At Cambodian Bible College, mission began within a familiar pattern of provision and dependence. Over time, that pattern was challenged, giving rise to a gradual, uneven shift toward shared leadership and polycentric partnership. This case study tells the story not of arrival, but of a continuing pilgrimage from patronage to partnership.
mission
Collaborative Missional Leadership: A Polycentric Vision for the Church in Mission
In an era of global complexity and cultural diversity, Collaborative Missional Leadership reframes leadership as a shared, Spirit-led calling rooted in the Trinity. Joseph W. Handley, Jr. explores how polycentric leadership—marked by trust, mutuality, and collaboration—offers the church a transformative path forward in God’s mission.
Embracing Ethnic and Generational Diversity in Mission Leadership
GUEST POST BY KEN KATAYAMA & JOHN KILMARNOCK The gospel of Jesus Christ is not bound by one culture, one generation, or one leadership style. It is a kingdom reality designed to bring together every tribe, tongue, people, and nation to glorify God. In mission leadership today, this truth confronts us with a challenge and […]
Models of Polycentric Leadership
by Joseph W. Handley, Jr., Ph.D. Missional Church Model J.R. Woodward presents a polycentric model in his book Creating a Missional Culture. He builds the model on an equipping paradigm based on Ephesians chapter 4. His model identifies the apostle, prophet, evangelist, prophet, and teacher, which he describes as a storyteller, as equippers of the church who […]
Reimagining Missions: Paradigms Paths & Partnerships
GUEST POST / CASE STUDY BY KIRK FRANKLIN Facing momentous change, missional leaders and practitioners face daunting complexities and remarkable new opportunities. Long-held patterns of sending and receiving are giving way to vibrant, interdependent, collaborative efforts spanning languages, cultures, contexts and continents. Instead of relying solely on inherited structures or leadership models of a bygone […]
A Movemental Turn in Missions: Thoughts on New Eras and New Wineskins
GUEST POST BY WES WATKINS “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” — ALAN WATTS Change is a constant in our world. Especially in the last few years, however, it feels that the pace of change is increasing dramatically. I suspect we […]
Recommendations for Mission Practice
GUEST POST BY COALA2 This year a group of Majority World Mission leaders gathered to discuss and make recommendations for better practices in mission for the future. Their encouragement of polycentric mission to empower local initiative and leadership is inspiring!
Collaboration not Control
Rethinking the international agency model in the pursuit of mutual mission sending partnerships with the majority world GUEST POST BY MICHAEL PREST The Challenges of the International Model For all the talk of polycentrism in mission circles today, in international mission organizations, it is often the multinational structure that persists. Internationalization strategies that added sending […]
OM International: The Case for Polycentric Mission
GUEST POST BY LAWRENCE TONG Our task, shared with other groups of Jesus followers, is to profoundly reduce the number of least reached anywhere in the world, making them disciple-makers to their people—the ultimate expression of polycentric mission! Every day, our world becomes more complicated and more difficult for God’s people to engage meaningfully with […]
Missions in the Network Society
EMQ » January–April 2024 » Volume 60 Issue 1 https://missionexus.org/missions-in-the-network-society/ Summary: The world is more interconnected than ever before, and the way we do missions is being redefined as a result. Individuals are connecting in collaborative networks which is impacting the way we lead. This, in turn, is changing the role of Western mission sending […]
