Call for Papers: “Socio-Political Disruptions and Missions Praxis”

The October 2020 issue of Global Missiology - English will take up the urgent theme of “Socio-Political Disruptions and Missions Praxis.” Regional case studies are welcome, as are papers that take up any number of related topics, including:

• The rise of global populism and of political radicalism, plus the challenges both present to nation-states as well as to Christians’ unified witness

• Accelerating phases of technology: the digitalization of the world, the turn to social media and big data (facebook, twitter, instagram), and resulting opportunities and challenges for missions praxis. (One example among many topics worth pursuing is how cross-cultural workers have been affected by increased availability of online entertainment and social media: whereas in the past a person or a group would have gone out for evangelism, some missionaries are spending more time watching movies and trying to cope with culture shock by turning inwards or homewards.)

• Global demographic transformations - including aging populations in the West and other “developed” nations such as Japan and South Korea, as well as younger populations in Africa - that carry vast implications for points of mission focus as well as for missions mobilization, funding, and generational missions visions. Exploration is needed also of the ministry implications of today’s more porous social, cultural, and class boundaries (caused by, for example, urbanization and intermarriages), for example, neo-cosmopolitan people group reconfigurations and diffuse (mixed) group identities. There are new questions about mission among aging generations that rejected Christianity a few decades ago but are now facing mortality.

• Increased migrations, displacements, and refugees, as well as ethnic or racial marginality, associated with violence and other catastrophes. With such dynamic people movements all over the world, how might churches re-imagine discipling and socializing new generations of displaced people, including Christians? The much-discussed phenomenon of “reverse missions” relates here, but there is a need for more in-depth explorations.

• The “closing up” or “limitation” of certain frontier missions, e.g., China’s and India’s restrictions, Africa’s control of work permits. What kinds of stories are emerging in these areas? If you have been a missionary who has been displaced by restrictions, can you tell your story to GM?

• Increased mixing of Christian and other activists in both social activism as well as social relief. How has Christian mission been affected in specific areas?

Proposed titles with approximately 100-word abstracts are due as early as possible, with an absolute latest deadline of April 30, 2020. Full manuscripts of approved paper proposals will be due July 31, 2020. Manuscript guidelines can be found on the Global Missiology website at

http://ojs.globalmissiology.org/index.php/english/about/submissions#authorGuidelines.

Please address all submissions and questions to globalmissiologyenglish@gmail.com.