About

Part of the shift that is taking place currently in global mission is the sending of missionaries from the Majority World (Africa, Caribbean, Asia and South America) to Europe and North America. Often these missionaries are not well trained or prepared for the task of mission in Britain and other European countries. In addition, British indigenous Christians do not understand or have a good relationship with Christians from the South. The centre aims to help British indigenous Christians and Churches and Majority World pastors and missionaries work together in mission.

missionary identity:

We are a collective of missionaries and leaders from the Majority World who sees Europe as a mission field therefore wanting to contextualise our mission and help others to engage in intercultural mission in the British/European context. This mission also drives our vision and shapes it. 

mission:

1. The aim of this centre is to prepare, equip and encourage pastors and missionaries from the Majority World in Britain and other parts of Europe to understand the post-modern secular context of European societies and culture.

2. A second objective is enabling southern scholarship and publications through encouraging Majority World pastors and mission practitioners to reflect and write. This will be to develop a strong theology of mission that is practical and help the next generation of mission practitioners from the Majority World.

3. Another objective is helping British indigenous Christians and church leaders understand the mission and theology of Christians from the Majority World so as to improve relationships between both of them. Part of the learning will be to help British indigenous Christians understand the background of these missionaries.

4. The centre  aims to help pastors and missionaries who are interested in church planting to find out where a church plant might be needed. This is to avoid several churches being planted in the same proximity. This will involve networking and research to make information available in terms of where churches, mission initiatives or projects might be best needed. This is to avoid competition and waste of resources that could be diverted to the right places at the right time.

5. The centre directors also act as mission consultant on Diaspora mission. The range of expertise within the team means that we can offer mission consultation on various aspect of Diaspora mission.

Diaspora mission as used here firstly is to capture the New Testament usage of the term to describe the intersection of migration and mission (See Acts 11:19-26). In this respect, diaspora mission is not limited to one ethnic or cultural grouping but rather the recognition of the whole church on the move fulfilling God’s mission. Secondly, it encompasses migrant Christians who are coming from the Majority World to Britain and other European countries to do mission. Thirdly, it includes the descriptions of churches such as African churches, Latin American churches, South Korean churches, Asian churches and Caribbean churches. Lastly, it is used to describe the ministries of people trying to reach out to migrants from other faith backgrounds such as Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and so on.

 

vision:

Training, Consultation and Research

Training/Equipping

  • Who? Reverse missionaries, people, organisations and churches working in the area of diaspora mission and indigenous white Christians and churches
  • How? Through one-day conferences, webinars, seminars, short courses, invitation from mission organisations and churches and collaboration with other training centres and institutions
  • Areas covered: Reverse mission, Diaspora mission, developing multicultural churches, cross-cultural mission and World Christianity

Mission Consultation

  • Who? Mission organisations, theological colleges, Church denominations and networks
  • How? One to one consultation, networking, collaborative consultations
  • Areas: We have a range of expertise in different areas of mission, theology and church traditions therefore we could cover the following: Diaspora mission, reverse mission, multicultural Christianity, World Christianity, partnership in mission, church planting, leadership development

Research

  • Who? Our research to benefit Majority World Christians in Britain as well as indigenous white organisations who want to understand the dynamics of diaspora mission in the 21st century
  • How? Through commissioned research projects, published monographs (books), edited volumes, CMMW blog (already online!), research papers and collaborative research with other research centres
  • Areas of research: Reverse mission, Diaspora mission, World Christianity, Multicultural Christianity, Contextual theologies, Pentecostal Studies and Practical Theology