Like many evangelical theologians around the world, the team at OCMS is marking with sadness the passing this week of Samuel Escobar, yet with deep gratitude for his legacy in theology and missiology and the influence he had on the founders of OCMS.
A charismatic Peruvian theologian, Escobar was a prophetic voice whose vision of a gospel rooted in both evangelism and social transformation left a lasting mark on global evangelicalism. His theological leadership—shaped in close collaboration with René Padilla and welcomed by figures like John Stott—helped inspire the OCMS founders, Rev. Dr. Vinay Samuel and Rev. Canon Dr. Chris Sugden, as they established a centre committed to theological research for and from the Global South.
Escobar’s legacy lies not only in his prolific writing and powerful preaching, but in the movements he helped shape. Alongside René Padilla, his theological companion and fellow Latin American thinker, Escobar called Church organisations back to a gospel that embraced both word and deed, personal salvation and social justice—a vision that came to be known as integral mission.
This vision found global voice at the 1974 Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, where Escobar and Padilla’s interventions catalysed a shift. Their passionate calls for integrating social responsibility into mission—and for disentangling Christian witness from cultural imperialism—resonated deeply with voices from the Global South. Though initially met with resistance by some from the North, leaders like John Stott not only welcomed their insight but let it reshape their own theological commitments. These cross-cultural friendships, forged in shared ministry and mutual respect, would become foundational to a new global mission paradigm.
But Escobar’s influence did not stop with the Lausanne Covenant. In the aftermath of the 1980 Consultation on World Evangelization in Pattaya, Thailand, he and others discerned the need for an alternative space—where voices from Africa, Asia, and Latin America could lead theological reflection on mission from within their own contexts. This led to the birth of INFEMIT (International Fellowship of Evangelical Mission Theologians from the Two-Thirds World)—a movement Escobar helped found. It provided a forum for Majority World scholars to reflect on Christology, justice, poverty, and mission in ways that addressed their own social and spiritual realities.
The 1982 INFEMIT consultation in Thailand, which brought together scholars like René Padilla, Kwame Bediako, Orlando Costas, and Bishop David Gitari, would sow the seeds of an even bolder idea: to establish a new kind of research institution. One rooted in the Global South’s missional realities but connected to a global academic community. This vision directly inspired Rev. Dr. Vinay Samuel and Rev. Canon Dr. Chris Sugden, who, with support from INFEMIT and colleagues like Dr. David Cook, searched for a permanent home for such a centre in Oxford.
The result was the founding of the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (OCMS) in 1983, located in the recently abandoned St. Philip and St. James Church on Woodstock Road. OCMS was—and remains—a response to Escobar’s challenge: to raise up Christian leaders from the Global South through contextually grounded research that could serve their local churches while engaging in the global theological conversation.
INFEMIT was formalised as an organisation in 1987, with leading theologians like Samuel Escobar and René Padilla at its heart. From the beginning, it provided a generative space where Majority World scholars could reflect on mission in their own contexts, grounded in friendship, rigorous scholarship, and a shared commitment to the inseparability of evangelism and social justice. INFEMIT continues this work through initiatives like the Stott-Bediako Forum, the Faith and Life theological formation model, and its expanding online network. Throughout their history, INFEMIT and OCMS have remained closely aligned in vision and continue to support one another’s work, standing together in the shared task of equipping the global Church to engage faithfully and contextually with the challenges of our time. Representatives from INFEMIT and OCMS were present at the recent “Christ over Asia, Latin America and Africa” COALA3.0 gathering held in Panama.
OCMS’s publishing arm, Regnum Books, has played a small part in honouring Escobar’s contribution. Over the past four years, Regnum has translated and published three of his books, including an anthology of his writings. His articles have also appeared in our journal, Transformation, a platform for mission theology which continues to echo his holistic vision (access by subscription). Through these publications, Escobar’s voice continues to challenge and inspire new generations of scholars and practitioners.
Last year, our Academic Dean, Dr. Chammah J. Kaunda, was honoured to join many renowned Latin American and global theologians at an online consultation hosted by the Fraternidad Teológica Latinoamericana (FTL), celebrating “Samuel Escobar at 90: Thought and Work.” Dr. Kaunda presented a paper titled “Samuel Escobar’s Missiological Christ: Dialogue with an African Pentecostal Theologian,” exploring Escobar’s enduring missiological insights and their relevance today; a version of his paper can be found here.
We are also privileged that Ruth Padilla DeBorst, daughter of René Padilla and a theologian of great depth and social conscience, now serves on the OCMS Board of Trustees—an ongoing sign of the legacy passed from Escobar and Padilla to new generations.
In life and death, Samuel Escobar reminds us that theology is never an abstraction. It is a call to discipleship, to justice, to hope in Christ amid the world’s brokenness. We thank God for his life, his courage, and his vision. May we carry his legacy forward with faithfulness and humility.
“The Gospel is not only about saving souls but about transforming lives and societies.” — Samuel Escobar