News
As the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on World Mission and Evangelism closed its 16-22 May meeting in Helsinki, Finland, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit reflected that mission is the “gearbox” that brings energy to the ecumenical movement that results in action.
“We have a personal, theological, historical, and strategic need for work on mission and evangelism,” said Tveit. “The spirit blows from many new places, bringing the life to the church and the ecumenical movement.”
The commission also explored the theme of the upcoming WCC assembly in 2021 in Karlsruhe, Germany: ”Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity.”
The theme, Tveit said, is a new opportunity to focus on the mission of the one church in the one world loved by Christ. “We have mutual accountability in our work, in our witness and in our response to the call to discipleship and to God’s mission,” he said.
The WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, gathered to evaluate and reflect on the Conference of World Mission and Evangelism that took place in Arusha, Tanzania, and to publicly release the Arusha Call to Discipleship as a text that will guide and inspire WCC member churches and all people of good will as they pursue a definition of mission in today’s challenging world.
Arusha report and other resources
How will the Arusha Call change the world? (WCC press release 20 May 2019)
