“Theology of mission” attends to the use of Christian doctrine in mission studies, to the systematic development of theologies that support or inform mission practice in different contexts, and to the ways that mission studies might shape expressions in other Christian theological disciplines.

This is an important area of mission studies especially in view of the several statements of mission theology by global bodies, including:

• The Cape Town Commitment: A Confession of Faith and a Call to Action (Lausanne Movement, 2011);
• Together Towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes (World Council of Churches’, 2013);
• Evangelii Gaudium: Apostolic Exhortation on the Proclamation of the Gospel in Today’s World (Pope Francis, 2013).
• The Mission of the Orthodox Church in Today’s World (Orthodox Church, 2016).
• The Seoul Statement: Let the Church Declare and Display Christ Together (Lausanne Movement, 2024).

“Theology of mission” is a study group which met for the first time at the IAMS Assembly in Seoul in 2016. It attracted a great deal of interest and thirty papers addressing the above themes were presented in Seoul. The same interest was evident at the 2022 IAMS Assembly in Sydney.

At the next assembly in Pretoria in 2026, the conveners are looking forward to moderate a stimulating debate on Theology of Mission. At the last annual meeting of the American Society of Missiology, theology figured prominently in two important and well-attended sessions on the future of missiological studies and theology.

Theology of mission study group’s Conveners:

Kirsteen Kim
Email: kirsteenkim[@]fuller.edu

Stephen Bevans
Email:sbevans@ctu.edu

Pavol Bargár
Email: bargarp[@]yahoo.com