Rethinking partnership in an age of migration
Harvey Kwiyani previews the upcoming Acts 11 conference
The Acts 11 Project is convening in September to address essential questions for the church in mission today.
by Harvey Kwiyani
Shifting Centres, Moving Peoples: Rethinking Partnership in an Age of Migration
For more than three decades, partnership has been one of the defining aspirations of Christian mission. It appears in our strategic plans, conference themes, and mission statements. Yet despite our shared commitment to partnership, many churches and mission organisations recognise that genuine mutuality remains difficult to achieve.
Across the UK and beyond, conversations with church leaders, academics, mission practitioners, and diaspora Christians reveal a common question: How do we move beyond good intentions towards genuine mutuality?
The challenge is not a lack of goodwill. Rather, many of our patterns of mission and church life were shaped in a world where authority, resources, and theological leadership flowed from a handful of centres to the rest of the world. Christianity today, however, is unmistakably polycentric. The demographic centre of the Church now lies in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and among migrant communities around the world. Migration has transformed the landscape of mission, bringing Christians from every continent into our towns, cities, and congregations.
This changing reality invites us to ask important questions. What does partnership look like when mission is no longer a movement from the West to the rest? How can churches move beyond host–guest relationships towards genuine reciprocity? How do we share leadership, resources, and decision-making in ways that reflect the diversity of the global body of Christ?
These are not merely theoretical questions. They shape how denominations relate to diaspora churches, how theological colleges prepare future leaders, how mission agencies collaborate across cultures, and how local congregations witness in increasingly multicultural communities.
These are precisely the questions that will be explored at the Acts 11 Project Mission and Migration Conference, taking place on 4–5 September 2026 at Liverpool Hope University.
Under the theme Shifting Centres, Moving Peoples: Rethinking Partnership and Mutuality in an Age of Migration, the conference will bring together church leaders, theologians, mission practitioners, students, policymakers, and diaspora church leaders for two days of theological reflection, practical learning, and honest conversation.
We are delighted to welcome keynote speakers including Dr Alexander Chow, Dr Sheila Akomiah-Conteh, Adam Martin, and Dr Nuam Hatzaw, alongside workshops led by practitioners from organisations such as Welcome Churches, Agapé UK, WEAVE, and the Acts 11 Project.
Rather than simply discussing migration, the conference seeks to create space for genuine encounter. Together we will explore practical questions including:
- How can established churches and diaspora churches move beyond host–guest relationships towards genuine partnership?
- What can churches learn from successful intercultural ministry partnerships?
- Why is cultural intelligence becoming an essential leadership skill?
- How are refugees and migrant communities reshaping the Church’s understanding of mission?
- What can the multicultural church in Antioch teach us about partnership today?
Our hope is that participants will leave not only with fresh ideas, but also with new relationships, deeper theological insight, and renewed confidence that God is using migration to reshape the Church for faithful witness in the twenty-first century.
Whether you serve in church leadership, theological education, mission, research, or a multicultural congregation, we warmly invite you to join us.
Take part
The conference is available in person or online, with registration options for one day or both days.
We look forward to welcoming you to Liverpool as we continue this important conversation together.
