Mission Studies Past, Present, and Future

Abstract

Mission studies have made significant strides during the most recent decades, accompanying the growth of missionary activity that flourished after World War Il Some key questions posed at the height of Western missionary activity in the beginning of this century have been reformulated and have guided research and dialogue. This study presentsfive important books dealing with different aspects of missionary activity: biblical basis, history, women s involvement, theology of mission, and cultural history. Content analysis is related to the missionary experience ofauthors that representa variety ofcontinents and traditions, showing how their pilgrimage encapsulates some of the most important trends in the development of mission experience and mission studies during our century.T he title assigned to my presentation implies such a vast field to cover that I am painfully aware of my inadequacy. However, within the rich dynamism of the program for which this paper was a starting point, I dared to present a working document in an effort to outline an agenda for collegial dialogue and reflection.Mission studies have developed significantly in both quantity and quality during the most recent decades. Such a growth has accompanied developments in mission history so we can say that at its best it has been a good case of reflection on praxis. An overview of mission studies allows us also to see the results of a great variety of experiences in ecumenical dialogue that have marked this second half of our century. Mission studies register also the widening and deepening of their agenda, which is required by the slow but irreversible process ofglobalization ofthe Christian mission. Within our own American Society of Missiology (ASM) and Association of Professors of Mission (APM) communities in North America, as well as within the International Association for Mission Studies (lAMS) on a global scale, there has been an ongoing dialogue registered in publications, but also operative in our memories as we carry on our daily tasks in missionary life, in missiological research, and in teaching about mission.

Considering Benedict options: missiological reflections in a fractious age

“…A great deal of missiological reflection has been explicit in its references to Christ: from the authority of Christ at work in so-called “power encounters” from St. Boniface to the present day; the ways the message of Christianity has served to alleviate suffering in the face of limit-experiences such as death and illness, with Christ’s own passion and crucifixion central in missionary preaching; to the alleviation of human misery through practices of healing and education, both defended with reference to Christ’s own ministry. Several decades ago, Samuel Escobar wrote, “In the final analysis, Christology is the source to which missiological exploration must turn in its search for new patterns for mission” (1996: 6). Among Catholics, John Paul II followed a long tradition in emphasizing the centrality of Christ, for example in his 1982 encyclical Redemptoris Missio and in other settings.…”

Forty Years of North American Missiology: A Brief Review

“…In his ASM presidential address of 1995, Peruvian missiologist Samuel Escobar, echoing Archbishop William Temple, forcefully stated the rationale undergirding ASM when he named missiological convergence "the new fact of our time." 18 Church growth. A third "C" that fills out the context for American missiology in this period is church growth.…”

Forty years of the American Society of Missiology: retrospect and prospect

“…In retrospect, looking back over 40 years of the Society’s history, the deliberate collaboration and convergence across traditions has shaped the field of missiology and impacted the academy beyond the dreams of its founders. In echoes of Archbishop William Temple’s famous statement about the unity of the world church, in his presidential address of 1995, the great Peruvian missiologist Samuel Escobar stated forcefully the rationale undergirding the ASM when he named missiological convergence the “new fact of our time” (Escobar, 1996: 4).…”