Hospitality and Mission (Issue 47 – Summer 2017)

A very warm welcome to a new issue of Encounters! It’s exciting to be able to relaunch our journal, which aims to stimulate and resource the global missions community and provide a space for those involved in mission to express and exchange their views on a variety of contemporary issues.

Encounters will be out twice a year and will feature articles from Redcliffe faculty, as well as drawing on a wide range of missiologists and mission practitioners from around the world.

In this issue, we look at the theme of Hospitality from a variety of angles. In the first article, Chris Ducker discusses ‘five faces of hospitality’, which illustrates the rich variety of ways of understanding the topic. He also suggests a number of helpful books to develop your own reading on the topic.

Tim Davy then offers a biblical reflection on the themes of hostility, hospitality and hope. He does this by revisiting the stories of two displaced children in the Bible, and by considering the implications for the Church’s mission.

Next, Colin Edwards explains the place of hospitality in Islam, highlighting some crucial issues we need to understand as we relate to our Muslim friends and neighbours.

Finally, a different take on hospitality on the mission field is provided by Rosie Button. What happens when hospitality becomes a burden rather than a joy? How can missionaries navigate the needs and joys of hospitality without burning themselves out through unhealthy expectations?

We pray these articles, and the relaunched journal will encourage, inform, and stimulate our mission thinking and practice. Thanks for journeying with us.

The Editors

Download the journal here: PDF (6.7Mb)