Mechthild Clark At the age of 21, I lived for the first time on my own two hours away from home. Living in Wiesbaden, I had a great job, and had just accepted Jesus into my life after my new friend Sabine relentlessly witnessed to me. We were both new in the city and did … Read more
The purpose of this paper is to present helpful insight in the area of cultural interaction and contextualization, which will facilitate a transforming ministry in Germany. As missionaries and ministers we must be cognizant of our own cultural blind spots. Scripture speaks to all people and all cultures with Jesus Christ being the most pure and faithful example of divine love in our communication with one another. Jesus is God with us — the reality of the love of God in human experience.
The first part of this paper will provide a limited overview of the genesis and development of the missio Dei concept during the last fifty years from a theology of mission perspective. Initial effort will be made to look at the setting and the circumstances surrounding missio Dei’s first appearance, namely the World Missions Conference held in Willingen, Germany. Following this point of entry, the definition of missio Dei and the broader perspective that has developed from various theological standpoints will be presented and accessed. Finally, the first part of this paper concludes investigating the missio Dei framework as it has been integrated into biblical theology.
Once the overview of missio Dei has been presented, the second part of this paper will attempt to establish its practical ramifications in forming a contextual missional approach to ministry in Europe. Terminologies such as post-Christian, postmodernism, secularization and the European Dream will be addressed, as they relate to getting a handle on ministry in contemporary Europe.