Chair on Missiology

Stefan Paas holds as professor the chair of Missiology with special focus on missionary practices in the secular West, since Sept. 1, 2014. Before that, he was an associate professor at Utrecht Theological University since 2009. Paas is also professor of Missiology & Public Theology at VU University Amsterdam.

Missiology is the theological reflection on (Christian mission). As such, it is part of the broad family of missionary studies: the study of mission from historical, social scientific and theological perspectives. As a theological discipline, missiology is broad. After all, mission can be thought about from biblical-theological, historical-theological, systematic-theological and practical-theological perspectives. These might include questions about the inter- and transcultural nature of the Christian faith, the relationships between churches from different continents, what “conversion” means, how a community experiences its missionary identity, how Irish monks contributed to the Christianization of northwestern Europe, or how missionary pioneers understand their work theologically and spiritually in a secular context.

The approach to missiology at Utrecht Theological University is primarily (but not exclusively) practical-theological. The research includes collaboration with practical-theologians in the Centre for Church and Mission in the West (CCMW) research group. For the coming years, this research (in line with the overarching TUU research theme Vulnerability and Hope) has as its focus how salvation and experience of salvation are intertwined with the often fragile reality of missionary community building. This is done through field research in a number of missionary communities in the Netherlands. The emphasis is on the “discernment” of God’s activity in the missionary context, and how theological leadership can contribute to meaning-making (sensemaking). There are also longer-term studies, for example on missionary pioneers in Europe.