Christian Theology Codexery

Christian mission

Organized efforts to spread Christianity across boundaries.

Last updated

Christian mission is the organized effort to spread the Christian gospel, often by sending individuals across geographical boundaries.[1][2] It is rooted in the conviction that all believers are called to evangelize, as exemplified by the Great Commission in Matthew 28:16–20.[1]

Quick Facts

Field
Evangelism and missionary work
Key figures
  • Paul
  • Barnabas
  • Peter
  • Philip
  • Thomas
  • Apollos
  • Patrick
  • Boniface
  • Ramon Llull
  • Matteo Ricci
Early center
Coptic Church in Alexandria (c. 42 AD)
Major orders
  • Jesuits
  • Augustinians
  • Franciscans
  • Dominicans

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

Philip spread Christianity beyond Jerusalem, notably in Samaria.[3][4] Monasteries supported missions, libraries, and practical research.[5] Franciscans were sent as missionaries to the Near and Far East in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries.[6] The Reformation in the early 16th century initially shifted Protestant focus away from missions to non-Christian lands.[7]

William Carey, who went to Calcutta in 1793, has been called the "father of modern missions".[8][9] According to Ben (2024), Paul traveled around the Mediterranean and Thomas is traditionally believed to have gone to India.[4] Members of religious orders were responsible for a great deal of missionary work starting in Late Antiquity.[5] Ramon Llull, during the medieval period, promoted the idea of using non-violent debate to convert Muslims to Christianity.[10]

Portuguese missionaries achieved success in the Kingdom of Kongo in West Africa during the latter part of the fifteenth century.[6]

What the cited sources add

The Dictionary.com definition describes a missionary as a person sent by a church to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as educational or hospital work.[11] The same source notes that missionaries may also be sent to perform charitable work and try to convert people to their faith.[11] The Missions Websites account states that Paul's missionary efforts were guided by his belief that salvation was for both Jews and Gentiles.[4] It also reports that tradition holds Thomas's ministry in India significantly contributed to establishing Christian communities there.[4]

The Coptic Church, traditionally founded around 42 AD in Alexandria, has a reputation for spreading the faith as far as Switzerland, Abyssinia, and India.[12]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Christian mission" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Mission" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Christian mission" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Missionary Definition & Meaning Dictionary.com" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Christian mission" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ben, "Missionaries in the Bible: 9 Biblical Missionaries", Missions Websites, 5 January 2024 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Ben, "Missionaries in the Bible: 9 Biblical Missionaries", Missions Websites, 5 January 2024. facts only, no text reused. missionswebsites.com
  5. Wikipedia, "Christian mission" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jenkins, "The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia —and How It Died", HarperOne, 2008 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Christian mission" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Roland Oliver, and Anthony Atmore, Medieval Africa, 1250–1800 (2001) pp.167–170. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Christian mission" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Roy, "Holy Ignorance", Columbia University Press, 2010, p. 48–56; Walls, "Eschatology and the Western Missionary Movement", Studies in World Christianity, November 2016, p. 182–200 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Christian mission" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jonathan M. Yeager, Early Evangelicalism: A Reader, OUP USA, US, 2013, p. 357 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Christian mission" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kopf, "British Orientalism and the Renaissance: The Dynamics of Indian Modernization 1778–1835", Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyay, 1969, p. 70, 78 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Christian mission" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bridger, "Raymond Lull: Medieval Theologian, Philosopher, and Missionary to Muslims", St Francis Magazine, February 2009, p. 1–25 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. "Missionary Definition & Meaning Dictionary.com". facts only, no text reused. dictionary.com
  12. Wikipedia, "Christian mission" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Naiem, "Egypt's Identities in Conflict: The Political and Religious Landscape of Copts and Muslims", McFarland, 12 February 2018, p. 27–29 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Christian mission (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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