Current Issue: Didache Volume 25 Number 02

Last Updated: Wednesday, 04 March 2026

INTRODUCTION

David Ackerman

Every quadrennium, the Church of the Nazarene holds a Global Theology Conference. These conferences rotate among the denomination’s six world regions. The next conference will be hosted by the Asia-Pacific Region in Manila, Philippines, on February 21–23, 2028.

The Global Theology Conferences provide an opportunity for the worldwide church to engage in theological reflection on matters central to its mission of “making Christlike disciples in the nations.” They are also a valuable occasion for fellowship among leaders, scholars, and ministry practitioners. Through shared dialogue and reflection, these gatherings have fostered a deepened sense of unity, purpose, and direction amid the rich cultural and linguistic diversity of this global denomination. Papers from previous conferences are available in earlier issues of Didache: Faithful Teaching.

The theme of the upcoming conference is “missiology,” the theological study of the church’s participation in God’s mission in the world. This theme is both broad and significant. Many dimensions of faith and practice fall within its scope. It offers an opportunity to clarify and define the church’s understanding of mission while also examining the expanding practices and approaches that shape contemporary ministry.

Because of the theological breadth of this theme, the next two years will be devoted to preparing for the conference by soliciting papers from across the global church. Scholars and practitioners from a variety of cultural contexts will contribute essays designed to clarify key questions and identify issues that warrant further reflection and discussion.

One central question intended to stimulate this dialogue is: How can the Church of the Nazarene faithfully participate in “God’s mission” (missio Dei)—the conviction that mission originates in the triune God rather than in the church itself? Flowing from this primary question are several related inquiries:

1. What are we called to do—what is our mission?

2. Why do we engage in mission—what inspires our motivation?

3. Who are we called to be—what shapes our identity?

4. How do we participate in this mission—what guides our strategy?

In a time of rapid change in culture, communication, and access to knowledge, the church faces both new challenges and new opportunities. The Church of the Nazarene articulates three core values: Christian, Holiness, and Missional. How does the Church faithfully embody its identity as Christian and holiness while also being authentically missional? This question invites further theological and practical reflection.

Several special issues of Didache: Faithful Teaching will publish preparatory papers for the conference. The first set of essays in this issue lays a foundation for continued engagement. These contributions explore the questions above from biblical, theological, historical, and pastoral perspectives. Although these papers will not be presented at the conference itself, they are intended to stimulate global conversation and contribute to the theological groundwork for future synthesis and dialogue.

pdf INTRODUCTION (128 KB) , by David A. Ackerman

pdf FROM TRIUNE MISSION TO TRANSFORMATIONAL ECCLESIOLOGY: EXPLORING THE CHURCH’S ROLE IN GOD’S REDEMPTIVE WORK (249 KB) , Olga Druzhinina

pdf FROM CRUSADERS TO COMPANIONS: EUCHARISTIC HOSPITALITY AND THE MISSIO DEI IN ACTS 27–28 (283 KB) , Michael Falgout

pdf CAUGHT UP IN WHAT GOD IS DOING: RECAPTURING A BIBLICAL UNDERSTANDING OF MISSION (247 KB) , Dean Flemming

pdf THE NEXUS OF ACCOMMODATION AND PERFECTION AS THE HABITUATION OF SANCTIFYING GRACE (276 KB) , J. Russell Frazier

pdf MISSIOLOGIA POLICÊNTRICA: EM BUSCA DE CONVERGÊNCIA NO PENSAR, NO DECIDIR E NO AGIR NAS MISSÕES (472 KB) , Felipe Fulanetto

pdf ALL THINGS NEW: MISSION, WITNESS, AND THE WESLEYAN WAY (200 KB) , Timothy R. Gaines

pdf GIVE US FRIENDS: MOVING BEYOND THE AMERICANISM OF NAZARENE MISSIOLOGY (293 KB) , Daryl R. Ireland and David Wesley

pdf MISSIO DEI FOR ANCIENT ISRAEL (195 KB) , Thomas J. King

pdf COLONY, FRANCHISE, OUTPOST: THREE MODELS OF RELIGIOUS EXPANSION (169 KB) , Mitchel Modine

pdf A DISCIPLE-MAKING ECCLESIOLOGY FOR SOUTH ASIA: BIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS, THEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK AND CONTEXTUAL APPLICATION (289 KB) , Prakash Nemade

pdf SANTIDAD EN MISIÓN: LA MISSIO DEI DESDE LA TRADICIÓN WESLEYANA Y SUS IMPLICACIONES PARA LA IGLESIA DEL NAZARENO EN AMÉRICA LATINA (261 KB) , Mauricio Constantino Ricaldi