Presbyterian Church in Ireland - Mission Overseas - Edinburgh 2010 : Witnessing To Christ Today

20th February 2010

The upcoming Centenary of the Edinburgh 1910 World Missionary Conference is proving to be a suggestive moment for many people who are seeking direction for Christian mission in the 21st century.

This initiative seeks to bring together representatives of many different strands of mission and church life for a very focused and highly organised process of preparation for the centenary.

The memory of the 1910 Conference is bringing people together in a creative way and is opening up new perspectives on mission today.

"As we celebrate the centennial of the World Missionary Conference at Edinburgh, 1910, we seek to deepen and strengthen its prophetic vision of worldwide, multi-cultural Christian unity - a unity marked by shared passion to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. The memory of Edinburgh 1910 reminds us that we are ambassadors of hope, confident in the power of God's love despite our limitations in a world of pain and injustice."  Dana L Robert

History of the Project

The initial driving force behind Edinburgh 2010 was the Towards 2010 network under the leadership of Prof Ken Ross.  Since 2005, an international group has worked collaboratively to develop an intercontinental and multi-denominational project, now known as Edinburgh 2010. The project is based at New College and the Church of Scotland offices in Edinburgh, and headed by an International Director, Dr Daryl Balia. It is governed by a 20 member General Council representative of most of the Christian family. 

Edinburgh 2010 Study Process

Essential to the work of the Edinburgh 1910 Conference, and of abiding value, were the findings of the eight think-tanks or "commissions". These inspired the idea of a new round of collaborative reflection on Christian mission - but now focused on nine study themes and seven transversal themes identified as being key to mission in the 21st century. The study process is polycentric, open-ended, and as inclusive as possible of the different genders, regions of the world, and theological and confessional perspectives in today's church. Follow the link to find out more about the Edinburgh 2010 Study Process.

Different from 1910

In important ways the celebration of Edinburgh 2010 and the process leading towards it will be different from the Edinburgh 1910 Conference.

• Rather than being centred in Edinburgh, a polycentric approach is being taken, both for the study process and for 2010 events which will take place in many locations around the world including Edinburgh.
  
  
• Whereas 1910 was confined to mainline Protestantism, the participants in 2010 are drawn from the whole range of Christian traditions and confessions, including Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Pentecostal, and Independent Churches, and show a better gender and age balance.
  
  
• Instead of being confined to the North Atlantic, there is an intentional bias to the South, recognising that Christianity's centre of gravity has moved markedly southwards during the past century. The process aims to be truly worldwide in its scope.

Intended Outcomes of Edinburgh 2010

• Churches will be provided with an opportunity to celebrate what God has done in the growth of the Church worldwide over the past century and to prayerfully commit to God the witness of the churches in the 21st century.
  
  
• The biblical call to mission will be affirmed and articulated within our contemporary contexts with particular focus on the meaning of evangelization and relevance of Christian witness today.
  
  
• A key conversation on mission will be initiated with mission leaders from the older mission movements of the North and the new mission movements from the South and East, with dialogues held among representatives of different Christian traditions.
  
  
• Guidelines will be developed and studies published to help church and mission leaders evaluate for their own situation models of mission which are proving effective elsewhere.
  
  
• Networks will be mobilized and alliances formed so as to develop greater strategic collaboration and greater synergy in fulfilling the mission mandate.
  
  
• Based on a critical assessment of the status of the world, a new vision of God's purposes for creation in Christ and a renewed spirituality and mission ethos will be developed in the life of the churches worldwide.
  
  
• Centenary celebrations of witnessing to Christ today will be held throughout the world - with the Assembly Hall in Edinburgh, again, being the venue on 6 June 2010 for the historic celebration involving over 1000 delegates. 

More Information on Edinburgh 2010