Missions And Unity

This study is the first comprehensive history of the impact of the modern missionary movement on the understanding of and work toward Christian unity. It tells stories from all branches of the church: Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant in its many types (conciliar, evangelical, Pentecostal, and independent). Part 1, "Historical," highlights the contribution of modern missions to Christian unity, from William Carey and his antecedents and peers to present-day missions. Part 2, "Ten Models of Unity," takes an inductive approach to history, asking not "how should Christians cooperate?" but "how has the missionary movement helped Christians to work together at the local, national, regional, and global level?" Part 3, "Wider Ecumenism," broadens the evidence to include how the missions movement has helped not only institutional churches but also broader society to have concern for the unity of the entire human family. Included here is the story of how the Protestant missionary movement influenced the forming of the United Nations as well as the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The study also covers the movement's impact on Christian attitudes toward, and relations with, persons of other faiths. Mission and Unity is the standard reference work in the field for persons studying modern history, modern church history, missions, and ecumenics.

This study is the first comprehensive history of the impact of the modern missionary movement on the understanding of and work toward Christian unity. It tells stories from all branches of the church: Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant in its many types (conciliar, evangelical, Pentecostal, and independent). Part 1, "Historical," highlights the contribution of modern missions to Christian unity, from William Carey and his antecedents and peers to present-day missions. Part 2, "Ten Models of Unity," takes an inductive approach to history, asking not "how should Christians cooperate?" but "how has the missionary movement helped Christians to work together at the local, national, regional, and global level?" Part 3, "Wider Ecumenism," broadens the evidence to include how the missions movement has helped not only institutional churches but also broader society to have concern for the unity of the entire human family. Included here is the story of how the Protestant missionary movement influenced the forming of the United Nations as well as the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The study also covers the movement's impact on Christian attitudes toward, and relations with, persons of other faiths. Mission and Unity is the standard reference work in the field for persons studying modern history, modern church history, missions, and ecumenics.

“I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.”Too often, these words of Jesus from John 17:20-21 seem like an unreachable ideal. But in Your Church Is Too Small, John Armstrong shows that Jesus’ vision of Christian unity is for all God’s people across social, cultural, racial, and denominational lines.“With attention to his own pilgrimage and growth in ecclesial awareness, John Armstrong explores here the evangelical heart and ecumenical breadth of churchly Christianity. I am encouraged by his explorations and commend this study to all believers who pray and labor for the unity for which our Savior prayed.” – Timothy George, senior editor, Christianity Today.“Dr. Armstrong’s irenic approach should make it easy for Christians—whether Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant—to engage the challenging thesis of the book, while recognizing that there remain points of doctrine between them which will require further clarification. Anyone concerned about either evangelism or Christian unity should read this book, and take seriously its call for both mission and ecumenism.” – Fr. Thomas A. Baima, Provost, University of Saint Mary of the LakeJohn Armstrong is one of those Evangelical theologians—may their tribe increase and the valley abound with their tents—who know that full obedience to Christ embraces the historical transmission through which we know him. This book refuses to scale down the bearer of that tradition—the historical church, that is—or reduce the authority of its voice. – Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon, senior editor, Touchstone “It's a must for anyone who has grown weary with Christian divisiveness and schism and longs to discover ways of strengthening the bonds that unite us in the Spirit of Christ.”– Chuck Colson

This book reviews important missiological developments in ecumenical, evangelical, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox circles between 1961 and 1975. Its central focus is on the essential relationship between unity and mission, but it also deals with other important missiological themes which dominated this era.

Unity is a tool that holds the center of any organization for the achievement of set objectives. It is a requirement for God's people to achieve the commission He has entrusted to them to exercise the Gospel of salvation to the dying world. This principle was evident in the Trinity to fulfill the requirements at creation and redemption, which we are enjoying as Christians today and hope to be eternally joined with God at last. . In a similar effect, unity in the Church of God is foundational to the fulfilling of the task God has placed upon it as His embassy through which the world would receive the message of the cross, to better prepare them for what is to come upon the world soon. . Therefore, members of the Church of God of varying origins and gifts under the control of the Holy Spirit should be presented in a united front in purpose and mission to better deliver the mandate of salvation in line with the directive of God. If disunity is rocking the Church of God, that would render it inefficient and unfit for the assignment and present itself as a prey to the devil for destruction. . This episode presents the necessary ingredients required to foster unity amongst God's people; to work in oneness and deliver the dividends of salvation to the perishing. It is also fundamental in the process of restoring unity in the church, family, and other social organizations, whose objectives are designed to be achieved through the harnessing of different gifts and talents, irrespective of race or social class, in team environment. I therefore, recommend this book: THE IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIAN UNITY FOR A PURPOSEFUL MISSION to all churches and organizations for efficient delivery of the mission for which they were founded.