Contextualizing Missionary and National Identity: A Study of Czech Protestant Missionary Identity Among Slavs in the Western Balkans

Missionaries are called to cross boundaries for the sake of the gospel, adapting to new contexts and becoming “all things to all people.” In such a role, how are missionaries to negotiate their own national identities? Do they simply suppress them or can such identities, rightly understood, be harnessed for the glory of Christ? In this study of the national facet of missionary identity, Dr. David Symon examines the specific example of Protestant Czech missionaries serving in the countries of the former Yugoslavia. Through interviews and related primary sources, including personal diaries, Symon demonstrates that an awareness of Czech national identity and its interplay with other facets of missionary identity can actually serve as a tool to reduce prejudice and increase effective contextualization for those ministering among Slavs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia. While centered on the context of mission in the Western Balkans, this book has implications for anyone engaged in international ministry for the sake of the gospel.