This work describes the re-shaping of mission in Latin America in recent years. It covers a broad spectrum of Christian movements that coexist in the area. The book includes themes related to theology of mission, ecclesiology, history, social action and leadership. It is designed to serve as a guide to understand different Christian trends in contemporary Latin America. Most contributors belong to the young generation of Christian leaders emerging in different locations of the region--from the Central America, the Caribbean, and South and North America. They are sensitive to the differences that are part of denominational identity. This work is unique and calls for a meaningful and mature dialogue among Christians in the continent. Latin America is still a continent of hope where Christianity continues to grow in the midst of poverty, social and political struggles. Christian workers are seeking for unity and mutual understanding. Promising young leaders are emerging and bringing innovation, vision and dynamism to the Latin American church in every country. ""If missiological writing from and about Latin America in the English language has been lagging behind, this volume heralds the revitalization within this arena and area. Alvarez has mobilized a younger generation of bilingual missiologists who have lived or worked across the Americas to provide an update and perspective on Latin American mission that anticipates developments in the next generation even while looking ahead into the middle of the twenty-first-century global context. May this tribe increase!"" --Amos Yong, Professor of Theology & Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA ""This volume is completely unique! I am impressed by the level of maturity shown by the writers. Most of them are part of the new generation of scholars that is reshaping mission theology in Latin America. Their papers are open to dialogue and mutual understanding. Alvarez has gathered excellent documents from writers of the North, Central, South America, Brazil and the Caribbean. This effort is remarkable!"" --Dario Lopez, Professor of Mission Theology, Seminario Biblico Gamaliel and Administrative Bishop of the Church of God in Peru ""This book produces just what it promises. It is a compendium of scholarship and practical wisdom for endeavoring mission in Latin America in the twenty-first century. This fresh resource for scholars, people, and preachers alike will influence the scope and direction of mission in Latin America in the future. Read, reflect, enjoy, but most of all, take seriously its claims and propositions."" --Johnathan E. Alvarado, Senior Pastor, Grace Church International, President and Professor of Theology, The Greater Atlanta Theological Seminary, Atlanta, GA Miguel Alvarez (PhD, Oxford Centre for Mission Studies) is a missionary from Honduras and serves as Director of Hispanic Ministries for the Church of God in the State of Virginia. He is Associate Representative of Superbook at the Christian Broadcasting Network and Adjunct Professor of Theology and Mission at Regent University in Virginia Beach, VA. Alvarez is former President of the Asian Seminary of Christian Ministries in Manila, Philippines and former Administrative Bishop of Church of God in the Northeast Hispanic Region of the United States.

The regional contributions from Africa and Asia show how the old European made denominational differences fade in the light of African Instituted Churches or Pentecostalism. Reshaping Protestantism is not a backward oriented project of reconstructing the original but makes use of the inner protestant pluralism to cope with globalization and changing religious landscapes. Who reads through the different articles can only come to the conclusion: Yes, there is a contribution to be expected from mainline Protestantism in all its variety.

The missional church conversation has focused almost exclusively on Western thought at the expense of hearing the voices of the global church. In this important book, Graham Hill explores the missional themes and ideas of 103 indigenous and majority world Christians. The future of the global church—including the churches of the West—exists in these global exchanges.

The sacred-secular divide permeates our churches, our seminaries, and our lives. By perpetuating the false belief that there are some areas of life that are not important to God, some callings that are second-class, and some spheres of society that are not worth engaging, the sacred-secular divide diminishes our understanding of God, discipleship, missiology, and the gospel itself. Seeking to liberate the global church from the power of this dichotomy, Whole-Life Mission for the Whole Church provides theological educators with the tools they need to combat the sacred-secular divide in the very realm where it is so often generated: the classroom. Filled with contributions from practitioners around the world, this book contains a wealth of insight into both the nature of the problem and the possibilities for its solution. The approaches suggested here are biblically rooted, contextually appropriate, and experientially tested, offering an excellent resource for educators desiring to transform their institutional cultures, curriculums, and classrooms into environments that envision, empower, and liberate the whole church for its role in the mission of God.

The Oxford Handbook of Mission Studies represents more than a century of scholarship related to the theology, history, and methodology of the propagation of Christian faith and the engagement of Christians with cultures, religions, and societies worldwide. It contains more than 40 articles by experts from different disciplinary and ecclesial perspectives, who are from all continents. It not only offers a broad overview of key approaches and issues in mission studies but it also highlights current trends and suggests future developments. The Handbook builds on renewed interest in mission studies this century generated by recent key statements on mission from ecumenical, evangelical, Catholic, and Orthodox sources, and by a spate of academic works on the topic. Western church leaders now apply insights from foreign missions (such as, inculturation, liberation, interfaith work, and power encounter) to today's multicultural societies. Meanwhile, there are new initiatives in mission from the Majority World, where most Christians live, so that sending is not only 'from the west to the rest' but 'from everywhere to everywhere'. Therefore, this volume aims to reflect the voices of the receivers of mission as well as its protagonists and to raise awareness of new movements. In a time of growing recognition of 'religions' more generally, this work examines and theorizes the missional dimensions of the world's largest religion: its agendas, growth, outreach, role in public life, effect on cultures, relevance for development, and its approaches to other communities.

Although church historians often call the 19th century the Great Century of Protestant mission, for Latin America it was the 20th century that was the great century of Protestant growth and expansion. The 20th century witnessed vast societal changes and the realization of systemic poverty and injustice as well as the exponential growth, pentecostalization, and diversification of Latin American Protestantism. Latin American Protestant Theology emerged during this century of change. This text provides an introduction to Latin American Protestant Theology by engaging its dominant theological streams (Liberal, Evangelical, and Pentecostal) and how they understand themselves through the lens of mission. The text offers both a critique of the Christendom cartography that is dominant in Latin American Protestant Theology as well as suggestions for how to move towards a transformative theology of mission. The primary intention of this text is to offer an informed outline and analysis of the theological landscape of Latin American Protestantism. The secondary intention of this book is to note the contributions as well as deficiencies of the streams of LAPT in the hope to signal a possible path towards the development of an integral, transformative, contextual, and decolonial theological voice.