Various social, political, economic and cultural commentators are presently arguing that human history is reaching a decisive stage in its development, a stage marked by increased interconnection between peoples, the compression of space and time, a sharing of ideas at unprecedented levels, global trade and finance, and so on. The shorthand word used to encompass these phenomena is "globalization". Some embrace it, others reject it, while still others dispute its existence. But with the abundance of literature and debate that it generates, the topic cannot be ignored. From its inception in the missionary mandate of Jesus (Matthew 28), Christianity has had a global dimension to its mission. Christianity is not a spectator to globalization but one of its agents, one of the forces at work which have extended interconnection between peoples, shared ideas and promoted social, political and cultural links. The purpose of the present work is not to provide a complete response to the question of the mission of the church in a globalizing world, but to establish a framework within which answers may be sought. Grounded in the writings of Bernard Lonergan and Robert Doran, it develops a theology of history and addresses the churches response to the impact of globalization on vital, social, cultural, personal and religious values. The project brings together the perspectives of Catholicism and Pentecostalism, the former providing a depth of wisdom and tradition, the latter drawing on the insight of a newly emerging movement that has taken root in every continent with remarkable energy and enthusiasm.

This book considers in detail the key drivers of globalization, its contemporary shape, and its implications for world mission. It also looks at the impact of globalization on different contemporary issues affecting mission such as ethnicity, the environment, and global health as well as globalization's effect on more traditional "missionary" questions of the world religions, contextualization, theology, and the church. One World or Many? is written by a variety of authors from all over the world. This book was published in partnership with the World Evangelical Alliance.

Globalization is speeding up our world, extending our relationships globally and bringing us closer together in positive and not-so-positive ways. The church and many Christians, however, remain largely unaware of its seductive power, resulting in a failure of vision for mission in today's world. This up-to-date resource by a veteran leader in global development work with World Vision orients readers to the history of globalization and to a Christian theological perspective on it, explores concrete realities by focusing on global poverty, and helps readers reimagine Christian mission in ways that announce the truly good news of Christ and God's kingdom. Diagrams and sidebars that incorporate the voices of global partners are included. This is the second book in a new series that reframes missiological themes and studies for students using/featuring the common theme of mission as partnership with Christians.

Christianity is one of the forces at work which have extended interconnection between peoples, shared ideas and promoted social, political and cultural links.

Mission and Money; Christian Mission in the Context of Global Inequalities offers academic discussion about the mission of the Church in the context of contemporary economic inequalities globally, challenging the reader to reconsider mission in the light of existing poverty, and investigating how economic structures could be challenged in the light of ethical and spiritual considerations. The book includes contributions on the subjects of poverty and inequality from the theologians, economists and anthropologists who gave keynote presentations at the European Missiological Conference (IAMS Europe) that took place in April 2014 in Helsinki, Finland. This conference was a major step forward in terms of discussion between missiologists and economists on global economic structures and their influence on human dignity. Contributors are: Mari-Anna Auvinen-Pöntinen, Stephen B. Bevans, Jonathan J. Bonk, Ulrich Duchrow, Jonas Adelin Jørgensen, Vesa Kanniainen, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Tinyiko Sam Maluleke, Gerrie Ter Haar, Evi Voulgaraki-Pissina, Mika Vähäkangas, Felix Wilfred.

The New Testament church is universal and local at the same time. The universal, one and holy apostolic church appears in local manifestations. Missiologically speaking the church can take courage as she faces the increasing impact of globalisation on local communities today. Being universal and concrete, the church is geared for the simultaneous challenges of the glocal and local.

Looking at diverse areas such as international development, world trade, global warming, HIV/AIDS and e-commerce, this collection of essays helps Christians to grapple with the complexity of globalization and what it means to be Christian in a global context.

What does it mean today to be a church totally committed to the gospel and fully engaged in God’s mission? What major religious and sociological trends in our world are affecting the role of the global church and local churches? How must we understand and be prepared to face these trends? How do we define “church” in the twenty-first century, being faithful to the Scriptures and at the same time relevant to a generation that does not believe in the institutional church anymore? What are some good models of missional churches in different regions of the world that will encourage and inspire those who long to see a church making difference in society and in the world? These are some of the issues that the book you are holding in your hands addresses. There are certainly no final answers and magical forms; rather, we present a broad and deep discussion on how the gospel should be lived out by Jesus’ followers in our time and through our communities. Questions are raised and analyzed both from the perspective of a local church as well as from a global and general understanding of the Christian church. Some of our examples will focus more on local realities, others more on global challenges. The first part of the book is dedicated to a biblical and theological reflection on gospel, church, and mission. It includes Old and New Testament studies on the theological implications of being church, based on the biblical narrative. The second part deals with a variety of contemporary missiological issues related to the broader theme of church and mission. Different perspectives from current discussions and dialogues around the globe are included, covering both ideological reflections and practical aspects of being a mission-shaped church. The third part presents regional and national case studies that show the enormous creativity in church planting and engagement of local communities in their own societies. Models applied in the secularized Europe are contrasted to ways of functioning as church in fast growing congregations in the global South.

This research addresses the gap that is present in both missiology and family and youth ministry. Missiology does not focus on children and youth specifically, while this is the largest population in the developing world. On the other hand, family and youth ministry has a more pastoral than missional approach, not always taking cognisance of contexts like globalisation. Thus, the purpose of the book is to address the sometimes unintended and unnoticed influence of globalisation on the mission of the church, with a specific focus on children, youth and family. For this purpose, the International Association for Mission Studies study group for children, youth and families coming from different parts of the world decided to describe the powers, inequalities and vulnerabilities of children, youth and families in a globalised world from their specific contexts. Although the most prominent research methodology was critical literature studies, methods like autoethnographic, and empirical methods were also used. No decisions were made on a specific method of research for this publication. This publication can be viewed as an interdisciplinary and intra-disciplinary, because it deals with social sciences, anthropology, psychology, missiology, systematic theology and practical theology.