The Oxford Handbook of Mission Studies

The Oxford Handbook of Mission Studies represents more than a century of scholarship related to the theology, history, and methodology of the propagation of Christian faith and the engagement of Christians with cultures, religions, and societies worldwide. It contains more than 40 articles by experts from different disciplinary and ecclesial perspectives, who are from all continents. It not only offers a broad overview of key approaches and issues in mission studies but it also highlights current trends and suggests future developments. The Handbook builds on renewed interest in mission studies this century generated by recent key statements on mission from ecumenical, evangelical, Catholic, and Orthodox sources, and by a spate of academic works on the topic. Western church leaders now apply insights from foreign missions (such as, inculturation, liberation, interfaith work, and power encounter) to today's multicultural societies. Meanwhile, there are new initiatives in mission from the Majority World, where most Christians live, so that sending is not only 'from the west to the rest' but 'from everywhere to everywhere'. Therefore, this volume aims to reflect the voices of the receivers of mission as well as its protagonists and to raise awareness of new movements. In a time of growing recognition of 'religions' more generally, this work examines and theorizes the missional dimensions of the world's largest religion: its agendas, growth, outreach, role in public life, effect on cultures, relevance for development, and its approaches to other communities.

Kirsteen Kim first taught mission studies at Union Biblical Seminary, Pune, India (1993-1997). She also taught in the Cambridge Theological Federation, University of Birmingham, and University of Leeds before becoming a full professor at Leeds Trinity University in 2011. Since 2017 she has been professor of World Christianity at Fuller. She has published five monographs, several edited works, and 150 chapters and articles. She has been a consultant for the World Council of Churches and other organizations, edited the journal Mission Studies (2012-2020), and currently edits the book series, Theology and Mission in World Christianity (Brill). Knud Jørgensen (1942 - 2018) was a journalist and theologian. He was Dean of Tao Fong Shan, Hong Kong until 2010 and then adjunct professor at the MF Norwegian School of Theology. He published several books and articles on journalism, communication, leadership and mission, and was one of the editors of the Regnum Edinburgh Centenary Series. He also had a long career as a broadcaster in Europe, Africa, and Asia, including for the Lutheran World Federation, Geneva. Alison Fitchett-Climenhaga is a Research Fellow in the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry at Australian Catholic University in Melbourne, Australia. Her research focuses on Christianity in Africa, missiology, and world Christianity, with emphases on popular religion, lay leadership, and conflict and peacebuilding. She has published on the history and anthropology of mission, and she serves on the American Society of Missiology's board of publications and Scholarly Monograph Series editorial committee.

- I. Mission Studies as a Discipline - 1: Kirsteen Kim and Alison Fitchett-Climenhaga: Introduction to Mission Studies: Analyzing Missiology's Current Configuration and Charting Future Prospects - 2: Brian Stanley: The Changing Face of Mission Studies since the Nineteenth Century - 3: Paul Kollman, CSC: Defining Mission Studies for the Third Millennium of Christianity - 4: Dorottya Nagy: Theory and Method in Mission Studies/Missiology - II. Mission Studies and Theology - 5: van Thanh Nguyen, SVD: Mission and Biblical Studies: Convergences, Challenges and Prospects - 6: Sandra Mazzolini: Mission and Evangelization in Christian Doctrine - 7: Stephen Bevans, SVD: Theologies of Mission - 8: Gheorghe Petraru: Mission and Ecclesiology: An Orthodox Contribution - 9: Henning Wrogemann: Mission Studies as Intercultural Theology - III. Studies of Mission Practice - 10: John Mansford Prior: Practical Theology and Mission Studies - 11: Michael W. Goheen: Structures and Agents of Mission - 12: Edmund Kee-Fook Chia: Spirituality, Mission and Liturgy: A Sacramental Perspective - 13: Marie-Hélène Robert: Proselytism in Christian churches: Insights from the European scene - 14: Val Ogden: Ears still tingling? Mission Communication Explored - 15: Tomas Sundnes Drønen: Christian Mission and International Development - 16: Lap Yan Kung: Christian Mission and Social Action - 17: Septemmy E. Lakawa and Alison Fitchett-Climenhaga: Mission and Healing: Witnessing in the Aftermath of Trauma - IV. Christian Mission and History - 18: Seija Jalagin: Christian Mission in World History: Out of Sight, out of Mind - 19: Kyo Seong Ahn: Christian Mission and Colonialism - 20: J. Jayakiran Sebastian: Christian Mission and Postcolonialism: Re-reading the Bible, the Theology, and the Call - 21: Pavol Bargár: Christian Mission and Communism: A Protestant Perspective from Former Czechoslovakia - 22: Dana L. Robert: Mission Studies and World Christianity - V. Christian Mission and Cultures - 23: Karen Lauterbach: Mission and the Anthropology of Christianity: Africanist Perspectives - 24: Peter C. Phan: Mission As Inculturation: Contextualizing God's Message in Local Cultures - 25: Gina Colvin and Rosemary Dewerse: Christian Mission and Indigenous Peoples - 26: Miikka Ruokanen and Chen Yongtao: Christianity in Chinese Soil - 27: J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu: Christian Mission and African Traditions - 28: Mechteld Jansen: Christian Mission and Secularism - VI. Christian Mission and Religions - 29: Atola Longkumer: Christian Mission and Religious Studies: The Case of Indigenous Religions - 30: Annemarie C. Mayer: Christian Mission, Religious Pluralism and Inter-religious Dialogue - 31: Edward Kessler: Christian Mission and the Jewish People - 32: Samuel Nwokoro with John Azumah: Christian Missions and Muslims - 33: Muthuraj Swamy: Christian Missionary Constructions of Hinduism: Issues and Implications for Contemporary Mission Studies - 34: Pan-chiu Lai: Christian Mission and Buddhists - VII. Christian Mission and Society - 35: Joanildo Burity: Christian Mission and the Social Sciences: A Latin American View - 36: Nico A. Botha and Eugene Baron: The Protestant World Mission and Race Discourse: Edinburgh 1910--Ghana 1958 - 37: Gemma Tulud Cruz: Women in Mission - 38: Martha Th. Frederiks: Mission and Migration: Mapping Methodological, Historical and Theological Perspectives - 39: Mika Vähäkangas: Mission, Money, and Power - 40: Kapya J. Kaoma: Christian Mission and Ecology Amidst Global Warnings - 41: Gina A. Zurlo and Todd M. Johnson: Global Mission Statistics and Religious Demography