role.