Occasional Paper: Mission from the Margins

By Philip Wickeri

Philip Wickeri believes that we are living in a time of fundamental change in the shape and structure of world Christianity. This change creates a crisis that may be described in terms of the churches’ relationship to globalization, and its response to religious and cultural pluralism. Prof. Wickeri sets forth an understanding of “mission from the margins,” suggesting that, throughout the history of the Christian churches, the cutting edge for mission has come from movements emerging outside established Christian centers. In today’s context, these “marginal” movements include the African initiated churches, Pentecostals all over the world, and the rural churches of China.