Mission in Western Culture Project

MWCP Articles

• A Mission in Western Culture Journey by Alan Roxburgh
• Reading the Everyday by John Davies
• MWCP — A Conversational Map by Jannie Swart
• Fresh Expressions of the Mission-Shaped Church: An Interview with Graham Cray
• More...

The Mission in Western Culture is shaped against the inspiration and influence of Lesslie Newbigin. While Newbigin’s legacy has been significant the last decade suggests that much of the work he initiated around the question of mission in Western culture has not yet translated into a sustained movement of mission-shaped local churches.

In the summers of 2006 and 2007, some 25 international missiologists, theologians, local church leaders and researchers gathered to map out the scope, vision and methodology of this project. We sensed a deep continuity with the missional conversations initiated by the various Newbigin movements that have shaped the past twenty-five years. At the same time, we felt a call to a new chapter in which the local church was a primary partner.

The Mission in Western Culture project is concerned with dealing with the questions that Newbigin raised from the perspective of the local church and its context, and the implications of this for leadership development.

The goal of the project is to develop frameworks, practices and resources that address the question of a missional engagement in contemporary, Western culture through a mutually critical partnership with local churches in selected countries. These participating countries are: Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.

As the project seeks to engage particular local churches, the focus will be on the actual, lived narratives shaping the people of these churches and their contexts in late modernity, in dialogue with Scripture and in engagement with the missional challenges of their contexts.

Teams are currently being formed in each of the participating countries, and we look forward to keeping you updated with this exciting and fruitful partnership in learning.