Embracing Africa’s Theological Voice in the Missio Dei

The mission of God (Missio Dei) is a global, multicultural, multi-ethnic, and transnational movement of God’s love centered on His mission of redemption, reconciliation, restoration, and renewal of all creation. It is not the possession of any one nation or tradition but is inherently inclusive, reaching every people, language, and culture. As the global Church grows increasingly polycentric, it becomes essential to listen carefully to voices that were once marginalized. African theological voices offer a deeply contextual and spiritually vibrant contribution to the global mission of God.

Rooted in Scripture and expressed through communal life, oral tradition, and holistic spirituality, African Theology brings rich insights into how individuals—beyond institutional churches—can live missionally in everyday life. In this blog, we explore how African Theology advances the Missio Dei through four interrelated categories: Indigenous Expressions of Theology, Missional Contextualization, Global Christianity, and Biblical Theology. Each category reflects the Department of Cultural & Contextual Theology at Missional University’s commitment to contextual fidelity and biblical integrity.

As we explore these themes, we will also draw from the Department of Biblical Studies, highlighting how a sound understanding of Scripture undergirds all theological reflection and action in mission.

 

African Theology: Rediscovering Indigenous Expressions of Faith

Theology from the Ground Up

African Theology refers to the articulation of Christian faith from the lived experience of African people, using their cultural symbols, languages, values, and traditions. It is a theology “from below”—that is, rooted in grassroots experiences and struggles rather than imposed doctrinal systems. Early African theologians like John Mbiti and Kwame Bediako challenged the Western presumption that theology is best formulated in seminaries or academic corridors. Instead, they insisted that theology should emerge from local realities and communal experience.

African Theology recognizes that God’s redemptive work is not confined to Western categories. It affirms that African religious traditions contain redemptive echoes—what missiologist Andrew Walls called “preparatio evangelica“—that anticipate and respond to the gospel of Christ. For instance, the communal understanding of ubuntu (“I am because we are”) mirrors the biblical concept of koinonia and underscores a theology of interdependence.

A Gospel that Speaks in Local Tongues

The incarnation of Christ sets a precedent: God does not float above cultures but enters them. Just as Jesus spoke Aramaic, walked Jewish roads, and participated in first-century customs, so too must the gospel be clothed in African idioms. African theologians have translated biblical narratives into stories, songs, dance, and proverbs, drawing people into the Word through familiar channels. The oral nature of African societies gives the gospel a rhythm and texture that emphasizes relationship over abstraction.

African theology also engages social realities such as poverty, violence, kinship structures, and political oppression. By speaking into these lived conditions, it becomes more than theoretical reflection—it becomes embodied mission. This echoes the Department of Biblical Studies’ focus on reading both the Old and New Testaments missionally, emphasizing that God’s Word must be lived as well as taught.

 

Missional Contextualization: Learning from African Practices

Incarnation as Contextual Commitment

Contextualization in mission is not merely about adapting a message but about entering a culture with humility, curiosity, and love. African missional practices remind us that theology must always be local. Theologian Lamin Sanneh stressed that Christianity, unlike Islam, is a translatable religion. The very nature of the Incarnation and Pentecost testifies that God’s message is meant to be received and expressed in many languages and cultural forms.

Missional contextualization is deeply embedded in African Christian communities. Practices such as storytelling, communal discernment, and respect for elders frame theological conversations. Evangelism is often relationship-based and integrated into life events—births, weddings, funerals—where gospel proclamation intersects with everyday existence. These are expressions of missional theology in action, incarnating biblical truths in ways that resonate with African cultural consciousness.

Wisdom for the West

African contextual theology offers vital correctives to individualistic and systematized approaches to mission in the West. By prioritizing relationships, honoring the past, and integrating spirituality into all of life, African theology reminds Western believers that mission is not a task but a way of being. Western Christians can learn from African practices how to integrate hospitality, lament, celebration, and communal life into their missional witness.

Missional contextualization also means recognizing the socio-political dimensions of mission. In African nations shaped by colonialism, African theologians have reclaimed the gospel as a source of deliverance and justice. This contextual lens aligns with the Department of Moral & Social Theology, where ethical witness is integral to holistic mission.

 

Global Christianity: Africa at the Center

The Shift in the Center of Gravity

The global Church is no longer led from Europe or North America. As missiologists like Philip Jenkins and Andrew Walls have noted, Christianity’s demographic heart has shifted to the Global South. Africa, in particular, is at the epicenter of this new era. By 2060, nearly 40% of the world’s Christians will live on the African continent. This is not merely a statistical shift—it is a theological and missional reorientation.

African Christians are not passive recipients of mission but leaders in the global mission enterprise. The growth of African mission movements—both intra-continental and global—is reshaping what it means to be sent. The gospel is going “from everywhere to everywhere.” African missionaries are planting churches in Europe, evangelizing in the Middle East, and discipling communities in North America.

 

A Call to Collaborative Mission

African theology challenges the Western Church to step out of paternalism and into partnership. Global mission in this era must be collaborative, mutual, and multi-directional. Rather than exporting pre-packaged theological systems, the Western Church is invited to learn, receive, and adapt.

Missional University embodies this approach through its international faculty, diverse departments, and cross-cultural learning objectives. The Department of Cultural & Contextual Theology equips students not only to understand culture but to engage it missionally. The Department of Biblical Studies reinforces this by training students to interpret Scripture in ways that uphold its universality while respecting cultural diversity.

 

Biblical Theology: Anchoring African Perspectives in Scripture

Rooted in the Grand Narrative of the Bible

A true theology—African or otherwise—must be biblically grounded. African Theology does not exist in opposition to the biblical text but finds its authority and inspiration there. The missional thread of Scripture—from Genesis to Revelation—affirms the value of contextual theologies that reflect God’s intent to redeem “every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev 5:9).

From the covenant with Abraham (Gen 12:1–3) to the global vision of Pentecost (Acts 2), the Bible consistently portrays a God who sends His people into all cultures. African theology, with its emphasis on holistic salvation—spiritual, physical, communal—resonates with the integrated mission of Jesus as seen in Luke 4:18–19: “good news to the poor…freedom for the oppressed.”

Courses in the Department of Biblical Studies, such as “Reading the Old Testament Missionally” and “Evaluating Jesus & Mission in the Shadow of Empire,” train students to discern these threads of redemptive mission. These tools allow African theological reflections to be tested, sharpened, and applied in biblically faithful ways.

A Missional Hermeneutic for All Nations

African Theology exemplifies a missional hermeneutic—one that interprets the Bible not only for doctrine but for discipleship, not only for orthodoxy but for orthopraxy. The Department of Biblical Theology offers courses such as “Biblical Theology Methods in Missional Hermeneutics” and “Themes in Old Testament Theology” that develop this kind of reading.

Biblical mission is never divorced from life. African theology’s contextual grounding reinforces the necessity of interpreting Scripture with a view toward action: How does this passage call me to love my neighbor? How does this text shape my work, my community life, or my political engagement? These are the questions that form disciples who are co-laborers with Christ in the Missio Dei.

 

Implications for Individual Believers in the Global Mission

Living Missionally Wherever You Are

One of the greatest gifts African Theology brings to global mission is its emphasis on the ordinary believer’s role in God’s redemptive work. Mission is not the domain of specialists but the calling of every Christian. Whether you are a teacher, parent, artist, or entrepreneur, your life is a stage for the Missio Dei.

The African church often thrives in places of scarcity, marginalization, and conflict—yet its witness remains bold, joyful, and community-centered. This is a powerful reminder that mission does not require wealth, status, or institutional power. It requires faithfulness, creativity, and hospitality.

Becoming a Global Disciple

To live missionally in today’s world is to be a global disciple. This means developing a posture of listening, learning from other traditions, and engaging in cross-cultural partnerships. African theology calls the global Church to practice mutuality—to give and receive, to correct and be corrected, to proclaim the gospel in ways that affirm dignity and justice.

The individual’s role in mission is deeply enriched by theological education. Missional University’s School of Theological Studies offers programs that form global disciples equipped to interpret Scripture, engage culture, and pursue justice with theological depth and cultural humility.

 

Conclusion: Many Streams, One River

African Theology offers more than cultural flavor—it brings theological richness, prophetic insight, and practical wisdom to the global Church. It affirms that the mission of God is not Western, African, or Asian—it is universal and particular, transcendent and contextual.

By drawing on the Department of Cultural & Contextual Theology’s African Theology offerings and the Department of Biblical Studies’ rigorous grounding in Scripture, students and practitioners can engage the Missio Dei with both spiritual depth and cultural sensitivity.

As Christopher J.H. Wright reminds us, “It is not so much the case that God has a mission for his church in the world as that God has a church for his mission in the world.” African Theology helps us see that this mission is best fulfilled not in isolation but in collaboration, not through uniformity but through unity in diversity.

May each of us—wherever we live and whatever we do—embrace our calling to participate in God’s mission, inspired and enriched by the vibrant witness of African theology.

 

Sources

• Bevans, S. B., & Schroeder, R. P. (2004). Constants in Context: A Theology of Mission for Today. Orbis Books.
• Bosch, D. J. (1991). Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission. Orbis Books.
• Escobar, S. (2003). The New Global Mission: The Gospel from Everywhere to Everyone. IVP.
• Goheen, M. W. (2011). A Light to the Nations: The Missional Church and the Biblical Story. Baker Academic.
• Jenkins, P. (2011). The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity. Oxford University Press.
• Keller, T. (2012). Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City. Zondervan.
• Mbiti, J. S. (1969). African Religions and Philosophy. Heinemann.
• Sanneh, L. (2009). Translating the Message: The Missionary Impact on Culture. Orbis Books.
• Walls, A. (2002). The Cross-Cultural Process in Christian History. Orbis Books.
• Wright, C. J. H. (2006). The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative. IVP Academic.
• Missional University. (n.d.). School of Theological Studies – Department of Cultural & Contextual Theology & Department of Biblical Studies.