In June of 1910, the World Missionary Conference took place in Edinburgh, Scotland.

This conference met for a total of 10 days.

It was international, it was ecumenical. About 1,200 delegates from mostly Europe and America

and representing all sorts of Protestant denominations came together to spend these days talking

about the need for world missions and what world missions can look like in the

beginnings then of the 20th century.

You can trace the roots of the World Council of Churches

actually back to the Edinburgh Missionary Conference.

The World Council churches was established in 1948

and you could pull on the threads of various groups that led up to it and you'd be taken right back

to the Edinburgh Missionary Conference.

It was a very pivotal moment. to the Edinburgh Missionary Conference.

It was a very pivotal moment in the 20th century.

So let's take a look at five aspects

of the Edinburgh Missionary Conference.

First, as we've mentioned, it was ecumenical. Now at that time, it was predominantly

Protestant when we're talking about ecumenical. There were no Roman Catholics present, there were no Greek Orthodox present, there were only Protestant denominations present.

But as a term, ecumenical continued to expand and expand and broaden.

So first you talk about within Protestant denominations,

then acumenical would come to mean Protestant and Catholic and Jewish.

Then you would add Islam, then you would add Eastern religions. Today

the word ecumenical is very broad and very elastic. Well the second thing about the Edinburgh Missionary Conference is related to that question of the

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