Missiology

Traditionally, missiology has been understood as the area of theology concerned with Christian missionary work; this is how the subject is typically dealt with within many bible colleges and universities.

A growing constituency, however, is identifying and commending the appropriateness of reading all of Scripture missiologically. This approach has been summarised by the contrast between the traditional adage: "the Biblical basis for mission" and the emerging equivalent: "the missional basis of the Bible."

EPI's own book, The Eternal Purpose of God adopts this missiological approach to reading scripture; Christopher Wright's The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative represents an exhaustive theological treatment of it. 

This emerging approach begins with the recognition that the Scriptures themselves are a missiological phenomena: they represent the history of the Creator's covenantal mission to fulfil his purposes for his creation: the misseo Dei, the mission of God.

With the misseo Dei—God's eternal purpose—placed at the centre, the language of mission takes on a new dimension. Previously reserved for the actions and outreaches of the church, it now encompasses the mission and works of God, regarding which the people of God are called to act as co-workers and 'covenant partners.'

This adaption of the traditional perspective of missiology coincides with a renewal movement within the church, increasingly referred to as "missional." This movement relates the missiological perspective to the lifestyle and actions of Christian communities and churches, in particular.