Internet and cell technology continue to increase their impact on a significant percentage of the world population and accelerate the trend toward globalization.ĥ. The world population is more connected than ever before. While that context still exists, it will increasingly become the exception.Ĥ. Yet, often when we picture mission work, the image that comes to mind is rural and tribal in nature. Over half the world’s population now lives in cities, and this urbanization continues to increase. The global population is becoming increasingly urban.
Again, with the shift of the makeup of global Christianity, the missions movement itself has shifted so that tens of thousands of missionaries are being sent from non-Western nations.ģ. Many nations are involved in the sending of missionaries. In fact, according to the Pew Forum, the “average” Christian would be a young, Nigerian woman.Ģ. But that has changed dramatically over recent decades, to the point that the majority of Christians are not in western countries. Although it is important to note that Christianity never has truly been a “western religion,” its influence was primarily in Europe and subsequently the Americas for much of its history. The center of gravity of Christianity has shifted from the West to the Global South. What has happened in the global context of missions that is requiring God’s church to seek the Lord for new paradigms? Shifts in Context or Assumptionsġ. While God Himself and His mission are unchanging, the context for that mission has changed dramatically in recent decades, to the point that the paradigms for how mission is done are undergoing changes.
For a Biblical example of this concept, consider Jesus’ teaching on new wineskins. The former way of thinking and doing no longer makes sense in the new climate, so new paradigms are required. A paradigm shift occurs when, over time, a given context or set of assumptions has changed so dramatically that the resulting structures and approaches have to be radically rethought. The phrase “paradigm shift” has become rather commonplace, so before applying it to global missions, I want to make sure we are operating from the same understanding.
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