Revisioning Mission - A Biblical and Theological Basis for Mission

About this resource

This resource provides a biblical and theological foundation for understanding mission within the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu. It begins with the conviction that mission belongs to God and that the Church participates in God’s mission. Drawing on the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu Statement of Faith and wider mission theology, it explores how mission takes place within the realities of society, suffering, power and community. The study examines major themes including the Incarnation of Christ, mission as transformation, the prophetic tradition, the Kingdom of God, the Church as a missional community, hospitality, creation care, Pentecost and the work of the Holy Spirit, and the need to address historical sin through confession and restoration. It also includes Jesus’ Mission Manifesto from Luke 4:14–21 and provides discussion questions for participants to consider what good news to the poor looks like in their own communities and what biblical images best express God’s call to PCV today. The later sections review how mission thinking has changed over the past 50 years, including the Lausanne Movement, voices from the Global South, David Bosch, Lesslie Newbigin, the Missional Church movement, creation care and eco-missiology, and the growth of Christianity in the Global South. The resource concludes with the Five Marks of Mission: Tell, Teach, Tend, Treasure and Transform, together with a group activity for developing a shared understanding of mission.