As revealed by this final presentation of World Inquiry and its findings at the World Evangelization Issues Forum in Pattaya September 29 to October 5, 2004, there are several transformational conclusions that have emerged. In assessing the importance of the process and the resulting conclusions, missiologist Chuck Van Engen, suggests that
…It has the potential of spawning a re-conceptualization of the nature of mission that flows from the fountainhead of the majority church in the majority world, articulated by majority Christians spread now on all six continents. One might say that for the first time since Constantine, over 1600 years ago, the world church has the potential of constructing its understanding of mission with the building blocks drawn from the experience, life, vitality, and vision of churches and missions in the south and east of the globe as well as the north and the west. All this leads to a desire to re-think and re-conceptualize the nature of mission at the beginning of this new century.
The proper conditions are in place for the missiological seed of “mission as transformation” to bud and grow in the years to come. Sang-Bok David Kim writes about the transformation vision on the hearts of the servants of God in places like Southern Africa. Viggo Sogaard summarizes the findings of the World Inquiry quantitative and qualitative survey as a wholistic mission embraced by the whole Church for the whole world. Rene Padilla writes on the transforming Church and mission that will cultivate the growth of the “transformation seed.” Richard Howell describes the transformation already taking place in India, where a transformation alliance in North India has already begun to connect separate transformation initiatives. Paul Pierson, in writing on transformation from “the periphery, emerging streams of Church and mission,” concludes that there is one word that synthesizes his perception of what is taking place; that word is transformation.
After linking the various perceptions from the work of these respected Christians, who have reflected upon the findings of the World Inquiry from different perspective, we can now draw together some final conclusions. Ten observations emerging out of the three-year global inquiry are as follows:
1. The winds of change are swirling with great intensity around the Christian missionary enterprise at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Our world is changing radically: demographically, economically, politically, and religiously. We are in the midst of a time of change in global missions represented by many emerging streams and converging movements of mission.
2. Mission movements are springing from renewal on the historic fields of mission. Renewal movements of the present provide important clues to mission movements of the future. Major new mission initiatives are emerging around the world on the fringes of the larger ecclesiastical structures and missions.
3. Fresh ideas, concepts and their expressions related to God’s mission are occurring where there exists a vigorous engagement by the emerging mission initiatives with culture on the mission field. The cutting edge of learning from the encounter with non-believers is happening where oppression and injustices are the most evident. Innovation appears to takes place most often where opposition is the greatest.
4. God leads His people through the Word of God and the burdens, visions and dreams of His servants who are submitted to His will and engaged in His mission. These represent “the new things” of the mission of God. By listening to these burdens and visions we have an indication of what God wants to do in the future.
5. A new epoch of mission is unfolding before our eyes at the beginning of the twenty-first century. We appear to be at a new stage in the worldwide evangelical movement that deserves to be considered fully.
6. New relationships, alignments and movements are emerging out of new mission realities. There exists a growing need to reinvent missions’ structures to accommodate the emerging paradigms of mission.
7. The word transformation and its cognates have emerged as an expression of mission throughout the Christian world today. Different transformation streams, each which its own approach, are flowing into a river of transformation. As the river of transformation moves across the earth, individuals, churches, communities, cities and nations are being transformed by the power of God through the people of God for the glory of God.
8. A transformed world is a place where the power, the presence and the peace of God are experienced by all. The power of God is unleashed. The peace of God rules. Shalom-Salaam embrace. The presence of God fills the earth.
9. God is calling for servant-catalysts to bless the nations together with the whole body of Christ through personal and cultural transformation.
10.Christians are being raised up to motivated and network servant-catalysts worldwide for personal and cultural transformation—both in the churches and in the world – in and through the whole Body of Christ in the name of our Lord Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God the Father, together blessing the nations.
Arnold Toynbee warned that nineteen of the past twenty-one civilizations have collapsed from within. He asked that “all citizens heed the lessons of history and insist upon the development of a constructive, consistent, and compelling system of values around which personal and social life can be organized, an our educational leaders at all levels provide the active leadership to organize the concerted action required to meet our society’s greatest need.” Should not God’s worldwide Kingdom community lead the way?
After reflecting on reviewing the past one hundred years and especially the last fifty years Van Engen offers the following conclusion:
An evangelical missiology of transformation builds on classical concepts of mission developed over the last 100 years; overcomes the dichotomies between evangelism and social action that arose 50 years ago; and re-creates itself in a Trinitarian praxis of mission appropriate to the global/local challenges, and opportunities of Church and world in this new century.
The good news is that God wants to visit our communities and fill the earth with His presence. Indeed He desires to make them His habitation. But He will not be comfortable in our midst until we remove offending spiritual roots and cultivate an appetite for holiness, unity, faith, humility and prayer. In the end, divine visitation is as much our opportunity and responsibility as it is God’s.
God is calling out servants to act as catalysts in the transformation of His Church and in mobilizing the whole body of Christ to bless the nations through the transformation of people, cultures and nations.