For many churches, to share in mission means to do the work and to be the presence of God in Christ in our world today. That means offering the gifts of mercy, truth, justice and compassion in a way that brings life to people. To do that as churches together means taking time to reflect on Scripture and on the experience of the church communities. It requires an understanding of the realities in our world - the systems, trends, movements of peoples and conflicts. The WCC can help churches in this shared reflection, encouraging them to look carefully at mission practice and motivations.
The WCC asks questions about the meaning of mission and the relevance of the gospel. It works to sustain dialogue on the relationship between gospel and culture in our constantly changing societies, encouraging the participation of non-Western peoples and drawing on the awareness of Indigenous Peoples, as well as of those who are neither members of a church nor willing to speak of the action of God in their lives. Multi-cultural communities are looking for a shared life of faith and worship and searching for support and help.
Our current tasks:
The WCC receives information, stories, reflections and articles from many churches, mission councils, base community groups and individuals in different parts of the world and across confessions and denominations. It does its best to share these via its regular publications, to which you can subscribe and contribute: the International Review of Mission, the Ecumenical Letter on Evangelism, and CONTACT. We also occasionally publish books on cutting-edge aspects of the churches' witness.Please note: the WCC is not involved in sending out or receiving persons in intercultural ministries. Neither are we involved in general financial support of mission programmes. We are thus unable to respond to requests for such support.
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After
an intense session, the participants of the School for Mission,
held October 9th-16th 2003 in Warsaw, issued a
Call
for Common Witness in Eastern Europe |
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"Towards
meaningful co-operation in mission". Consultation of churches from Latin America and Europe 3-6 April 2003 Letter from Bad-Segeberg |
How
you can contribute:
We have
a keen interest in your personal experience, or in stories of a group's
or a community's witness. These need not be success stories. Sometimes
more can be learned from hearing about difficulties. But positive stories
are welcome. We all need to be encouraged! So please send
us your articles or documents, or the names and addresses of contact
persons in groups, churches or other networks who are active in mission
and evangelism which you think might be of interest to a wider constituency!
You might also have challenges, questions, or critiques, to formulate on the WCC's understanding of or involvement in mission and evangelism. Feel free to contact us. We can start or continue a dialogue on this.
The Mission and Evangelism themes on which the WCC is currently focussing include:
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