Aotearoa New Zealand Association for Mission Studies

ANZAMS 2003 Abstract : Stuart Vogel

 "The Spouse of Christ as a Spiritual Health Provider in Robust, Corporate, Offshore Mission". Or, "Some Reflections on working in Partnership in Mission with Christians Overseas."

Mission begins in and is nourished by the creative and dynamic interaction of worship and mission. As Christians worship the God, who sent His Son to us, we are in turn resourced and sent out in to the world. The theology of Mission is “a disciplined study which deals with questions that arise when people of faith seek to understand and fulfill God’s purposes in the world, as these are demonstrated in the ministry of Jesus Christ. It is a critical reflection on attitudes and actions adopted by Christians in pursuit of the missionary mandate. Its task is to validate, correct and establish on better foundations the entire practice of mission.” (J Andrew Kirk What is Mission P 21) As we try to apply such a theology of mission in the context of Aotearoa New Zealand, we need a model of praxis and reflection that is nourished in our worshipping communities and which faces the realities of the Pacific and Asia in particular. Such a model needs to deal with the speed of change in these regions, and to develop effective and “in-formed” means of response.   

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