India is poised to play a significant role in global missions beyond its borders, and India’s diasporas will be a major part. Yet fully participating requires rethinking strategy and collaborating with global partners. This brings into view the necessity of the India Missions Movement and Global South partners learning to work more closely as peers in global mission.

“... Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand. Then we will be able to go and preach the good news in other places far beyond you…” (2 Corinthians 10:15, 16).  

The above-mentioned verses from 2 Corinthians, by the Apostle Paul written to the Corinthian church, were the foundation and prophetic words of God to Indian missions in the late '70s when the indigenous missions movement emerged and facilitated cross-cultural mission in India. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the believers in the churches in South India and Northeast India in this era resulted in a mission wave at a time when Global North mission work was closing in India. Since the 1980s, missions in India has grown exponentially throughout the country.  

Yet the world continues to change. And amid cultural, technological, geopolitical, and economic developments, it is now time to re-think and re-invent global missions. Today missions is everywhere, being done by everyone. In this context, the partnership of Global North and Global South needs another look, especially the involvement of Indians.  

According to Todd Johnson’s projection of global mission, only 18 percent of all Christians lived in the Global South in 1900, with 82 percent in the Global North. By 2020, two-thirds of all Christians were in the Global South, and only one third in the Global North. By 2050, the anticipation is 77 percent of all Christians will live in the Global South. Gina A. Zurlo asserted that Indians will play a significant role in global mission in this decade.

Missional Opportunities

India is bursting at its seams with a growing population of 1.43 billion, now the most populated country in the world. What was once considered a disadvantage is now seen as a strategic human resource asset and a potential market for the world economy.

According to the UNFPA 2023 report:  
- 25% of the Indian population will be in the 0–14 years bracket.  
- 18% of the Indian population will be in the 10–19 years bracket.  
- 26% of the Indian population will be in the 10–26 years bracket.  
- A little more than 50% of the Indian population are below the age of 26 years.  

India has the world’s largest youth cohort with 254 million in the 15–24 years bracket. Predominantly, 68% of the Indian population are within the 15–64 years bracket. Around 77 million are elderly people. The population of people aged above 60 years is increasing at a faster rate than the general population, which has doubled in only 25 years. 300 million middle-class Indians lie in the influential, educated, opinion-makers, global consumer sector. The rural population is moving to urban centers at an increasingly rapid rate. It is estimated that within the next two decades more than 50% of the Indian population will live in an urbanized context. Accelerated urbanization is already occurring in 310 plus cities. There are about 53,000 minority institutions (mostly Christian educational institutions) in India. These include accredited universities and colleges, polytechnics, junior colleges, and professional training institutes.  

Technology and knowledge management skills are also becoming more significant and progressing. India plays a significant role in tech manufacturing. It also retained the 40th position out of 132 economies in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2023, reflecting a remarkable journey from its 81st rank in 2015 to this notable achievement. In 2021, India had 34% of total global graduates in Science and Engineering courses.  

India has the largest English-speaking population in the world today. 77.7% of Indians are literate. Our film, television, radio, and print media reach out to almost every Indian in multiple languages. This is a big opportunity to inculcate gospel values, yet few Christians are involved in the secular media. Tentmakers are growing in the context of growing hostility to traditional missionary roles.  

Rethinking Missions

India’s current realities require rethinking missions both in the country and beyond. Today’s difficulties fill the minds of missions and church leaders in the ministry within the country. Yet, the prophetic words of Todd Johnson and Gina Zurlo echo the significance of missions in the Global South and the strategic part that the Indian church and missions contributes to it.  

A new chapter is emerging in Indian missions. Dialogue between the Global North and South will help to shape it. According to David Ro:

“Asia is now participating in global missions. In the 20th century, despite numerous religious and political challenges, growing nationalism and persecution, societal turmoil through urbanization and globalization, and the influences of secularism and materialism, Christianity in Asia has nevertheless grown twice as fast as the population, representing 8.2% of the population of 4.5 billion people. The Asian church is preparing for the challenge of global missions in this next century.”  

The three leading countries—Korea, China, and India—are already positioned in the global scenario in every aspect of development. It is more than the differentiating between developed and developing, rich and poor, or the North and South poles.  

There are several areas in which we need to understand and build relationships with each other. We need more exposure to each other’s cultures, and greater appreciation and value for our dignity and service to one another. Sharing resources, expertise, and experiences through forums, consultations, workshops, research, work, and training is now glocal.  

Mission Possible in India: Global Mission

Dr. K. Rajendren defines a paradigm shift as a change in concepts and practices. The change in concepts affects the normal way of doing things until the new paradigm becomes the normal way. Subtly, slowly, and constantly there are many changes in society. He urges missions to move toward globalization.

According to Bijoy Koshy, globalization is about economic and cultural imperialism—creating a new economic order and cultural ethos for profit motives. It uses a policy of dividing the market and aims to dominate every segment by eliminating indigenous products and services. Christian missions has also had its share of division among denominational and doctrinal lines. How could ministry change when the process of global economic integration is happening at the cost of regional political and social disintegration? God is raising a new consciousness for the next generation of the missionary enterprise to respond to this. As we enter the new era of globalization, will India show to the world the shape of new frontiers in missions? Will our next generation of Christian leaders in India give shape to the post-modern missionary movement?  

In the global context of change and movements, migrants and diasporas are key players setting a missiological trend for global missions. According to John Amalraj, globalization is not limited to how the world influences and changes India but includes the other way, too. Indian immigrants have changed the texture and idiom of their host societies. It is said that Indians are all over the world—possibly in every country and nation. In fact, there are nearly 25 million Indians spread all over the globe. Indian communities control the politics and economies of several countries, forming the backbone of their health services, construction industry, computer industry, scientific research, retail industry, financial trade, agriculture, bureaucracy, food industry, and much more.  

Today the global Indian is often better educated and more skilled in intellectually competitive situations than members of other migrant communities. India is at the threshold of becoming a global player, and an economic, political, and, possibly, technological superpower. Yes, missions is possible for India in the global arena of reaching peoples of the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And we need to send out Indian Christians as bearers of the good news not just within India but also beyond India. According to Dr. Yamamori, “65% of the world’s people live in countries that either partly or fully restrict traditional missionary approaches… and by the year 2000, between 83% and 84% of all those people who have yet to make a decision to follow Christ.” But these countries are open for professionals, businesspeople, and students. An Indian tentmaker seeking employment, business, and study opportunities can enter these countries and serve these isolated and hidden people groups, incarnating Christ and sharing the good news with them. As the Western church faces decreasing missions participation, Macedonian calls for Indian Christians come from every part of the world.

Global Church and Global Mission

Enhancing partnerships globally can enable Indian missions as well as local indigenous missions everywhere in the world to participate more fully in global mission. This is not about dividing the Global North and Global South, but facilitating partnerships for a global mission that takes the gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the world.

Every part of the global church needs to prepare for global participation in Missio Dei beyond their own regions. That begins with observing, understanding, and appreciating the background and the culture of others. It can involve studying global cultural and geopolitical environments, and learning to be sensitive to community issues and needs in different nations. It also means being open to the way people in different places do missions and follow the Spirit of God. True partnership in global mission between the Global North and Global South will require making room for one another in communication, ideology, research, and missiology.  

Re-Thinking Missiology

The post-modern world is enhanced with technological innovations and new economic patterns. This is moving us beyond the colonial understanding of the poles (Global North and Global South), languages, and strategies.

Lalsangkima Pachuau explains: “The early Western missionary movement aimed foremost at the saving of souls from eternal damnation. Mission as expansion of Christendom through conversion and church growth was a dominant view during the Western colonial period. Then came the concept of Missio Dei, in which Christian mission was understood as Christian participation in God’s mission. But this was too broad: ‘If everything is mission, nothing is mission.’” Instead, he proposes using “witness across religious boundaries” as the defining principle of mission and as the integrating principle of missiology.  

Charles E. Van Engen takes this further. He says, “Mission is constantly innovating. As contexts change, so, too, does the work of the church. Today, in the face of a rapidly changing world and a growing global church, the task of mission must continue to innovate in unexpected ways.”  

Now is the time to re-think missions from a new theological perspective. Global North and Global South can share and appropriate strategies from each other. But to do that, deep learning and formation must occur to develop a reinvented global missiology.  

This begins with examining the biblical principles of Missio Dei as they are understood across cultures. We must study indigenous mission and people group movements and their impact on cultures, faith, and nation building. Finally, investment in global mission collaboration across cultures and regions should be prioritized.  

Potentials and Possibilities to promote Global Missions

India is one of the largest Christian nations in the world in terms of population. As the youngest country positioned uniquely and strategically with well-equipped medical personnel, IT specialists, and educators, the following are a few avenues to engage Beyond the Boundaries.

Potentials

1) India has more mission agencies than many of the other Asian countries.
2) India has more human resources than other Asian countries.
3) India has already contributed great minds/intellectuals and mission leaders for the welfare of World Mission and World Economy.
4) India has more than enough financial resources than many other countries in the world.
5) Indians have the capacity and capability to adapt well in any part of the world when they involve in cross-cultural mission.
6) Indians have better understanding of cross-cultural missions as they are already living in a cross-cultural context (India itself is a country of countries in terms of culture and language).

Possibilities

a. Promoting Global Missions in Indian/Asian Churches must begin with mobilization of Seminaries and Theological Institutions in their contexts. If the Seminaries and Theological institutions fail to understand their role of producing missional pastors and future missionaries, churches will fail in their understanding and participation in mission locally and globally. Missions in Theological Institutions must be taught by theologians who have personal missional experience and missionaries who served on mission fields. Then they will be able to influence students in seminaries and theological institutions.

b. Our Church and Mission need to make sure that they are first in touch with World missions. We need to first believe in the needs of the Global mission harvest fields and then only they can challenge their congregation members regarding those needs. We can consider sending their members/missionaries to reach out to the Indian Diaspora scattered in huge numbers around the world through the existing international mission organizations. We can motivate, equip, and send their students to countries which have less access to the Gospel in order to use their academic platform to bring the Gospel to those who are living and dying without Christ.

c. Identify and motivate Indian entrepreneurs and businessmen to enter countries where the Gospel has not reached to use their business platforms to bring the Gospel to those who do not know Christ.

d. Send Indian academicians intentionally to serve as their ambassadors of the Gospel in Global Mission.

e. Invite International Mission Agency Leaders who are sending missionaries to different parts of the world to expose Indian churches to the opportunities in global mission. Develop partnership with Global Mission Organizations in participating in World Evangelization. Globalization made communication, cultural understanding and connective points easier to think beyond the boundaries. Indians are spread in many other countries. Diaspora ministry can be initiated.

f. Lack of awareness among the young professionals to serve in the other countries as Tentmakers, Marketplace Evangelists, and Professionals in partnership. So we can present the need, guide them to the right place, and link them with local partners.

g. More collaboration among Indian Mission Agencies will bring synergy to common avenues of ministry possibilities. Partnership will strengthen the Member Care, Monitoring and Evaluation.

h. An intentional collective effort to bring awareness in mobilizing people in the churches to send people outside their countries. Special training can be given to the people as Kingdom Builders in their workplace as salt and light in the global context. We need to pray, promote and persevere that God will raise up many more mature and dedicated missionaries for the work among the various groups of people both within and outside our country.

Conclusion

Indian missions is now positioning in a global context for a wider, meaningful and strategic partnership to move beyond their regions. The recent Global Mission Summit facilitated by India Missions Association is a clear indication of this new missional movement in Indian Missions. New global, missiological partnerships can only emerge in a context of open minds and hearts to respect, accept, accommodate, and work with multiculture, multilingual, multisocial (communities), multinational, multigenerational and multidenominational towards fulfilling the Great Commission of Christ to the ends of the world (Acts 1:8). It is time for us to re-unite as peers for this global mission. This interdependence with God and by the empowerment of the Spirit of God will transform us towards the effective God-driven engagement in the mission of God in our generation even beyond our regions.

/ Isac Soundararaja, PhD (generalsecretary@imaindia.org), serves with the India Missions Association as the Secretary General. He became a Christian when he was 19 years old. He has had various responsibilities in missions in India, including serving as specialized faculty in cross-cultural communication, facilitating non-formal theological training for rural church planters, and working in member care initiatives. He is basically a researcher initiating various studies among the ethnic communities in India.