Global Missiology English

Unity Through Belonging: A Grounded Theory of Division in the Mauritian Church

2026-02-13T15:28:40-08:00

This study constructs a grounded theory that suggests division occurs within the Mauritian Church when believers attempt to reconcile a contested sense of belonging. The study draws upon 30 interviews to uncover how Mauritian Christians experience social loss and institutional invisibility. The interviews suggest that colonial epistemologies exacerbated by foreign influence provide explanatory power to data collected. The article advocates for an adaptive ecclesiology rooted in Mauritian cultural forms and the reimagining of leadership as a dialogical, inclusive practice to foster unity among believers.

Bridges or Roadblocks? Islamic Plurality and Tension in Juxtaposition to Christian Plurality and Unity in Germany

2026-02-13T15:44:10-08:00

Animosity between people groups and sects within Islam is often intense. Indeed, some have fled their homeland seeking asylum as a direct result of the opposition they experienced. For many, their flight as asylum seekers has brought them to Germany. Meanwhile, Germany is a country with a diverse Christian community. Although historically marked by tension among the groups, there have been, in recent years, significant attempts to pursue unity. This article seeks to identify the opportunities afforded diverse Christ followers in Germany as they build bridges to one another and unify around the person of Christ in engaging Muslims with the gospel.

Witness in the Context of Confessional Diversity and Nationalism

2026-04-01T06:41:43-07:00

The modern Christian landscape is defined by two realities: the steady diversity of Christian denominations and the resurgence of nationalist political movements. The intersection of confessional diversity and nationalism creates a particularly difficult context for Christian witness. The key question is not so much where the global church stands today, but rather what kind of unity, witness, and fidelity it is moving towards.

One Helpful Theory for Explaining Religious Conversion

2026-04-06T12:39:45-07:00

The author finds the theory of religion developed by Stark and Bainbridge useful in understanding his own faith journey, findings from four research projects in the Muslim world he has conducted, and findings from other research that contributes to Christian’s knowledge of spreading the gospel. This article focuses on how the theory employs three theoretical spheres: the social and cultural context surrounding the presentation of the gospel, the gospel as understood by the recipients, and what is meant by conversion.

Patrick Krayer, Introducing Intercultural Theology and Ethics: Representing Jesus in a Postcolonial World

2026-04-06T14:38:30-07:00

Many intercultural workers and organizations still operate with unconscious cultural arrogance and theological naivete. They assume that, because their theological understandings and ethical applications derive from the Bible, they are universally applicable. This sobering observation is what Patrick Krayer aims to address in Introducing Intercultural Theology and Ethics. Krayer judicially explores the daunting but incarnationally necessary enterprise of encouraging new expressions of theology and ethics by indigenous believers. With three decades of experience living in Pakistan and Afghanistan, strong academic qualifications, graduate-level teaching experience, and service as executive director of an international organization, Patrick Krayer is well equipped to address theology and ethics from an intercultural perspective in the post-colonial era.

Call for Papers for October 2026 Special Issue: "Christian Conversion and Mission"

2026-04-07T14:34:04-07:00

Andrew Walls’s posthumous Christian Conversion and Mission: A Brief Cultural History offers a nuanced and incisive overview of the history of Christianity’s encounters with Judaism, Roman Hellenism, Germanic custom, the modern West, and the cultures of the global south from the first century to the twentieth century. The recurrent pattern in the gospel’s interaction with successive cultures through the ages is conversion, understood at its most fundamental level as “turning,” that is, turning to God in response to God’s saving activity. By taking Christian history as a whole and inviting the reader to see it from the perspective of conversion, Walls challenges Western theology in several striking ways. First, he decenters Western theology as the standard by which to judge authentic or orthodox Christian faith and expression. Second, he suggests theological frontiers to be explored as Christianity enters the cultures of the global south. Third, he proposes a fresh way of seeing historic Christianity that is not defined by the creeds of Roman-Hellenistic Christianity. As southern expressions of Christianity increasingly become the dominant forms of the faith, new themes and priorities that never occurred to Western Christians or to earlier Christian ages will appear. Global Missiology invites submissions for this theme issue on “Conversion.”

Call for Papers for April 2027 Special Issue: Christian Unity amid Domestic and International Divisions

2026-04-07T17:49:00-07:00

How is Christian unity affected by social, cultural, and political tensions among individual Christians, churches, and mission organizations? How is Christian mission affected? Jesus prayed for his followers that God the Father would keep them one as the Father and the Son are one (John 17), and the historic creeds affirm that the Church is one. The April 2027 issue of Global Missiology will wrestle with these multifaceted dilemmas and questions.

Bayanihan as a Gospel Mission Approach: Strengthening Intentional Communities and Acts of Service to Share Christ with Filipino Communities

2026-04-08T07:48:17-07:00

This article will explore how the Bayanihan principle, which means working together in harmony for the individual or common good, although changing in its expression remains deeply rooted in Filipino culture. The authors contend that Bayanihan can be used to share the message of Christ meaningfully with Filipinos in both urban and rural settings through intentional community-building and engaging in acts of service, in both physical and online communities.

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2026-04-24T07:50:56-07:00