A missionary is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith; someone who proselytizes. The word "mission" is derived from the Latin missionem (nom. missio), meaning "act of sending" or mitto, mittere, literally meaning "to send" or "to dispatch", the equivalent of the Greek-derived word "apostle" from apostolos, meaning "messenger". In Christian cultures the term is most commonly used for Christian missions, but it applies equally to any proselytizing creed or ideology. Buddhism launched 'the first large-scale missionary effort in the history of the world's religions'.

Christian missions

Since the Lausanne Congress of 1974, a widely accepted definition of a Christian mission has been "to form a viable indigenous church-planting movement." Recognizing justice as being at the heart of the Gospels, most modern missionaries now promote the development of western government, education and economic structure in the place of pre-existing local systems and tradition. Missionaries can be found in many countries around the world, even posing as tourists or working as charity personnel to gain entry where their proselytizing is prohibited by law (e.g. India and Morocco).

Biblical mandate

Jesus instructed the apostles to make disciples (). This reference is understood by Christian missionaries as the Great Commission to engage in missionary work.

Catholic missions

The New Testament missionary outreach of the Christian church from the time of St Paul was extensive throughout the Roman Empire. During the Middle Ages the Christian monasteries and missionaries such as Saint Patrick, and Adalbert of Prague propagated learning and religion beyond the boundaries of the old Roman Empire. In the 7th century Gregory the Great sent missionaries including Augustine of Canterbury into England. During the Age of Discovery, the Roman Catholic Church established a number of Missions in the Americas and other colonies through the Augustinians, Franciscans and Dominicans in order to spread Christianity in the New World and to convert the Native Americans and other indigenous people. (See Canadian residential school system.) At the same time, missionaries such as Francis Xavier as well as other Jesuits, Augustinians, Franciscans and Dominicans were moving into Asia and the far East. The Portuguese sent missions into Africa. These are some of the most well-known missions in history. While some of these missions were associated with imperialism and oppression, others (notably Matteo Ricci's Jesuit mission to China) were relatively peaceful and focused on integration rather than cultural imperialism.

Much contemporary Catholic missionary work has undergone profound change since the Second Vatican Council, and has become explicitly conscious of Social Justice issues and the dangers of cultural imperialism or economic exploitation disguised as religious conversion. Contemporary Christian missionaries argue that working for justice is a constitutive part of preaching the Gospel, and observe the principles of inculturation in their missionary work.

As the church normally organizes itself along territorial lines, and because they had the human and material resources, religious orders--some even specializing in it--undertook most missionary work, especially in the early phases. Over time a normalised church structure was gradually established in the mission area, often starting with special jurisdictions known as apostolic prefectures and apostolic vicariates. These developing churches eventually intended 'graduating' to regular diocesan status with a local episcopacy appointed, especially after decolonization, as the church structures often reflect the political-administrative reality.

Orthodox missions

The Eastern Orthodox Church, under the Orthodox Church of Constantinople was vigorous in its missionary outreach under the Roman Empire and continuing Byzantine Empire, and its missionary outreach had lasting effect, either founding, influencing or establishing formal relations with some 16 Orthodox national churches including the Romanian Orthodox Church, the Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (both said to have been founded by the missionary Apostle Andrew), the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (said to have been founded by the missionary Apostle Paul). The two ninth century saints Cyril and Methodius had extensive missionary success in Eastern Europe. The Byzantines expanded their missionary work in Ukraine after a mass baptism in Kiev in 988. The Serbian Orthodox Church had its origins in the conversion by Byzantine missionaries of the Serb tribes when they arrived in the Balkans in the 7th century. Orthodox missionaries also worked successfully among the Estonians from the 10th to the 12th centuries founding the Estonian Orthodox Church.

Under the Russian Empire of the 19th century, missionaries such as Nicholas Ilminsky moved into the subject lands and propagated Orthodoxy, including through Belarus, Latvia, Moldavia, Finland, Estonia, Ukraine, and China. The Russian St. Nicholas of Japan took Eastern Orthodoxy to Japan in the 19th century. The Russian Orthodox Church also sent missionaries to Alaska beginning in the 18th century, including Saint Herman of Alaska, to minister to the Native Americans. The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia continued missionary work outside Russia after the 1917 Russian Revolution, resulting in the establishment of many new dioceses in the diaspora, from which numerous converts have been made in Eastern Europe, North America and Oceania.

First Protestant missions

Among the first Protestant missionaries were John Eliot and contemporary ministers including John Cotton and Richard Bourne, who ministered to the Algonquin natives that were co-located with the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the middle 17th century. Quaker missions were established soon after this in several late 17th century colonies.

The Danish government included Lutheran missionaries among the colonists in many of its colonies, Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg in Tranquebar India in the late 17th century. But the first organized Protestant mission work was carried out beginning in 1732 by the Moravian Brethren of Herrnhut in Saxony Germany(die evangelische Brüdergemeine). While on a visit in 1732 to Copenhagen for the coronation of his cousin King Christian VI the Moravian Church's patron, Nicolas Ludwig, Count von Zinzendorf got to know a slave from the Danish colony in the West Indies. When he returned to Herrnhut with the slave, he inspired the inhabitants of the village--it was fewer than 30 houses then---to send out "messengers" to the slaves in the West Indies. The first missionaries landed in St. Thomas in December, 1732. Work soon was started in another Danish colony, Greenland. Within 30 years there were Moravian missionaries active on every continent, and this at a time when there were fewer than 300 people in Herrnhut. They are famous for their selfless work, living as slaves among the slaves and together with the native Americans, the Delaware (i.e. Lenni Lenape) and Cherokee Indian tribes. Today the work in the former mission provinces of the worldwide Moravian Church is carried on by native workers. The fastest growing area of the work in Tanzania in Eastern Africa. The Moravian work in South Africa inspired William Carey and the founders of the British Baptist missions. Today 7 of every 10 Moravians are in a former mission field and belong to a race other than Caucasian. Like other missionary denominations, Protestant missionaries have been accused of cultural imperalism and have often been associated with a colonial power. (See Americanization (of Native Americans).)

Evangelical Church missions

With a dramatic increase in efforts since the 1900s, but a strong push since the Lausanne I: The International Congress on World Evangelization in Switzerland in 1974, evangelical groups have focused efforts on sending missionaries to every ethnic group in the world. While this effort has not been completed, increased attention has brought larger numbers of people distributing Bibles, Jesus videos, and establishing evangelical churches in more remote, less Christianized areas.



Over the years, as indigenous churches have matured, the church of the "Global South" (Africa, Asia and Latin America) has become the driving force in missions. Korean and African missionaries can now be found all over the world. These missionaries represent a major shift in Church history.

Brazil, Nigeria, and other countries have had large numbers of their Christian adherents go to other countries and start churches. These non-western missionaries often have unparalleled success because they need few western resources and comforts to sustain their livelihood while doing the work they have chosen among a new culture and people.

The British Missionary Societies

The London Missionary Society was an extensive Anglican and Nonconformist missionary society formed in England in 1795 with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa. It now forms part of the Council for World Mission. The Anglican Church Missionary Society was also founded in England in 1799, and continues its work today. These organisations spread through the extensive 18th and 19th century colonial British Empire, establishing the network of churches that largely became the modern Anglican Communion.

Jehovah's Witness missionaries

Jehovah's Witnesses are known for their missionary activities. Typically, all adult Witnesses are expected to spend time every week "witnessing" in their area. Depending on the civil law in the respective country, this may take the form of proselytizing door to door, distribution of magazines and other literature such as The Watchtower and Awake! or responding to the questions of passersby. They are involved in this activity as a direct obedience to Jesus' words found at ()

Latter-day Saint missionaries

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work. Young men between the ages of 19 and 26 (ideally beginning at the age of 19) are encouraged to prepare themselves to serve a two-year, self-funded, full-time proselytizing mission. Each prospective missionary is extended a call to serve through the First Presidency after the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles make the assignment:
After receiving their mission call from the prophet, the President of the Church, they become official representatives of the Church and are expected to devote all their time and effort to missionary service. As at other times, they are expected to maintain high moral standards. As missionaries, they accept to live by additional requirements, such as not dating. The two-year mission is usually served in a foreign country or different area of the country from where the missionary lives:
Young women and retired couples may serve missions as well. Young women who desire to serve as missionaries serve at an older age, usually 21 or older. Missionaries typically spend one to two months in a Missionary Training Center where they study the scriptures, learn new languages, and otherwise prepare themselves to teach the Gospel and understand the culture in which and the people among whom they will be living. The LDS Church has about 53,000 missionaries worldwide.

Islamic missions

Dawah means to "invite" (in Arabic, literally "calling") to Islam, estimated to be the second largest religion next to Christianity. From the 7th century it spread rapidly from the Arabian Peninsula to the rest of the world through the initial Arabic conquests, and subsequently with traders and explorers after the death of the Prophet Muhammad.

Initially, the spread of Islam came through the dawah efforts of Muhammad and those who followed him. After his death in 632 CE, much of the expansion of the empire came through conquest, such as that of North Africa and later Spain (Al-Andalus), and the Islamic conquest of Persia putting an end to the Sassanid Empire and spreading the reach of Islam to as far East as Khorasan, which would later become the cradle of Islamic civilization during the Islamic Golden Age and a stepping-stone towards the introduction of Islam to the Turkic tribes living in and bordering the area.

The missionary movements peaked during the Islamic Golden Age, with the expansion of foreign trade routes, primarily into the Indo-Pacific and as far South as the isle of Zanzibar and the South-Eastern shores of Africa.

With the coming about of the tradition of Sufism, Islamic missionary activities have increased considerably. The mystical nature of the tradition had an all-encompassing aspect, a property many societies in Asia could relate to. Later, with the conquest of Anatolia by the Seljuk Turks, missionaries would find easier passage to the lands then formerly belonging to the Byzantine Empire.


The teachings of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, who migrated from Khorasan to Anatolia, are good examples to the mystical aspect of Sufism.


The spread of Islam towards Central and West Africa has been prominent but slow, until the early 19th century. Previously, the only connection was through Transsaharan trade, of which the Mali Empire, consisting predominantly of African and Berber tribes, stands as a strong proof of the early Islamization of the Sub-Saharan region. The gateways prominently expanded to include the aforementioned trade routes through the Eastern shores of the African continent. With the European colonization of Africa, missionaries were almost in competition with the European Christian missionaries operating in the colonies. The Muslim population of the US has increased greatly in the last one hundred years, with much of the growth driven by widespread conversion. Up to one-third of American Muslims are African Americans who have converted to Islam during the last seventy years. Conversion to Islam in prison, and in large urban areas has also contributed to its growth over the years.

Missionaries and Judaism

Despite some uncharacteristic inter-Testamental Jewish missionary activity, contemporary Judaism states clearly that it is not missionary.

Most Jews share a strong distaste for all missionary activity by practitioners of all religions, a tradition which stems from years of Jewish persecution at the hands of (mostly Christian) missionaries.


On the other hand, most Jewish religious groups encourage "Outreach" to Jews alienated from their own heritage owing to assimilation and intermarriage. Some movements encourage Jews to become more observant of Jewish religious law (known as halakha). Those people who do become religious are known as baalei teshuva. The large Hasidic group known as Chabad Lubavitch has internationally promoted such "outreach." Others, such as the National Jewish Outreach Program do the same in North America.


Eastern religions

The first missions were sent by the Indian religions, in particular Buddhism.

Buddhist missions

The first Buddhist missionaries were called "Dharma Bhanaks". The Emperor Ashoka was a significant early Buddhist missioner. In the 3rd century BCE, Dharmaraksita - among others - was sent out by emperor Ashoka to proselytize the Buddhist tradition through the Indian Maurya Empire, but also into the Mediterranean as far as Greece. Buddhism was spread among the Turkic people during the 2nd and 3rd centuries B.C. into modern-day Pakistan, Kashmir, Afghanistan, eastern and coastal Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. It was also taken into China brought by An Shigao in the 2nd century BCE.



Non-religious missionaries

The original meaning of the word "missionary" is not specifically religious, but refers instead to anyone who attempts to convert others to a particular doctrine or program.


See also

Sources and references

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