Global Missions Theology

For a local church to fulfill its responsibilities in global missions, it must understand God’s mandate, His character, and His interests before the church can develop an effective and long-lasting strategy. Many churches start with strategy. I want to introduce you to the first level of the Global Missions Pyramid. To build a pyramid, we begin with the foundation – theology. This is followed by a philosophy of missions, and then strategy. Theology influences philosophy. Philosophy drives your plans or strategies, keeping them consistent with your theology.

Theology answers the question: What is God doing in the world? Your theology of missions grows out of your church’s theology, so before tackling a theology of missions, make sure you understand your church’s theological foundation and principles. Occasionally, you may need to repair or change the foundation if you discover a flaw.

Your theology of missions should grow naturally out of your established doctrine. It should be robust, yet specific, but not so detailed that it inhibits healthy collaboration and partnerships. Theology should be constant – your firm foundation. Explore and identify examples, directives, and principles of missions in the Bible.

Understanding and articulating your theology will help you guard against strategy defining theology. It will help maintain unity, stability, and effectiveness in missions. Here is a five-step process to help you develop a theology of missions:

1. Ground yourself in theology. Know what the Bible teaches and what you believe.
2. Study Bible passages on global missions. Know what the Bible says about the church and global missions.
3. Identify directives, examples, and principles of global missions. Sort out biblical imperatives from biblical narratives regarding global missions.
4. List your non-negotiables regarding doctrines, goals, directives, qualifications, confirmation, missionary care, reporting, and finances. Define the biblical principles that define your work and determine whom you collaborate with in global missions.
5. Craft a theological vision statement that includes your non-negotiable core values from Scripture.

As you work through these steps, look for the five Ws and the H – who, what, when, why, where, and how. Your statement on the theology of missions should enumerate answers to these questions from the Bible and will establish a strong foundation for your global missions ministry.

Next time, I’ll talk about the next level of the Global Missions Pyramid: Philosophy.

About the writer

Dr. Selvey is a global missions coach with Missioserve Alliance. MissioSERVE offers workshops and coaching opportunities to help churches be better missionary senders. MissioSERVE helps pastors and missions leadership develop and articulate their theology, philosophy, and strategy for global missions. Talk to one of our coaches today!