Member projects

Brief description of the research programme

Leading question: which views on salvation are motivatingcurrent practices in church and mission in the secular West, how do they developin response to new conditions of faith, and how can they be brought into dialoguewith theological traditions in order to contribute to a fruitful embodiment of Christian faith in the secular West?

This question is studied in the contexts of practices, individuals, and institutions:

  • Practices. Exploring the relationship between ecclesial and missional practices on the one hand and sense-making narratives on the other. Which views of salvation animate existing practices of church and mission, and how are they intertwined with these practices?
  • Individuals. Exploring (auto)biographical narratives of salvation. How do late-modern Christians experience salvation? How does this change their relationship to the church and its practices? 
  • Institutions. Exploring institutional expressions of salvation. How can church organization, the structure of the offices, and church law be expressions and embodiments of salvation? How can they be (more) wholesome and redemptive?

The research programme will result in at least two academic books, at least five PhD studies, ca. 15 academic articles, two or three professional books, a number of professional articles, two conferences, and instruction and catechesis materials for the churches.

More information about the theoretical aspects of the programme can be found on the CCMW website, under ‘Programme 2018-2023’.


The programme contains three projects: (a) Salvation and liturgy; (b) Salvation and mission; (c) Salvation and Organization.

Salvation and Liturgy 

Staff: Prof. dr. Hans Schaeffer (coordinator), Jasper Bosman, Koos Tamminga.

Leading question: which visions of salvation animate and inform liturgical and other ecclesial practices in the Reformed tradition?

Brief description: by exploring liturgical and ecclesial practices in the Reformed tradition from a practical-theological perspective this project examines how salvation is experienced in Reformed churches in the contemporary West. Mostly ethnographic data gathered from concrete ecclesial practices will be brought into dialogue with biblical and systematic theology, with with a view to making theological sense of current practices, and innovating them. In this way this project will contribute to the vitality of the Reformed experience of faith especially in relationship to the liturgy and community.


Salvation and Mission

Staff: Prof. dr. Stefan Paas (coordinator), Prof. dr. Gerrit Noort, Prof. dr. Philipp Bartholomä, Dr. Gert-Jan Roest, Dr. Sake Stoppels, Martijn Dreschler, Annemiek de Jonge, Jan van ‘t Spijker.

Leading question: which visions of salvation animate and inform missional practices, practitioners and institutions in modern Western societies?

Brief description: by exploring historical discussions on mission and salvation, and through ethnographic study of espoused views of salvation among missionary practitioners this project contributes to a deeper sounding of the so-called ‘crisis of mission’ in the West, and it presents mission-minded Christians with theological tools to make sense of their practices and to improve them.


Salvation and Organization

Staff: Dr. Leon van den Broeke (coordinator), Auke Dijkstra, Hayo Wijma

Leading question: how are visions of salvation embodied in church polity, the offices, and church organization, and how can these visions be explored such that they help practitioners to make sense of these institutional dimensions of church and mission?

Brief description: by exploring conflict resolution by church officials, studying polity dimensions of new expressions of church, and reflecting on the relationship between church and state in shifting conditions of the secular West this project contributes to current practices of church and mission, offering tools to develop and improve them from a legal perspective.