Christian leader converge to mark historic missionary conference

EDINBURGH, Scotland (RNS/ENInews) When the historic World Missionary Conference convened here 100 years ago, there was only one black African and 19 Asians among more than 1,000 delegates present. As leaders convene here again to mark the 100th anniversary of the landmark conference, the demographics are dramatically different, reflecting the shifting center of Christian gravity […]

EDINBURGH, Scotland (RNS/ENInews) When the historic World Missionary Conference convened here 100 years ago, there was only one black African and 19 Asians among more than 1,000 delegates present.

As leaders convene here again to mark the 100th anniversary of the landmark conference, the demographics are dramatically different, reflecting the shifting center of Christian gravity in the dawn of the 21st century.

More than 300 Christian leaders from 30 traditions across 60 countries are meeting here through Sunday (June 6) for the 2010 World Missionary Conference.


“The 2010 Conference will be held in the same city and in the same month as the epic-making World Missionary Conference of 1910 which many say witnessed the birth of the ecumenical movement,” Roman Catholic Marist Brother Stephen Smyth told ENInews. “We will remember, celebrate and be inspired by events of 100 years ago and work together for unity.”

The 1910 conference led to the creation of the International Missionary Council in 1921, and inspired other church unity movements, culminating in the formation of the World Council of Churches in 1948.

Participants range from the evangelical, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Protestant and Roman Catholic traditions. The WCC’s general secretary, the Rev. Olav Fykse, is scheduled to speak at the conference.

Brian Stanley, a professor of world Christianity at the University of Edinburgh, said organizers hope there’s some tangible outcomes that “ordinary churches can relate to and grapple with” on the local level.

“There is always a danger with events of this kind that they exist in either the stratosphere of academic debate or at the level of mission leadership and ordinary church life carries on totally regardless,” said Stanley. “I think that’s our biggest challenge.”

A century ago, most Christian missionaries were aligned with Western imperial endeavors throughout the Third World. “At that time, the belief was that missionary activity went from the West to the Rest,” said Stanley.


The meeting has already been met with controversy, however, when director Daryl Balia said he was abruptly suspended from his job just two days before the start of the gathering.

Balia said he received a letter from the University of Edinburgh indicating it had suspended him with full pay while “alleged misconduct” is investigated.

After receiving the news of his suspension, the South African-born Balia told ENINews, “It’s disgraceful. … My suspension will shock many of the people. Apartheid is alive and well … and it has arrived in Scotland.”

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