Types of Christian Mission: An Introduction

This is an excellent introduction to the broad types of mission found in the Church today. Spencer’s already respected textbook has been revised, updated and expanded to reflect contemporary developments in mission. This book is both essential for any introductory course about mission, as well as being invaluable to local churches who thoughtfully want to discern what mission looks like in their contexts today.

In Types of Christian Mission, Dr. Stephen Spencer combines mission theological analysis with understanding of Christianity as a world religion to produce a text that both complexifies mission and at the same time clarifies six types of mission in history. Concrete examples, tabular summaries and study questions make an approachable work suitable for mission training, while its depth will also inform students of missiology.

This recently revised and updated introduction to Christian Mission from Stephen Spencer is a vital resource for students wanting to engage deeply in the study of mission for today’s Church. Spencer examines a number of historic models for thinking about the church’s mission, spanning from early church paradigms, through medieval Catholicism, the Protestant Reformation, and into the challenges of contemporary Postmodernism. While covering an impressive range of church traditions, Spencer is able to probe contemporary practice with real insight and clarity, raising questions which will no doubt generate significant conversation in classrooms and churches. In this updated edition, Spencer also draws in the significant developments of Christian mission from the global church, promising to broaden and enrich our perspective on Christian mission today. Of all areas of theology, it is perhaps our understanding of mission which has changed the most in the last twenty years. Seeking to acknowledge this change, Types of Christian Mission: An Introduction presents students and other readers with a vital introduction to the challenges, complexities, debates and contexts of contemporary missiology. Stephen Spencer brings his considerable expertise in this area, providing an accessible mapping of the major types of Christian mission down through church history, viewing each within their historic contexts, and featuring a comparison of each type of mission with key principles from Jesus’ Galilean ministry, as a way of assessing strengths and weaknesses of each type.

• | Author: Stephen Spencer
• | Publisher: SCM Press
• | Publication Date: Nov 28, 2025
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Paperback / softback
• | ISBN-13: 9780334064039
• | ISBN-10: 0334064031