Evangelism in the German Landeskirchen after the Leipzig Synod 1999

Diploma Thesis from the year 2003 in the subject Theology - Practical Theology, grade: With Distinction, University of Sheffield (Cliff College), language: English, abstract: In 1999 the synod of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) addressed the missionary task of the church. The synod emphasized that mission is the first priority of the church. In this dissertation I will show that almost four years later mission is still undoubtedly on the church's agenda, but there remains an unbalanced understanding of mission. While the importance of mission is no longer rejected by many church leaders, evangelism still plays a minor role at grassroots level. By assessing the missiologies of contemporary German Protestant theologians, I will demonstrate that there are theological reasons for this. Last but not least, I will suggest measures, which may help to further the process initiated by the 1999 EKD synodical meeting.