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Open research questions in Christian Theology and Mission

382 gap statements mined from Christian Theology and Mission papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 4,757 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • In this intercultural mission paradigm, which emerges in the vision that people with various backgrounds and orientations participate in God's mission together with equal status on the Christian base, mission is not understood as a human strategy, but as a spiritual activity that involves the task of discerning God's initiatory work and of practicing a way of life appropriate for it.

    In search of spirituality for intercultural mission: Hospitality, solidarity and marginality · 2024 · DOI

  • Future research should examine named mission traditions through sermon collec‑ tions, women’s manuals, school curricula, church periodicals, correspondence, oral his‑ tories, and records of women’s organisations.

    Between Colonial Mission and the Racialised State: Black Womanhood in Apartheid South Africa and Its Enduring Legacies · 2026 · DOI

  • This attempt is limited to the South African perspective in general and does not fully cover Bosadi theorisation.

    Reimagining New Perspective(s) on Black Theology and the Implications for Bosadi Theorisation · 2026 · DOI

  • Whether that craft will prove sufficient to move the Cameroonian political situation towards the justice and peace that Leo XIV invoked remains, as of this writing, an open question.

    Prophetic diplomacy and postcolonial accountability: A Rhetorical analysis of Pope Leo XIV’s Address at Unity Palace, Yaoundé, Cameroon, April 15, 2026 · 2026 · DOI

  • The research gap includes the lack of understanding of missional ecclesiology as a situationized theological church theory.

    A Contextual Theological Reinterpretation of Missional Ecclesiology · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper also identifies the challenge of a lack of engagement with post-colonial womanist and Bosadi hermeneutics in the current debate.

    A hermeneutical critique of women in ecclesiastical office within the Reformed Churches in South Africa: A reformed missional lens in decoloniality · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper argues that the current debate lacks a reformed missional lens and engagement with post-colonial womanist and Bosadi hermeneutics.

    A hermeneutical critique of women in ecclesiastical office within the Reformed Churches in South Africa: A reformed missional lens in decoloniality · 2026 · DOI

  • The research notes the need for the church to address the cries of the poor in contemporary African contexts. The confession's emphasis on unity, reconciliation and justice poses a challenge for Christian communities in Africa.

    Belhar at forty: Justice, unity and the cries of the poor in African Christian mission · 2026 · DOI

  • The research highlights the need for a deeper understanding of the confession's theological logic and its implications for contemporary African Christianity.

    Belhar at forty: Justice, unity and the cries of the poor in African Christian mission · 2026 · DOI

  • The study highlights the need to look beyond secular-religious dichotomies toward more nuanced understandings of how practitioners engage with religious texts.

    Living Text: The Multiple Lives of Tehillim in Contemporary Jewish Practice · 2026 · DOI

  • The study notes that the concept of human flourishing is contested. The paper argues that there is a need to reconsider the significance of the beatitudes for healthcare.

    On Making a Success of Life: ‘Human Flourishing’ and Healthcare · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper suggests that future research should focus on the development of a theology that serves a culturally plural Church in Europe. The paper suggests that future research should explore the concept of translation and its implications for theological work in Europe.

    Translation and "esprit de finesse": Theology in the service of a culturally plural Church in Europe · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a need for a new vision of Europe that takes into account the diversity of cultures and the concept of translation.

    Translation and "esprit de finesse": Theology in the service of a culturally plural Church in Europe · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research could further explore the concept of obedience in theological contexts. The study's findings could be applied to various religious traditions and practices.

    The Interconnection between Freedom and Obedience in the Human Response to God's Call as Both Risk and Opportunity for Spiritual Maturation · 2026 · DOI

  • The study highlights the need for a renewed theological understanding of obedience within the analogy of faith.

    The Interconnection between Freedom and Obedience in the Human Response to God's Call as Both Risk and Opportunity for Spiritual Maturation · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need for an interdisciplinary framework for interpreting the variability in ritual coping that emerged during the pandemic. There is a lack of research on the impact of the pandemic on Christian communities and their ritual practices.

    Rituals Reflecting Various Forms of Human Sociality as Means of Coping with the Covid Crisis · 2026 · DOI

  • The role of rituals within the context of conflict resolution and reconciliation has not been fully explored. There is a need to examine the differences between secular and religious rituals, particularly Christian reconciliation rituals.

    Religious and Secular Rituals in Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research could explore the implications of Wainwright's theology for the practice of worship and mission in the Methodist tradition and the wider Christian community. Further study could examine the relationship between Wainwright's theology and other theological traditions. Research could also investigate the potential applications of Wainwright's theology in ecumenical dialogue and cooperation.

    Worship, Doctrine and Mission: The Contribution of Geoffrey Wainwright to a Developing Methodist Theology · 2026 · DOI

  • Finally, as ordained ministers responding within a denominational setting, participants may have underreported pastoral compromise or cultural accommodation due to social desirability pressures, and the exclusive reliance on pastoral perspectives means that the experiences of church members, including those who have departed for P/C alternatives, remain entirely absent from the evidential base.

    Between the steeple and the golden stool: navigating cultural conflict, Pentecostal competition, and the organisational resilience paradox in asante baptist ministry · 2026 · DOI

  • However, we must not overlook the influence of Chinese language and culture; the Gospel is not confined to any single culture, nor limited to a single super‑ structure.

    The Holy Spirit and the Ecclesia Among Chinese Migrants in Moscow: An Ethnographic Study of the True Jesus Church · 2026 · DOI

  • In the academic literature, African evangelical theology has often been characterised as a ‘biblicist’ form of theologising that does not account for the hermeneutical questions that arise from the encounter between the Christian message and African contexts.

    Prescriptive Theology for the Local Church: Tite Tiénou's Hermeneutical Contributions to African Evangelical Theology · 2024 · DOI

  • This article was limited to the Black theology of liberation, with an emphasis on womanhood (Bosadi theorisation).

    Reimagining New Perspective(s) on Black Theology and the Implications for Bosadi Theorisation · 2026 · DOI

  • Secondly, AI tools offer access to vast amounts of data, speed and current information – qualities that contrast sharply with traditional resources, which were limited by the preacher’s budget, remained comparatively restricted in scope and inevitably became outdated.

    An appreciative reflection on the use of artificial intelligence in sermon-making from a South African perspective · 2026 · DOI

  • It notes that prior work has often overlooked the fundamental differences between the two traditions.

    Stoicism and Christianity Compared: A Systematic Analysis of Their Commonalities and Differences · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in the understanding of Geoffrey Wainwright's theology and its significance for the Methodist tradition and the wider Christian community. The paper proposes to fill this gap by exploring Wainwright's theology and its implications for ecumenical dialogue and cooperation.

    Worship, Doctrine and Mission: The Contribution of Geoffrey Wainwright to a Developing Methodist Theology · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Christian Theology and Mission

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) Future research should examine named mission traditions through sermon collec‑ tions, women’s manuals, school curricula, church periodicals, correspondence, oral his‑ tories, and records of women’s organisations (“Between Colonial Mission and the Racialised State: Black Womanhood in Apartheid…”, 2026); (2) Whether that craft will prove sufficient to move the Cameroonian political situation towards the justice and peace that Leo XIV invoked remains, as of this writing, an open question (“Prophetic diplomacy and postcolonial accountability: A Rhetorical analysis of…”, 2026); (3) The research gap includes the lack of understanding of missional ecclesiology as a situationized theological church theory (“A Contextual Theological Reinterpretation of Missional Ecclesiology”, 2026); (4) The paper also identifies the challenge of a lack of engagement with post-colonial womanist and Bosadi hermeneutics in the current debate (“A hermeneutical critique of women in ecclesiastical office within the Reformed…”, 2026); (5) The paper argues that there is a need to reconsider the significance of the beatitudes for healthcare (“On Making a Success of Life: ‘Human Flourishing’ and Healthcare”, 2026). 382 gap statements have been mined from Christian Theology and Mission papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 4,757 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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