Christian Mission

“In the centuries that followed, Christian mission continued to flow westward from Jerusalem and Antioch primarily within the Roman Empire. Ironically, the region of Palestine remained largely non-Christian until the reign of Constantine in the fourth century and most ministry efforts were focused on the Jews. In neighboring Phoenicia, there was a strong church in the city of Tyre; however, Christian communities were largely Greek-speaking and confined to the cities.24 Prior to becoming Paul and Barnabas’ sending church, Antioch of Syria was evangelized in the first century amid suffering and it is remembered for being the first place where followers of Jesus were called Christians—a pejorative name given by the pagan majority.25 Antioch was a cosmopolitan center characterized by Jewish, Hellenistic, and Roman influences,26 which would contribute to it being an important locale for biblical interpretation and for sending intercultural missionaries toward the West and the East. By the fourth century, the population probably included close to a half million residents and there was a significant Christian population.27 Within Asia Minor, Governor Pliny’s letter of 112 testified to the growing communities of Christians in Bithynia while Pontus and much of Cappadocia were reached through the efforts of Gregory Thaumaturgus (ca. 213–270) by the end of the third century. In Asia, the cities of Smyrna and Ephesus, both within the province of Phrygia, continued to have a growing Christian presence. The martyred bishop Polycarp (d. 156) was a key missionary to Smyrna in the first half of the second century, while his mentor John the Evangelist apparently ministered in Ephesus in the latter half of the first century.28 Of course, Justin Martyr’s (ca. 100–165) famous public debate with “In both his sermons and his tractates he showed that a difference does exist between the divinity of the Father and of the Son, of God unbegotten and God only-begotten, and that the Father is for his part the creator of the creator, while the Son is the creator of all creation; and that the Father is God of the Lord while the Son is God of the created universe . . . The Holy Spirit he furthermore declared to be neither Father nor Son, but made by the Father through the Son before all things . . . Now since there exists only one unbegotten God and there stands under him only one only-begotten God, the Holy Spirit our advocate can be called neither God nor Lord.”60 Given that Ulfilas denied the eternality and equality of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—clearly articulated in the Creeds of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381)—what effect did that have on the gospel he proclaimed? Did his gospel result in true conversions and transformation among the Goths? As we contemplate mission today, how important is our theology to our mission practice?”

Political and Social Contexts