Draw the Circle Wide: Mission and Unity in the 21st Century

In ecumenical missiology, the question of unity has always been a matter of concentric circles, with the call to unity extending its horizons ever outward. What began as a movement to promote greater cooperation in mission stimulated initiatives to achieve church unity, and this in turn fostered an ecumenical vision that embraced the "whole inhabited earth"--all of humanity and indeed the entire natural order. This article argues that the conditions prevailing in the early 21st century have put a premium on the most extensive expression of the ecumenical vision. Examining two seminal World Council of Churches statements on mission, Together Towards life and "The Arusha Call to Discipleship," it examines how the two documents have shifted thinking about mission and unity toward a vision that extends to humanity as a whole and indeed the entire creation.