"Mission 'to everywhere from everywhere'"
Tokyo 2010 Mission Global Consultation
Taken from an article by Gary Fujino published in the current issue of Japan Harvest magazine
The dream for Tokyo Edinburgh 2010 actually had begun thirty years earlier in 1980 for Dr. Ralph Winter, founder of the US Center for World Mission and Mission Frontiers magazine, when it was noted that the idea of "an ongoing global-level association of mission agencies was proposed, but ... not effectively led."
Dr. Winter, who just passed away last year, was a major catalyst in the modern day missionary endeavor. Dr. Winter's visionary outlook, writings, and luminary presence continually challenged and was a prominent force for instigating change in contemporary mission theory and practice.
Tokyo 2010 is one result of his efforts. At a meeting in London in 2007, the decision was made to hold a "Tokyo Edinburgh 2010" consultation. In 2008, Winter came to Japan to meet with Japanese leaders and begin working on the 2010 event.
The purpose of Tokyo 2010 is: .. to bring together the sending structures of the world to take an in-depth look at how we can more effectively cooperate in this new environment and encourage best practices in frontier missionary work.
The Tokyo meeting is seeking to follow the model and tradition of Edinburgh 1910 and 1980 with these four distinctives:
1. Run by mission agencies for mission agencies.
2. Focuses on closure-the "unreached" fields
3. Looks at issues of "field concern."
4. Seeks to follow up by establishing regional structures to facilitate plans made to fully engage all the unreached areas of the world.
Notably, two of the main sponsors of the Tokyo Edinburgh 2010 consultation are the Third World Missions Association (TWMA - Dr. Obed Alvarez) and the Global Network of Mission Structures (GNMS - Dr. Yong Cho). Both are non-Western mission organizations run by non-Western leaders. The "non-West" is taking the lead ... in Japan, seeking to impact the world for missions ...
This effort for world evangelization via a networked, coordinated missional outreach is being wrought through the hands of those from former "mission fields". Mission has truly become "from everywhere to everywhere" as Anglican bishop Michael Nazir-Ali predicted more than 20 years ago. Here is the great reversal of the Great Commission
Note: The full article, and more about Tokyo 2010, is available on the home page of the Japan Evangelical Missionary Association (JEMA) - www.jema.org. | 
