“Bringing the Gospel to the City together”: Interconfessional Cooperation in Missionary Church Development in Vienna

Abstract

In the changing context of Western Europe, many churches and denominations aim to reach non-Christians with the gospel through new missionary ecclesial forms. From the perspective of missional theology the mission and unity of the Church are inherently connected. This raises the question how the unity of the Church might be expressed in the praxis of missionary church development. However, there has been very little research on this issue. Thus it remains unclear, what ecumenism in missionary church development looks like in practice, what promotes and what hinders it. Therefore, an empirical investigation among seventeen Christian leaders from different confessions involved in missionary church development in Vienna was conducted. The study found that ecumenical cooperation is very limited, with some exceptions. This seems due to both theological factors, like diverging interpretations of mission and the gospel or different stances on issues of sexual ethics, and non-theological, like lack of time and resources. Building on these insights, the paper suggests the establishment of a regional ecumenical church planting hub and outlines possible steps toward its realization. This platform might foster relationships and exchange across confessional boundaries and thus help new forms of church in Vienna to express the ecumenical unity of the Church and to complement each other toward a faithful participation in the mission of God in the city.