A New Era of Global Mission: Cities, the Least Reached, and Marketplace Work

Abstract

This thesis argues for the mobilization of marketplace professionals into global missions, particularly in the cities of the world where the least reached peoples are gathering.

Chapter 1 sets the stage by describing the potential for marketplace professionals to engage in global missions.

Chapter 2 argues for a theological basis - that the cultural mandate and the Great Commission both display the pattern of God’s glory being pursued through his mission being accomplished through the vocations of his people.

Chapter 3 and 4 sketches a history from the early church through the modern era. I introduce the idea that we are currently in transition to a new era of missions where the context for reaching the least reached will be urban and the leaders will be marketplace professionals.

Chapter 5 and 6 draw implications from this proposal, identifying benefits to marketplace professionals engaging in global missions and charting a path forward for interested parties.