Missionary Movement in Christian History
Andrew Walls wrote these studies in mission history during his decades teaching at the University of Aberdeen and University of Edinburgh, where he pioneered the academic study of world Christianity. The collection emerged from his recognition that mission history had been poorly understood—either dismissed as Western imperialism or celebrated uncritically as spiritual triumph—when it actually revealed fundamental patterns about how Christianity spreads and transforms across cultures.
Walls argues that Christian mission represents the central dynamic of Christian history itself: the translation of the gospel into new cultural contexts. He demonstrates how Christianity's survival depends on its ability to cross cultural boundaries, finding indigenous expression in each new setting while maintaining continuity with its origins. The book traces this pattern from early Christian expansion into Greek and Roman worlds through medieval missions, colonial-era evangelization, and the emergence of non-Western Christianity in the modern period. Walls shows how each cultural translation both preserves and transforms Christian faith, creating what he calls the "infinite translatability" of the gospel. His analysis reveals how mission movements have repeatedly shifted Christianity's center of gravity, from Jerusalem to Antioch, from Mediterranean to European contexts, and now toward Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
The work established Walls as the foremost interpreter of world Christianity's emergence and continues to shape how scholars understand the relationship between gospel and culture. His insights proved prescient as Christianity's demographic center moved decisively to the Global South in subsequent decades. The book demonstrates that mission history illuminates not just Christian expansion but the fundamental nature of Christian faith itself as a translating, boundary-crossing movement.
Who should read this: Missiologists, church historians, and anyone seeking to understand how Christianity became a truly global religion will find Walls essential. Readers looking for practical mission strategies or popular inspiration should look elsewhere—this is serious historical analysis that requires patience with academic discourse.