Black History Studies in association with Future Think is proud to host a presentation by renowned UK-based missiologist Dr Harvey Kwiyani, African Christianity Programme Lead at the 225-year-old Church Mission Society. The presentation will be followed by a conversation with Dr Annabelle Gilmore and Mr Kwesi Ochosi, and Q&As with participants.

Dr Harvey Kwiyani, founder of the Acts 11 Project, a Church Mission Society initiative, has called upon the Church to disentangle itself from the legacies and logic of imperialism and proclaim a gospel that resists privilege, inequality, and exclusion.

In his new book, Decolonizing Mission, Kwiyani argues that while imperialism and colonialism have been associated with the expansion of Christianity for over 500 years, the gospel of Jesus Christ subverts the idea of empire. Throughout the book Kwiyani traces the history of Christian mission alongside the history of empire, showing the influence that one had on the other. He imagines what mission without imperialism would look like, and sheds light on the connection between colonialism and mission, and invites us to realign our missional methods with God’s. In Decolonizing Mission, Kwiyani uses historical vignettes to show that the gospel has never required conquest to spread. From the beginning, Jesus entrusted this movement, not to kings or soldiers, but to the marginalised, overlooked, and colonised people like his Galilean disciples. The true mission of God has always relied on love, humility, vulnerability, and the Spirit’s power.

The presentation will be followed by a conversation with Dr Annabelle Gilmore and Mr Kwesi Ochosi, Project Coordinators working at Lambeth Palace Library, the Archives of the Church of England.  They  will shed light on  the “treasure trove” of unresearched historical documents at the Lambeth Palace Archives and elsewhere in the UK. They will also signpost participants to practical guidance on how to access and research colonial-era records.