Mission in the Twenty-First Century

A multi-author volume edited by Andrew Walls and Cathy Ross, published in 2008 by Darton, Longman and Todd in London and Orbis Books in Maryknoll (219 pages). It is organised around the Anglican Communion's five marks of mission: proclaiming the good news of the kingdom; teaching, baptising and nurturing new believers; responding to human need by loving service; seeking to transform unjust structures of society; and safeguarding the integrity of creation. The first half gives each mark a pair of essays, one of biblical and theological reflection and one drawn from practice. The second half has seven chapters on wider challenges facing the church's witness. Many of the contributors are from the majority world, and not all are Anglican. Ross's introduction says the marks are a starting point for reflection rather than a complete account of mission. Walls contributes the afterword, on the relationship between the Western missionary movement and five centuries of European migration, which one reviewer called the best thing in the book.