Dear Friends and Partners in Mission,
Diaspora is a term with which you might not be familiar. It means “dispersion” or “scattered.” Biblically, it often referred to the Jewish communities scattered through the Roman Empire that Paul visited on his missionary journeys. It is a term used by Peter in his epistle written to God’s chosen migrants in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (1 Peter 1:1).
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In mission work and mission studies today “diaspora” refers to the massive migration of people globally that is rapidly changing the nations, societies, and churches we attend. Migration experts have estimated that there are now over 214 million international migrants and over 700 million internally displaced people. This means there are close to 1 billion scattered peoples across the globe. At Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (OCMS) we now have a whole group of scholars, including myself, who have begun to specialize on the modern diaspora movement of people around the globe and how this impacts the church and mission.
A letter from Myoung Ho Yang and Ji Yeon Yoo in the U.S. prior to serving in China/Hong Kong
April 2015 – Building Relationships
Before we came here we couldn’t expect that there is winter in Hong Kong. But there is! Of course we had no snow here and the temperature was not that low compared to the cold winter of the East Coast in the U.S. But it was cold enough to shiver, perhaps because of high humidity. Many students and professors, including me, suffered from flu this year. Finally spring has come and now is blending into summer.
Since we came here, every morning I have gotten up with thanksgiving and great expectation. I believe that it is God’s grace and will that I am serving here at this school. Our partner, the Divinity School of Chung Chi College, plays a very important role in training spiritual leaders of Hong Kong, China, and other Asian countries. While the population of Christianity in China is rapidly growing, there is a huge lack of theologically educated leaders. Thankfully, the number of students from mainland China is increasing every year at this school, which is the only institute where they can get theological education in Hong Kong. They have come from many different areas of China. Some of them will train church leaders while most of them will serve as local church leaders or evangelists as soon as they finish their studies.
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Tom on Jumbotron
In mission work and mission studies today “diaspora” refers to the massive migration of people globally that is rapidly changing the nations, societies, and churches we attend. Migration experts have estimated that there are now over 214 million international migrants and over 700 million internally displaced people. This means there are close to 1 billion scattered peoples across the globe. At Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (OCMS) we now have a whole group of scholars, including myself, who have begun to specialize on the modern diaspora movement of people around the globe and how this impacts the church and mission.