EMQ » July – Aug 2025 » Volume 61 Issue 3
Missiological Triage: A Framework for Integrating Theology and Social Sciences in Missiological Methods
By Sarah Lunsford
Pickwick, 2023
163 pages
US$28.00
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Reviewed by Cameron D. Armstrong, Asia Graduate School of Theology, Philippines
Missiologists have long argued that their discipline is upheld by theology and the social sciences. The association is only natural, since missions is about bringing theological good news to real people. Translating such reflections into practice, however, can be quite complicated. Sarah Lunsford argues that the confusion arises because missionaries are often ill-equipped theologically to analyze social science theories. What is needed, according to Lunsford, is a framework to theologically triage missions methods in their use of social science principles.
Missiological Triage is divided into four chapters. The first chapter outlines the reality that our missiological methods often emphasize a numerical pragmatism stemming from an Enlightenment fascination with empiricism. Movements such as Donald McGavran’s Church Growth Movement pragmatically wed sociology and missions and call for mission leaders to adopt social science principles to hasten the Great Commission. Lunsford’s second chapter explores why the social sciences need theology to present a fully integrated, biblical worldview. Since the social sciences often deny transcendental truth, missionaries’ philosophical way forward is to affirm a critical realist belief that truth exists, and natural law confirms universal truth. Chapter Three, the heart of the book, builds a triage framework bridge. Missionaries can analyze methods grounded in social science theory by asking (1) is the theory validated in its discipline and through case studies? (2) do its presuppositions conflict with a biblical worldview? (3) if so, can the theory be adjusted? (4) how significant is the conflict? (5) can it be applied at other levels? (6) ought this theory be applied at all? Chapter Four then applies the framework to the widely accepted Homogenous Unit Principle, demonstrating not only the method’s lack of biblical support but also its unfortunate possible effects for excluding the evangelization and discipleship of diverse people groups.
One strength of the book is the detail in which Lunsford explains the humanistic philosophical roots of sociology and anthropology. Missionaries will find these examinations illuminating and convicting. One weakness of the book is Lunsford’s tendency to speak of the social sciences as quantitative-only. Indeed, much quantitative research strives to produce empirical and static data, reflecting the positivism of early social scientists. Little attention is given, though, to qualitative and mixed method models that nuance findings based on highly contextual participant voices.
Yet even so, Missiological Triage achieves its goal of both alerting missionaries to the dangers of unexamined methods and building a framework for overcoming barriers. Lunsford’s bridge linking missiology, theology, and the social sciences proves sturdy enough to walk any missions method across. Like Lunsford, this reviewer hopes missionaries prove courageous enough to cross the bridge, even if the conclusions on the far side may prickle at times.
For Further Reading
The Gospel in Human Contexts: Anthropological Explorations for Contemporary Missions by Paul G. Hiebert (Baker, 2009)
No Shortcut to Success: A Manifesto for Modern Missions by Matt Rhodes (Crossway, 2022)
EMQ, Volume 61, Issue 3. Copyright © 2025 by Missio Nexus. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from Missio Nexus. Email: EMQ@MissioNexus.org.
