In 1960, the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, told the South African Parliament that “the wind of change is blowing through this continent.” This was a very British understatement. The wind of change was blowing through Africa’s political world with the force of a hurricane.

The wind of change did not hit Africa’s churches for another ten years. But when it did, the Western missionary movement was left reeling. In 1971, African church leaders began to call for a moratorium on the sending of missionaries.

John Gatu, a Kenyan minister, argued that the missionary movement was preventing the African church from finding its true identity. Others joined the call for a moratorium and the winds reached hurricane force. In 1974, Gatu addressed an international conference: “We cannot build the church in Africa on alms given by overseas churches, nor are we serving the cause of the kingdom by turning bishops into beggars. For Africa has money and personnel. Let mission be the mission of God in the world, not of the West to the Third World.”

All this happened 40 years ago. Mission has changed beyond recognition since 1974. African church leaders are no longer calling for a moratorium on the sending of missionaries. They are leading some of the world’s largest mission societies. We can trace the changing face of mission since 1974 as the four movements of a symphony.

The first movement of the symphony is mission from affluent non-Western countries. The standout example is Korea. In 1980 there were 93 Korean missionaries serving around the world. Today the number is about 20,000. There has been huge growth in mission from Brazil, Singapore, Hong Kong, Argentina – the list goes on.

This means that a typical Australian serving in mission will find themselves working alongside Korean or Brazilian co-workers. Each of them needs to know how to navigate multiple cross-cultural relationships.

The second movement of the symphony is mission from poor non-Western countries. Many countries with limited economic capacity have sent huge numbers of people into mission. India and Nigeria are obvious examples. The largest Protestant church in Ukraine has been planted by a Nigerian missionary. A church in Kenya is planning a church plant in Berlin. There are thousands of stories like this.

The third movement of the symphony is the transition of leadership in both the world church and in world mission. Who leads the Anglican Church around the world in 2014? It used to be the Archbishop of Canterbury, but now we’re not so sure. Archbishop Wabukala of Kenya? The transition of leadership is also evident in many mission societies. New Zealand CMS is led by Kenyan Steve Maina. SIM International is led by Joshua Bogunjoko. OMF International is led by Patrick Fung. Leadership in world mission no longer belongs to the Western world.

The fourth movement of the symphony is what Samuel Escobar calls mission from below – “the transcultural witnessing for Christ that takes place as people move around as migrants or refugees.” Nepali construction workers in Malaysia, Ethiopian domestic workers in Arab cities, Filipino labourers in the Gulf States – many of these people are Christians and are starting to see themselves as missionaries. God, the great conductor of his symphony, is moving his people around the world. Many migrants and refugees carry with them the good news of Jesus Christ.

As this symphony is played out, the barriers and boundaries of mission are collapsing. This means that the emerging themes of 21st century mission are being played out as much in Australia as in Africa and Asia.

Here are some typical questions:

“How do I teach the Bible to someone who never opens a book?” Understanding the concept of orality and the techniques of Bible story telling is as important for university-educated postmoderns as it is for those with no formal education. However, the majority of our Bible teaching tools are analytical not oral in style.

“How do I grow this ministry?” From Manhattan to Mumbai, people are interested in church planting networks – finding ways to keep planting churches on an ongoing basis. At the same time, church leaders everywhere seek ways to resource their ministries and make them sustainable.

“How should we relate to the newcomers who have arrived in our street?” This could be an Australian Christian wondering about their Iranian neighbour or a Kenyan Christian thinking about their Chinese neighbour. Diaspora mission engages with the movement of people around the world. It asks both how to reach diaspora people with the gospel and how to mobilise them as missionaries of the gospel.

In the 21st century, knowing how to cross cultures is everyone’s business.

David leads CMS-Australia’s development and training ministry.