Ecclesiology and Mission: Exploring the Church’s Identity and Calling in a Changing World

Mission is not an activity of the church. Mission defines it.

Over time, many churches drift toward institutional stability and away from their mission calling in a rapidly changing world. Ecclesiology and Mission confronts this tension. Mission defines the church; the church embodies the gospel. Christians need to live out biblical concepts that will create diverse, reproducing church expressions worldwide.

In this book, scholars and frontline practitioners stress the need to reintegrate mission with church life. Case studies from Azerbaijan, India, Thailand, and Canada show how mission thrives through relationships, family networks, hospitality, and adaptive faith, even under persecution. The authors in this volume highlight a trend toward simpler, networked, relational churches that can flexibly navigate modern complexities. They provide insights into how to think about church and mission, and how churches can do mission today.

Ecclesiology and Mission equips readers to reimagine the church as a dynamic, multiplying community—faithful to Scripture and adaptable to diverse cultural contexts—so that mission once again becomes the heartbeat of the church.