Edinburgh 1910, Africa 2010 and the evangelicals

Abstract

The most famous (and most interpreted) world mission conference was Edinburgh 1910, at which almost all Protestant missions participated. While some see Edinburgh 1910 as the height of achievement, others see it as the beginning of the decline. For the Evangelicals the issue of contention was the ecclesiology, which identified the church as all who are baptised, whereas the Evangelicals defined the church as those who have a personal “living” faith. Though the Evangelicals participated without making any fuss, it was not their conference. While Edinburgh 1910 had its roots in the Great Awakening of 1734, the Evangelicals had their roots in the Holiness Revival (1859) and in the Restorationist Revival (1828). At Edinburgh their paths met somehow, with the (then) mainstream of the missionary movement not recognising the Evangelical identity. A hundred years later Evangelicals make up the majority of the missionary movement, and those great developments fulfilling the Edinburgh vision frequently have an Evangelical tendency and challenge the Edinburgh 1910 concept of Christian unity.