DMD Themes
Mission
From its very beginning, Christian mission has been holistic, modeled by the example of the mission of Jesus, who preached the Word, cared for the needy, and defended the excluded. Our understanding of holistic mission therefore includes the dimensions of proclamation, service or diakonia, and advocacy.
Mission belongs to God and the church is called to participate in God’s mission. By its nature, the church is missional, profoundly marked by God’s grace and the good news that gives hope and future for all humanity.
The LWF as a communion of churches has basic commitments to joint theological study and common initiatives in mission that demand ongoing reflection and expression concerning mission and its implications for our life together. DMD serves as the focal point for promoting and facilitating such efforts.
Mission in Context: Transformation, Reconciliation, Empowerment
The new LWF mission document, “Mission in Context: Transformation, Reconciliation, Empowerment – An LWF Contribution to the Understanding and Practice of Mission," was affirmed by the LWF Council in September 2004. It has given the member churches a new tool for reflecting on how mission can be understood and practiced in our time.
Hospital visit, Sii Khiu district, Northeast Thailand © LWF/S. Lim |
The document begins with a section that seeks to name and analyze the contexts of mission; the second section discusses the theology of mission, and the third section focuses on the practice of mission. The theological core for understanding the holistic nature of God’s mission is based on three key concepts. Mission as transformation, reconciliation, and empowerment follows a hermeneutical spiral rather than a linear approach and is based on the dynamic view that mission is contextual.
This means that the good news can only be communicated effectively to people within their own context through language and actions that are an integral part of that context. Thus, the church is challenged to embark ever anew on the journey of reexamining its changing context in light of its theology and praxes or practices. The church carries out its mission – encompassing proclamation, diakonia and advocacy – as accompaniment to people in the complexity of their contexts.
Click for detailed information on the new LWF mission document: “Mission in Context.”
For further information please contact:
DMD Director
Rev. Dr Kjell Nordstokke
E-mail: kno@lutheranworld.org
Administrative Assistant
Stefan Niederberger
E-mail: sni@lutheranworld.org
