Toward a blue missiology: Theological education as eco-missional formation

Abstract

This article discusses the role of Christian theological education in integrating an ecological vision into missional formation. Using Jakarta Theological Seminary's (JTS) Green Campus Blue Seminary program as a case study, it expounds on the contextuality and multidirectionality of this Indonesian theological seminary's educational program as eco-missional formation amid contemporary environmental problems, particularly the marine ecological crisis. My argument is twofold. First, eco-missional formation is imperative for theological education as part of its missional task amid the current ecological crisis. Second, envisioning theological education as eco-missional formation requires a reimagination of missiology from within the marine ecological crisis—thus, I refer to this as blue missiology. I identify the contextual-constructive dimension of blue missiology by interconnecting JTS's eco-missional formation, the history of environmental mission, local Indonesian narratives of the sea, and blue spirituality as the core of eco-missional formation.