Cultural Mandate,Evangelistic Mandate,Prophetic Mandate: Of These Three the Greatest Is…?

Abstract

Mission programs, like mission theologies, tend to fall into two broad categories: cultural and evangelistic mandates. Current debates have raised the question of which of the two should be assigned priority. In this article the author contends that, from a biblical perspective, all mission(s) is God's mission(s). Hence, priority should depend on the context of ministry. The prophetic mandate is therefore proposed both as a way out of the prioritization dilemma and as a third dimension of mission that bridges the two mandates into a dynamic, holistic missiology. The thrust, strategy, and relevance of a prophetic ministry are discussed.