Press Release
Global Consultation on Evangelical Missiology
October 10-16, 1999
Iguassu, Paraña, BRAZIL
MISSIOLOGISTS REJECT OLD MODELS
53 countries represented at unique gathering in Brazil
Press Release October 17, 1999
Foz do Iguassu, Brazil -- Iguassu Falls, set on the border between Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, was the spectacular scenic backdrop for a global gathering of mission practitioners and scholars last week. The 160 participants in the Iguassu Missiological Consultations came from 53 countries to examine the way Christian mission is changing at the turn of the millennium.
Participants viewed the 1986 motion picture "The Mission," The Iguassu Falls had been part of the geographic arena for the story itself and where major scenes had been filmed. The motion picture chronicled a tragic incident in Latin America's colonial history in which Christian missionaries were unable to prevent European governments from enslaving the native Guarani and stealing their land.
The imperialism portrayed in the film is still part of the memory of Latin Americans and others from less-developed countries. The Consultation, however, affirmed newer models of mission, which emphasize the development of mission movements in every country where there is a mature Christian church. The Iguassu Affirmation, a 2275 word declaration, signed Friday by the participants present for the final communion service, reversed the traditional Western to Two Thirds-World flow and advocated the vision of "doing missiology and mission by people of all nations to people of all nations."
Participants in the Consultation also endorsed a fuller understanding of the nature of and obedience to the Great Commission; they questioned the over-dependence on managerial methods in mission; they discussed the peculiar challenges of postmodernism and pluralism; and they explored the meaning of a strong Trinitarian missiology.
According to Consultation director William Taylor, "This is the only global consultation of this missiological nature in the two years prior to the new millennium." The gathering's international nature created opportunities for mission theorists and practitioners to examine common concerns around the world, as well as to meet in regional groups to discuss their own particular challenges. Exclaimed one African participant, "I had to come to Brazil to learn about Africa!"
David Tai-Woong Lee of Korea, the chairman of the WEF Missions Commission, stated: "This week we affirmed the centrality of the Gospel of Jesus. We also underscored the power of the Gospel to meet the needs of the whole person and the whole of society. The Consultation takes a first major step towards the formulation of a global missiology into the next millennium." Anthropologist Paul Hiebert observed, "Iguassu challenged Evangelical missions to a truly Trinitarian approach to global outreach and cut new ground in setting the agenda for ministry in the 21st Century."
The Iguassu Missiological Consultation was convened by the Missions Commission of World Evangelical Fellowship. With its roots going back some 150 years, the Singapore-based WEF is an international body which networks and facilitates communication between national and regional evangelical alliances in 115 countries.
Contact information:
Dr. William D. Taylor, Executive Director, WEF Missions Commission
4807 Palisade Drive, Austin, TX 78731, U.S.A.
E-mail address: wefmissions@compuserve.com |
