REVERSE MISSION

Reverse Mission and Understanding of Gods Works in Churches of Britain

Reverse Mission and Understanding of Gods Works in Churches of Britain

Introduction

Receiving mission or 'reverse mission' is an issue of controversy in modern mission era mainly because there are variations on the terminology and their meanings. Through the overview on this latest issue, we may be aware of God's plan to shift what we have taken for granted in our traditional view on a mission by 'radical dislocation' of his people and make them all together join His 'new work' as a consequence.

Reverse mission or reverse flow of mission is increasingly becoming a buzz phrase in academia, mission circles, and among Christians from the 'two-thirds world'. The unconscious missionary strategy by churches in Africa, Asia and Latin America of (re)evangelising the 'West' is a relatively recent one. The enterprise was aimed at re-Christianising Europe and North America in particular, the former heartland of Christianity and vanguards of missionary movements from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. The rationale for reverse mission is often anchored on claims to divine commission to 'spread the gospel'; the perceived secularisation of the West; the abysmal fall in church attendance and dwindling membership; federalization of church buildings; liberalization; and on issues around moral decadence.

Discussion

Mission has been transformed around the world by former “mission fields" that have become mission sending agents. Strong autonomous denominations and local churches throughout the world are doing mission in six continents. The churches in each nation have primary responsibility for mission in that country. A new global church recognizes that the church of any place bears mission calling and responsibility for its own place as well as for distant places. The church of every place is a mission-sending church, and the place of every church is a mission-retrieving place.

Implications of Reverse Mission

The implications of reverse mission for world Christianity are not significant to seek. First, reverse mission has brought a major shift in mission understanding; provided better sensibilities to, and appreciation of the multicultural nature of Christianity in the 21st century. Two, new definitions of the mission are emerging in which traditional 'missions fields' now form 'mission bases' of renewed efforts to re-evangelize Europe, North America. Missions changed to become multilateral rather than unilateral, itinerant missionaries grew, while missions moved from cultural transplantation to contextualization. Third, as European churches are declining in number and in missionary significance, the impact of nonwestern missions looms large in the revivification of Christianity in Europe. Fourth, this trend helps in the reconstruction and demystification of ecclesiastical paternalism that characterize global Christianity. Lastly, the proliferation of priests/missionaries from the two-thirds world may help fill a spiritual/administrative vacuum that regularly occasion the dearth of European clergy.

Reverse wave of migration and waning Christianity in Western society in our age have far-beyond social, political or human significance particularly in Christianity history. God's radical dislocation of his people always brought us mission implication through the Bible.

Understanding what God might think of African and Caribbean Churches in Britain

At the beginning of ...