The Two Redemptive Structures of Christian Mission

Ralph Winter argues that God’s redemptive mission throughout history relies on two distinct organizational structures: modalities and sodalities. The modality, such as a local church or diocese, serves as a biologically diverse community of all ages and sexes. In contrast, the sodality, exemplified by missionary bands or monastic orders, consists of committed individuals who make a secondary decision to join a task-oriented group. Winter asserts that the Protestant Reformation's primary failure was the rejection of sodalities, which delayed global mission efforts for centuries until the rise of independent mission societies. He maintains that these structures are Biblical rather than Western and must both be embraced for effective outreach. Ultimately, the text encourages non-Western churches to establish their own mission societies to fulfill their missionary responsibilities.