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Integral Mission

Integral mission, which leads to holistic transformation, can be defined as follows:

Integral mission or holistic transformation is the proclamation and demonstration of the gospel. It is not simply that evangelism and social involvement are to be done alongside each other. Rather, in integral mission our proclamation has social consequences as we call people to love and repentance in all areas of life. And our social involvement has evangelistic consequences as we bear witness to the transforming grace of Jesus Christ. Micah Declaration (2001)

Prior to that the Lausanne covenant had said something similar:

We affirm that God is both the Creator and the Judge of all men. We therefore should share his concern for justice and reconciliation throughout human society and for the liberation of men and women from every kind of oppression. Because men and women are made in the image of God, every person, regardless of race, religion, colour, culture, class, sex or age, has an intrinsic dignity because of which he or she should be respected and served, not exploited… The message of salvation implies also a message of judgement upon every form of alienation, oppression and discrimination, and we should not be afraid to denounce evil and injustice wherever they exist. When people receive Christ they are born again into his kingdom and must seek not only to exhibit but also to spread its righteousness in the midst of an unrighteous world. The salvation we claim should be transforming us in the totality of our personal and social responsibilities. Faith without works is dead. Lausanne Covenant (1974)

SIL has embraced integral mission too. Our simplest statement is that we 'work with local communities to develop language solutions that expand possibilities for a better life.' www.sil.org

The 'better life' we mention here can be taken quite broadly. It includes holistic transformation, not just spiritual transformation. For that reason Scripture engagement specialists in Wycliffe and SIL can be found working on health brochures just as much as they might be training local leaders how to run Bible studies. Both are equally important.

 Here's our vision statement:

Inspired by God’s love, we advocate, build capacity, and work with local communities to apply language expertise that advances meaningful development, education, and engagement with Scripture.

How can language expertise lead to meaningful development? This video explains:


It would be difficult to work with local communities without getting stuck into integral mission. It's our calling, and it's a very evident need. God is at work, and we want to join in with what He is doing...
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