The Journal of Christian Studies volume 4, issue 1, on Mission and the Global Church, will be shipping soon! Below is the editor's note and list of contributors.
Editor's Note:
In the earliest account of the spread of the gospel beyond Jerusalem, we are told that the believers proclaimed the word of God wherever they went (Acts 8:4). As new churches were founded in faraway places, so were connections among these churches established (see Acts 11:19-27). The fraternity and fellowship enjoyed within the group of original disciples in Jerusalem (Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-35) was extended to disciples in other regions, reflected in the sharing of resources (11:29-30) and of doctrinal decisions (15:6, 23-31; 16:4). The evidence inside and outside the New Testament suggests that early Christians throughout the Mediterranean basin and Near East were extremely well connected to one another. Such networking is inherent in the faith and practice of the church universal.
Of course, it is natural for human beings to be occupied primarily with the people and things closest to us. Not only is it natural, but it is also good for us to take care of those under our roof and to be concerned with our proximate spheres of influence. At the same time, without neglecting our obligations to our family and near neighbors, the example of the early church invites us to look beyond the walls of our own church and even of our own city to our brothers and sisters in distant lands. Although we are separated by language, culture, and many thousands of miles, our unity in Christ binds us together in ways that are more profound than any connection we may share with our atheist neighbor across the street.
In order to inform and also cultivate these networks and connections, this issue of the Journal of Christian Studies is devoted to the global church. Christians in the West, where Christianity has been in numerical decline, are prone to forget that the church is growing and thriving in the Global South and East. Even with a quintessentially North American fellowship like Churches of Christ, the large majority of members reside outside the United States.
We asked contributors to this issue to tell us what is happening in Christianity outside of the United States and the global West. What specific initiatives, works, and challenges should be more common knowledge to us all? How can we work better together, and how can greater understanding lead to deeper unity? In addition to the articles, we have interviewed church workers, representing five different regions around the world, about the challenges and opportunities in their respective regions.
It is our hope that this issue will open the eyes of every reader to what God is doing outside of our own borders, so that we may learn from one another and serve more effectively in God’s Kingdom.
Keith D. Stanglin
Editor
Contributors:
Kyle Hooper (Pasir Panjang Church of Christ, Singapore), "Honor, Shame, and Mission
East and West in the Era of the Global Church."
Evertt Huffard (Harding School of Theology), "Partners in the Mission of God."
Daniel Austin Napier (Ashrei Europe), "Notes from the Field: A Brief Account of Some Worthy Mission Efforts in Europe."
Harold Shank (Global Christian Studies), "A New Way of Doing Global Missions?"
In addition to these articles, JCS 4.1 has a record of interviews with missionaries actively serving around the world. These include:
Nathan Bills is Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Theology and Ministry at Heritage Christian University, Accra, Ghana.
Jeremy Daggett is a missionary in Arequipa, Peru, and the director of Harding University Latin America.
Igor Egirev is president of the Institute of Theology and Christian Ministry, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Siu Ka Ming has been involved in mission to the Chinese for forty years, working with house churches full time for over twenty years.
Justin Smith is a minister in the French-speaking Churches of Christ in Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland.
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