The three-self formula or three-self principle is a missiological strategy to establish indigenous churches. Its principles are: self-governance, self-support (i.e., financial independence from foreigners), and self-propagation (i.e., indigenous missionary work). It was first coined in the late-19th century by various missions theorists, and is still used today in certain contexts such as in the

Three-Self Patriotic Movement The Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM; ) is the official government supervisory organ for Protestantism in the People's Republic of China. It is colloquially known as the Three-Self Church (). The National Committee of the Three-Self Patriot ...

in mainland China.

History

The three principles of self-governance, self-support (i.e., financial independence from foreigners), and self-propagation (i.e., indigenous missionary work) were first articulated by Henry Venn, General Secretary of the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

from 1841 to 1873, and

Rufus Anderson Rufus Anderson (August 17, 1796 – May 23, 1880) was an American minister who spent several decades organizing overseas missions. Personal life Rufus Anderson was born in North Yarmouth, Maine, on August 17, 1796. His father, also named Rufu ...

, foreign secretary of the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most imp ...

. The "Nevius Method," named for John Livingstone Nevius, a missionary to China and Korea, developed the three-self principle of Venn and Anderson into a plan for establishing indigenous churches. By 1877 three-self principles were much discussed among missionaries to China. The principles were drafted formally during an 1892 conference in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

of Christian missions reflecting an almost universal agreement that the future of the Chinese church depended on the indigenization of the leadership, and the finding of sufficiently Chinese modes of

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recogniti ...

In the early 20th century Roland Allen, a former Anglican missionary to China wrote two influential books that promoted the concept of indigenous churches based on the three-self principle. The

(TSPM) in mainland China, now the officially sanctioned form of Protestant

Christianity in China Christianity in China has been present since at least the 3rd century, and it has gained a significant amount of influence during the last 200 years. While Christianity may have existed in China before the 3rd century, evidence of its exist ...

, took these principles as foundational for its establishment. However, in its alignment with China's United Front Work Department, the TSPM sought to unify all Christians in China behind the government's political and social agenda and thus politicized matters of religious belief and practice and "subordinated the religious mission of the church to the political agenda of the Communist Party." This represented a fundamental change in the concept of the three-self principle from a religious one to a political one. The TSPM’s implementation resulted in the suppression of other expressions of three-self principles that pre-existed it. Some scholars of mission, such as Paul Hiebert and

David Bosch David Jacobus Bosch (13 December 1929 – 15 April 1992) was an influential missiologist and theologian best known for his book ''Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission'' (1991) — a major work on post-colonial C ...

, have later argued that there needs to now be a fourth "self," self-theologizing.

References

{{Reflist Christian missions History of Protestantism World Christianity

History

See also

References