In the 21st century, we are living in a world of social networking, scientific revolution and information technology. As a result today; Christian mission facing many challenges to proclaim the Gospel in the midst of many difference of society; such as Globalization, rich and poor, science and technology, and so on. In this blog’s post we are going to discuss about some of the contemporary issues of Mission and Evangelism; which are prevalent in our midst.
Mission and Evangelism
![Mission and Evangelism](https://mahasoe.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_20200930_131535-1024x576.jpg)
We need to know about the last four decades or more to understand mission and evangelism. According to World Council of Churches, Mission was defined as that which “carries a holistic understanding; the proclamation and sharing of the good news of the Gospel by word, deed, prayer and worship; and the everyday witness of the Christian life, teaching as to building up; and strengthening people in their relationship with God and each other; healing as wholeness and reconciliation into communion with God, people, and creation as a whole.”
But in recent years the term evangelism began to replace mission; not only in conservative evangelical circles but also among Roman Catholics and Ecumenical Protestants.
Evangelisation is understood as an umbrella embracing the whole activity of the church. Any way the church’s task is one whether we call it mission or evangelism.
So, mission and Evangelism are intimately inter-related. Mission in our own particular context is specifically opting for poor, oppressed and marginalized. At the same time evangelization is giving human dignity to the socially marginalized and the so refuse of the society. It has to powerfully come upon any type of selfishness which works against the will of God.
Contemporary Issues of Mission and Evangelism
The contemporary mission practitioners have to deal with complex issues that affect Christian Mission. Evangelical mission need to involve its response to a number of pressures in modern culture. It has to engage itself with the ‘world of human-market’ (economic) and media (information technology).
The proclamation of Christ has to recover its historical role of addressing the dominant cultures; resulting situations and not just to the salvation of the peoples. In that case the gospel is not only for all people but also for all situations.
There are a number of contextual issues which are very prevalent in the society that challenge the modern missionary activities. Let us look on some of the issues; like globalization, affluence and affliction and the increasing revolution in science and information technology; which are very prominent in our society and need to be dealt with.
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Globalization
Generally speaking, globalization is an indication of the tendency to an increasing interdependence of human beings; upon one another and of the strengthening of the inter-relationships of nations and regions. It has become an inevitable reality today. The origin and process of globalization might describe as economic. But its impacts are wide-ranging: political, social and cultural.
Human rights, environment crises, and social problems; like poverty and unemployment; are to understand in relation to the processes of globalization. So, the churches should be able to read the signs of the times in order to fulfil their missionary tasks.
Therefore, the issue which the Church raises today are; should the mission of the Church let the people to embrace globalization; as a force for good and challenge its limitations? Or should the mission of the Church be to encourage the people to reject the new global movement; in such a way that each nation decides its own destiny?
1. Issues Regarding Globalization
Today globalization brings some positive consequences such as the boost in productivity and economic efficiency, which can raise the standards of living. A globally integrated economy can lead to a better distribution of material, human, and financial resources between countries and regions. Even though, it leads to some other issues like, the destruction of jobs, the growing distance between rich and poor, reduction of public services and the environmental crisis.