Mission as Integral Ecology: Doing Theology at Bethany

Abstract

Christianity’s reality in the global south where poverty, climate change, ecological degradation and marginalization are the daily, lived experience of the majority of the world’s population, presents theologians with a unique moment of challenge and opportunity for theological exploration, experimentation, and missiological innovation. This article explores and analyzes one such experiment, the Bethany Land Institute (BLI, https://bethanylandinstitute.org/) in Uganda. Inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, BLI promotes the concept and practice of integral ecology as a lens for missiological reflection. The article argues that integral ecology, as pursued at BLI, invites us to rethink the traditional themes of Christian mission such as conversion, love, spirituality, and ecclesiology. It also provides a new model of doing theology, one that is particularly appropriate in an era marked by World Christianity, and by the global ecological crisis.