Today, the regions commonly known as the “Global South”—Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East—are home to more Christians than the “Global North,” which includes Europe, North America, and Oceania. By 2050, it is projected that more than 70 percent of the world’s Christians will live in the Global South. For this reason, scholars have also referred to them as “Majority World Christians.”

        In the past, missionaries were typically sent out from the Global North to other regions, with the Global South largely regarded as the mission field. Today, however, many places have begun sending out their own missionaries and are establishing a firm footing. Yet even as the Christian population grows and missionary momentum becomes increasingly evident, “Majority World Christians” still have not received due attention. Last September, I traveled to Dubai to attend the Majority World Christian Leadership Conference, where I heard two examples that gave me much to ponder.

         The Courage to Break the Flowerpot: An African leader used the metaphor of “the flowerpot and the seedling”: missionaries bring a seedling to a foreign land, often together with the culture and institutional structures of their home country, all contained within a flowerpot. In the early stages, this provides sufficient protection from wind and frost; but if the flowerpot is never broken away, the root system remains confined within its narrow space.

         At the appropriate time, the church must have the courage to break the flowerpot, allowing the roots to grow deeply into local soil and enabling indigenous life and theological expressions to unfold. At the Dubai conference, African leaders shared how they were no longer simply adopting European and American discourse, but were instead engaging in theological reflection drawn from their own history and trauma. This shift has led them to a realization: they are by no means merely supporting characters in someone else’s missionary history, but they can also be recipients of grace in God’s redemption story.

           From Cola to Koalas to Christ: Speaking of cross-continental collaboration, in 2023, the Korean church brought together leaders from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Someone proposed that an alliance between Korea and Latin America be called “KOLA,” a friendly name reminiscent of a soft drink. A co-worker asked with a laugh, “What about Asia?” And so the name was extended to “KOALA.” Amid the laughter, a Korean leader raised the point that missions should not be led by any single nation, and that its true beginning belongs to Christ; Africa, too, could not be left out. And so the collaboration was named COALA (Christ Over Asia, Latin America, Africa). This illustrates the need to correct our perspective on mission. Only when Christ is given first place can the various parties move beyond disputes over “who is greatest,” listen to one another, build one another up, and move toward the new paradigm of “polycentric mission.”

            The Role and Way Forward for the Hong Kong Church: The reconfiguration of global mission forces is not about competing for influence. Rather, it is about discerning what God is doing worldwide. In the new landscape of global missions, the Hong Kong church still possesses significant strengths: a solid theological foundation, rich missional experience, and a position at the intersection of international networks. Going forward, it can deepen its calling in four directions: first, reordering how mission work is evaluated; second, shifting focus from developed cities toward caring for remote, marginalized, and high-risk peoples and regions; third, integrating cross-disciplinary expertise to care for missionaries and mission fields; and fourth, leveraging its connective strengths to serve as a bridge between churches in different places. May the Hong Kong church be willing to walk humbly, eager to strengthen others, and faithful to what has been entrusted to it.

(This is an excerpt from the “Feature Article” of the Mission Journal of this year.)