Rethinking Missiology in the Context for the 21st Century: Global Demographic Trends and Diaspora Missiology

New orientations are required of practitioners/researchers in formulating mission strategy and conducting missiological research in the context of the 21st Century due to the global demographic trends of internal migration to the city and international immigration to countries of the Northwest region. In addition, the center of Christianity has shifted from the Northern hemisphere towards the south and from the post-Christian west to elsewhere; thus new approaches are required. Diaspora missiology will be presented as an alternative to the traditional orientations of farming analogy (e.g. church planting and church growth), territorialization (e.g. home vs. foreign missions, sending vs. receiving) and dichotomization (e.g. social Gospel vs. saving souls, local evangelism vs. world mission, OT—coming vs. NT—going, approaches of E-1, E-2, E-3). The reality of the global trend of large scale “diaspora” (meaning—“scatter” in reference to “people on the move”) posts both challenge and opportunity for the Christian church. “Diaspora missions” is the Christian ministry to and through the diaspora groups