Study Process
To commemorate the legacy of the International Missionary Council, the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism of the World Council of Churches commissioned a study process on collaboration in mission in 2021. The regional study of North America was organized and conducted by the Center of Global Christianity and Mission under the leadership of Dr. Dana L. Robert. After concluding the eight-month-long study process in December 2021, a final report was produced from the findings and submitted to the World Council of Churches to be presented at the 11th Assembly of the WCC in Karlsruhe, Germany fall of 2022. Joining with Christians worldwide who similarly assessed significant missional trends in their regions, the CGCM presents the findings and supporting documents from the study on North American Missional Collaborations for public access in the following sections.
Creative Collaborations
The case studies in this book show that rather than collapsing under the strain of massive challenges, many North American Christians are reaching across divisions and differences to connect with people and contexts unlike themselves. The research in this book highlights multiple ways in which North American Christians are collaborating with others to witness to their faith. Such collaborations are like the mustard seeds of the Kingdom (Mt. 13:31–32), often small and yet creative actions of believers who push beyond Christian divisions and paralyzing social problems.