Christology of Mission (Missio Christi):
A Study of Common Biblical and Missiological Foundations of the Global South Missions Movement

1. Diversity and Commonality: Foundation for the Development of the Global South Mission Movement

1) The Era of World Christianity and the Global South Mission Movement

Christianity has moved beyond the Western era and entered the age of World Christianity, which is centered in the Global South churches. In 2020, the Christian population in the Global South was 69%, or 1.3 billion Christians. By 2050, it is predicted that 3.32 billion Christians, representing 75% of the global Christian population, will reside in regions like Africa, South America, and Asia.

With the weakening of Western churches, the Christendom mission system of Western churches is continuously declining. The Global South churches, which were once mission fields, have transformed into mission forces. Global missions are being restructured by Global South churches, and the future of global missions in the 21st century will be led by Global South churches. Global South churches and the Global South missions movement are expected to be the main force of global missions.

2) Diversity and Strategic Cooperation in Global South Missions

Global South churches share a non-Western identity as their commonality. However, it exhibits remarkable diversity. The churches on the African continent spread out over 55 nations, with Sub-Saharan churches growing at an astonishing rate. While African Christianity shares a common trait of rapid growth, it also reflects diversity in local traditions, cultural characteristics, and church traditions (Western church models or indigenous churches).

Asia, including the Middle East, India, Indochina, China, and East Asia, demonstrates significant cultural diversity. There are Arab churches enduring persecution under Islam, Indian churches growing amid Hindu oppression, Chinese churches thriving despite Communist persecution, widespread Chinese diaspora churches, and Singapore and Korea that have been influenced by Western traditions.

Another significant branch of Global South missions is the Latin missions, COMIBAM, comprising 24 countries in Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula. Although Latin missions share commonalities such as the Spanish language, Latin cultural backgrounds, and Pentecostal movements, churches and missions in the Iberian Peninsula, Central, and South America also show significant diversity within their regions, ethnicity, and church traditions.

The three continents that lead the Global South missions—Africa, Asia, and Latin America—can transform their diversity into strengths through strategic alliances and cooperation. For this, Global South churches should embrace their diversity, recognize one another, and support each other’s weaknesses and strengths through strategic partnerships.

3) The Need for Research on the Commonality of Global South Missions

Many agree that amid the decline of Western churches and missions, Global South missions should play a central role in 21st-century global missions as its main force. In this context, it is inevitable to define and develop the characteristics of Global South missions. Apart from sharing a common explosive growth that deviates from Western traditions, how else can Global South missions be defined? Diversity is a distinctive feature of Global South missions. However, for continued development, it is necessary to research the commonalities and identity of Global South missions. This requires an exploration of the shared phenomena in Global South missions and the formation of biblical and theoretical foundations of the Global South missions to support them. Identity research based on the commonalities of Global South missions will serve as the foundation for its further progress and development. This presentation aims to research commonalities of Global South missions by using John Stott’s “Christology of Mission.”

2. John Stott’s Christology of Mission

In John Stott’s book The Contemporary Christian: Applying God’s Word to Today’s World, he points out how Western missions have deviated from biblical missions and calls for self-reflection on the skepticism and lack of faith within Western churches.

Stott concludes: “It seems to me that the church needs to keep returning, for its inspiration and direction, to this Christological basis of mission. The challenge before us is to see Jesus Christ as adequate for our task. We have to repent of our pessimism (especially in the West), our low expectations, our cynical unbelief that, although the church may grow elsewhere, it cannot grow among us. Fiddlesticks! If only we could gain a fresh and compelling vision of Jesus Christ, incarnate and crucified, risen and reigning, bestowing the Spirit and coming again! Then we would have the clarity of purpose and strength of motive, the courage, the authority, the power and the passion for world evangelization in our time.”  

John Stott argues that for the modern church to restore the essence of its mission, it must regain a vision of Jesus Christ. To this end, he presents the missiological framework “The Christology of Mission,” proposing the restoration of six stages of Christ’s life. He asserts that Christological missions must recover Jesus Christ’s “clarity, strength of purpose, authority, power, and passion” to fulfill the mission of spreading the gospel.

The image of Christ presented by John Stott serves as a biblical model for the Global South mission movement. Moreover, this Christ-centered missionary model can be observed as a common characteristic in the field of Global South missions. This text aims to highlight the commonalities of Global South missions by analyzing the six stages of the Christology of Mission proposed by John Stott and to affirm how Global South missions follow the model set by Christ.

The six characteristics of the Christology of Mission are as follows:
- The Incarnation of Christ – The Model for mission
- The Cross of Christ – The Cost of mission
- The Resurrection of Christ – The Mandate for mission
- The Exaltation of Christ – The Incentive for mission
- The Spirit-gift of Christ – The Power for mission
- The Parousia of Christ – The Urgency of mission

3. The Six Common Characteristics of Global South Missions

1) The Incarnation of Christ – The Model for Mission

Global South missions must break away from the Western-centric unipolar mission model and develop their own indigenous approaches to missions.

Indigenous-Centered Missions: Jesus Christ left the glory of heaven and came to earth in human form, becoming fully human and fully indigenous. Through His incarnation, He became fully God and fully human, fulfilling His mission in ways that humans could understand. Due to the revival of Global South churches, the era of World Christianity has moved away from the single system or unipolar structure dominated by Western churches. In every region, indigenous churches led by local believers have emerged. Global missions should no longer be centered on missionaries or characterized by patriarchal Western missions.

Global South missions must be centered on indigenous leaders rather than being missionary-driven. The COALA 2 document “Recommendations for Mission Practice for the Majority World” states: “Missionaries must serve with a servant’s heart, humbly and respectfully cooperating with local believers. Missionaries should rely on God’s power rather than external resources or educational superiority.” At the COALA 2 conference, Jonas Kang, a Korean missionary, shared a model of cooperation that respected the leadership of the CCT denomination of the Thai church and contributed to the growth of the local church. A mission that respects indigenous leaders and fosters deep friendships and collaboration reflects the incarnation model of Jesus Christ.

Developing Indigenous Mission Models in the Global South: In 1987, a missionary movement arose in Korea. The remarkable revival of the Korean church in the 1970s and 1980s led to rapid growth in the 1990s. However, at that time, the Korean mission movement uncritically adopted Western or American mission models, which continue to this day. As a result, Korean missions have gradually lost their strength and functionality, facing a crisis. The decline of Korean missions aligns with the downturn of Western missions.

In contrast, Latin America has taken a different path. During a conversation with Allan Matamoros in COALA 2, he said to me, “To the emerging missions in South America, the Western approach to missions felt like asking David to wear Saul’s armor.” When he was commissioned as a missionary in 1987, he did not follow the methods of North American and Western missions because he felt it was not suitable to adopt Western models. As a result, Latin American missionaries developed their own approaches. Indigenous-centered Global South missions align with the incarnational model of Christ.

2) The Cross of Christ – The Cost of Mission

Christ’s life was filled with suffering. He fulfilled His mission by sacrificing His life on the cross. I believe that Global South missions reflect this Christ-like suffering. In many regions, such as China, India, Africa, and the Middle East, Christians in the Global South endure beatings, insults, discrimination, arson, and even the threat of death. Despite severe persecution by the Communist Party, Chinese house churches have experienced remarkable revival and continue to send missionaries. The church in India expands into unreached regions despite persecution from Hindu fundamentalists. The fastest-growing church today is the Iranian church, which operates under the harshest persecution. African churches continue to spread the gospel amid poverty and opposition to advancing Islamic forces.

The suffering of Global South churches is a unifying characteristic. The spread of the gospel amid suffering resembles the early church. The relationship between suffering and gospel expansion warrants further study. Churches in regions without explicit persecution, such as Singapore, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, must also remember the cost of missions and participate in Christ’s sufferings. Global South missions that follow Christ in suffering and demonstrate powerful gospel proclamation mirror the life of Christ on the cross.

3) The Resurrection of Christ – The Mandate for Mission

Jesus overcame death and rose again to new life. Just as Jesus overcame death and rose again, Global South missions embody a precious Christian legacy that global missions today seem to have forgotten: the diversity of the gospel. The recovery of diversity and mutual respect is one of the core contributions of Global South missions to global missions.

The Unipolar Structure of Western Churches: From the beginning, the early church embraced diversity. At Pentecost, people from Parthia, Media, Elam, Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, and Asia heard the gospel in their native tongues through the power of the Holy Spirit. However, Western churches represented by Rome or Constantinople failed to embrace the diversity of churches both within and beyond the empire. The ecumenical councils’ declarations of heresy to Antioch and Alexandria churches damaged this diversity, leading to church divisions. When Western churches lost their diversity, they lost their spiritual power.

Celebrating Diversity: Global South churches must reclaim the diversity that the early church held before it was lost to the Western church’s unipolarity. The diversity within the Global South should be recognized, respected, and celebrated. Latin American churches’ Pentecostal experiences, African churches’ vitality and indigenization, Chinese churches’ resilience under persecution, Indian churches’ spirituality overcoming Hindu persecution, Korean missions’ efforts to change direction, and Singaporean churches’ communication strengths between the West and the Global South must all be acknowledged and honored.

Strategic Partnerships through Mission Networks: For the advancement of Global South missions, strategic partnerships and cooperation are essential. Missionaries must share mission resources and support the development of local churches based on trust, friendship, and respect for local leadership. For example, Sooyoungro Church in Busan, Korea, has supported gatherings for Latin American missionaries working in Asia. Through this COALA 3 meeting, I hope to see progress in such strategic communication and execution, leading to the sending and placement of missionaries through the COALA network.

4) The Glory of Christ – The Motivation for Mission

The Glory of Christ: Jesus, who rose from the dead, ascended to heaven and received glory. Jesus endured the suffering of the cross on earth with His eyes fixed on the glory of heaven. What, then, should be the glory that drives the Global South mission movement? It should not be financial power, resulting dominance, or the oppression of others.

The Motivation for Global South Missions: Mutuality – Equality – Partnership: The glory and driving force of Global South missions must be friendship. Its genuine friendship brings out mutual respect and partnership. Global South missions must avoid the trap of Western paternalism and become genuine friends to one another. The COALA movement began with a “KOLA” proposal from Latin and Asian mission leaders who visited Korea in 2023. Korean leaders (Jonas Kang) suggested changing the “K” (which represented Korea) to “C,” symbolizing Christ. COALA strives to embody a culture of mutual respect and equality, working to realize polycentric missions.

5) Christ and the Holy Spirit: The Power for Mission

The Work of the Holy Spirit: After His resurrection, Jesus commanded His disciples to rely solely on the Holy Spirit for power and to become His witnesses (Acts 1:8). John Stott emphasized that “the work of the Holy Spirit is irreplaceable.” It is crucial for Global South missions not to fall into Enlightenment rationalism but to continue relying on the powerful guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The Experience of Chinese Missionaries: Missionaries from rural Chinese house churches often share testimonies of remarkable transformations and revivals powered by the Holy Spirit, in contrast to systems-driven models. This reveals that the fruit of missionary work is not determined by education, resources, or systems, but by the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit’s Role in Global South Missions: Global South missions must not be limited by business models and human-centric frameworks. While systems may be necessary, the work of the Holy Spirit in missions is irreplaceable. Global South missions must grow under the Spirit’s guidance and avoid losing the Spirit’s power under the influence of Enlightenment thinking.

6) The Return of Christ – The Urgency of Proclaiming the Gospel

The Expectation of Christ’s Return and the Urgency of Proclaiming the Gospel: Jesus Christ commanded that His gospel be preached to all nations before His return (Matthew 24:14). In contrast to Western churches influenced by Enlightenment worldviews, Global South missions exhibit a profound anticipation of Christ’s return and a sense of urgency in spreading the gospel. Many believers in the Global South, who live amid hardship, eagerly await Christ’s return.

Perspectives on Holistic Mission vs. Prioritism: While holistic mission strategies are biblical, Global South missions tend to prioritize the urgency of direct gospel proclamation. This is because they are empowered to evangelize directly even amid persecution and often have limited resources for large-scale social transformation projects. They believe that the transformative power of the gospel will naturally bring comprehensive change to their societies.

4. Conclusion

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, demonstrated the concrete model of the triune God’s mission on earth. His mission provides a path for Global South missions to follow and a direction for advancing biblical missions. John Stott called for Western churches and missions to return to the mission of Christ. To this end, he presented the “Christology of Mission.”