Name
Stefan Paas
Current position
J.H. Bavinck Professor of Missiology and INtercultural Theology (Vrije Universiteit)
Professor of Missiology (Theological University Kampen)
Place of employment
Faculty of Religion and Theology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Theological University Kampen
Contact
Personal websites
www.research.vu.nl/en/persons/stefan-paas
www.vu-nl.academia.edu/stefanpaas
Social media
Twitter: @stefanpaas
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stefan-paas-51373a5/
Main research interests
Missiology of Western Culture
Political Theology
Philosophy of Religion
Biblical Studies
Selected recent publications
‘The Missional Future of Free Churches in a Secular Context: A German Case Study’, Journal of Empirical Theology 33 (2020), 1-21, with Philipp Bartholomä
‘Leadership in Mission: Church Governance in an Age of Change’, in: Kolja Koeniger, Jens Monsees (Hg.), Kirche[n]gestalten: Re-Formationen von Kirche und Gemeinde in Zeiten des Umbruchs, Vandenhoeck&Ruprecht: Göttingen 2019, 183-200
Pilgrims and Priests: Christian Mission in a Post-Christian Culture, SCM: London 2019
‘The Countercultural Church: An Analysis of the Neo-Anabaptist Contribution to Missional Ecclesiology in the Post-Christendom West’, Ecclesiology 15 (2019), 271-289
‘“Notoriously Religious” or Secularising? Revival and Secularisation in Sub-Saharan Africa’, Exchange 48 (2019), 26-50
‘A Case of Church Growth by Church Planting in Germany: Are They Causally Connected?’, International Bulletin of Mission Studies 42/1 (2018), 40-54
‘Personality Traits of Church Planters and Other Church Leaders in Europe (II)’, Journal of Empirical Theology 31 (2018), 288-308, with Annemarie Foppen and Joke van Saane
‘Resilience and Crisis among European Church Planters’, Mission Studies 35 (2018), 366-388, with Marry Schoemaker-Kooy
Mercy: Theories, Concepts, Practices. Proceedings from the International Congress TU Apeldoorn / Kampen, NL June 2014, ed. met Gerard den Hertog, Hans Schaeffer, LIT-Verlag: Berlin 2018, ed. with Gerard den Hertog and Hans Schaeffer
‘Strangers and Priests: Missional Ecclesiology for a (Very) Secular Environment’, in: Coenie Burger et al. (eds.), Cultivating Missional Change: The Future of Missional Churches and Missional Theology, Bible Media: Wellington (SA) 2017, 230-250
‘Personality traits of Church Planters in Europe’, Journal of Empirical Theology 30 (2017), 25-40, with Annemarie Foppen en Joke van Saane,
‘Intercultural Theology and Missiology’, Interreligious Studies and Intercultural Theology 1.1 (2017), 133-139
Sharing Good News: Handbook on Evangelism in Europe, WCC: Geneva 2017, ed. with Gert Noort and Kyriaki Avtzi
Church Planting in the Secular West: Learning from the European Experience, Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, 2016
‘Church Planting and Church Growth in Western Europe: An Analysis’, International Bulletin of Mission Research, 40.3 (2016): 243-252, with Alrik Vos
Evangelicals and Sources of Authority, AMSTAR 6, Amsterdam University Press: Amsterdam 2016, ed. with Miranda Klaver and Eveline van Staalduine-Sulman
‘The Discipline of Missiology in 2016: Concerning the Place and Meaning of Missiology in the Theological Curriculum’, Calvin Theological Journal 51 (2016), 37-55
Personal profile
In 1998 I presented my PhD dissertation in Old Testament Studies at Utrecht University. Since then my life has taken a turn into the direction of missiology. I have been involved in a number of missionary initiatives, such as church planting in Amsterdam. Currently I am an elder in an Amsterdam church (www.vianova-amsterdam.nl), and married with three children. Partly because of DNA (my parents were missionaries in South-East Africa), and partly because of my own theological biography I have always been fascinated by what it means to do Christian mission in Europe. This particular challenge can be a rich source of theological reflection. I consider myself hugely privileged to do this in the context of two theological institutions. The faculty of Theology & Religious Studies at VU is an inspiring multireligious and multicultural environment where dialogue and respectful encounter are held in high esteem. As a missiologist and intercultural theologian I find this a very stimulating place to discover what it means to engage with each other humbly and lovingly, while at the same time (re)discovering what is important in your own tradition. I also work at the Theological University of the Reformed Churches (Liberated) in Kampen, where mostly pastors are trained. There I have the privilege of coordinating a theological Master program focused on mission in the West. Kampen is also the place where the Centre of Church and Mission in the West (CCMW) is located (www.churchandmission.nl).
Cities of God 