About Us
Who we are
We are an international network of Christ-followers mainly from Western Protestant backgrounds engaged in mission and development. As practitioners, trainers and scholars, we share a deep concern for power inequalities in North-South relationships. We seek to self-critically engage with unhealthy Western mission praxis that is often rooted in inadequate understanding of cultural differences. Instrumental in overcoming imbalances has been for us the focus on using local languages and local resources in ministry contexts. Our members are past, current or aspiring practitioners of Vulnerable Mission, as well as those appreciating the concept.
What we do
Together, we reflect on historical and contemporary mission practice. We affirm and critique, we speak prophetically. We equip practitioners as well as scholars and we are actively involved ourselves in various ministry contexts all around the world. […]
Our convictions
The principle of deliberate, vulnerable weakness, modelled by Jesus Christ (see e.g. Philippians 2) or the Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 9:19-23), is applicable in poorer and wealthier societies, in places far away and around the corner. […]
Our concern
We deeply regret where Christians in the past have failed to be a good witness to the gospel of Jesus. What pains us as well, though, is that outside domination and unhealthy dependency often continue until this day – in mission, development, education, politics, research and other areas. […]
Our vision
It is our great hope that Vulnerable Mission would make a sound contribution to the broader efforts of transforming, ‘decolonising’ ministry models, church partnerships, development and research practices. The AVM strives for a wider use of locally available resources and local languages. […]
Our history
The Alliance for Vulnerable Mission arose out of the ministry of Jim Harries. First working in Zambia as an agriculturalist-missionary from 1988 onwards, he noticed that his supposedly transformative methods did not take hold. Gaining fluency in Kikaonde allowed him to see that local and foreign ways of reasoning often didn’t align – and that ‘development’ needs to engage people’s minds on a world view and theological level. After further theological and missions training in the UK and later a PhD in Linguistically engaged Theology, Jim Harries continued to serve in Kenya among Luo people. He limited his ministry to what he was able to do in the local languages Swahili and Luo as well as to the resources available of the rural poor whose life he shared intimately. Realising the efficacy of this mission approach in terms of developing a deep understanding of local contextual realities, Jim and others established the Alliance for Vulnerable Mission in 2007. A series of conferences on Vulnerable Mission between 2007 and 2019 in the US, the UK and Germany broadened the network and familiarised many with the concept of Vulnerable Mission. The Covid pandemic and technological advancement allowed for more virtual events in recent years, connecting people across the globe. Since 2024, the Alliance for Vulnerable Mission is registered as a charity in Germany but continues to work internationally, now under the leadership of an Executive Board.