This document summarizes the history of Christian mission from 1492 to 1989. It describes how Spain and Portugal initially controlled missionary work during the Age of Discovery. It then focuses on key missionary figures like Bartolomé de Las Casas who advocated for indigenous people's rights, and Francis Xavier who respectfully accommodated the gospel to other cultures. Later periods saw the rise of Protestant missionary work and figures from Africa and Europe who promoted local leadership and regeneration through respecting local cultures. By 1989, Christianity had shifted its geographical center to the global South and East, being shaped by non-Western Christians around the world.

1. MISSION FROM COLUMBUS TO THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL (1492-1989) Prophets, Jesuits, Missionary Societies, and New Approaches