Today it is common knowledge that the centre of gravity of Christianity around the world is moving southward, away from the former heartlands in Europe and North America to Latin America, Asia and Africa. Christian churches in different parts of the world all share in the Good News of the triune God whom they have encountered in Jesus Christ, but are called to live out and reflect on this Good News drawing on the particular gifts of their own contexts and responding to the challenges they present. Such local theologies not only serve their own communities, but are also part of a worldwide theological conversation. They can enrich others by contributing new insights and perspectives. Local theologies can also build up the theology of the church worldwide by presenting a viewpoint from which other locally embedded Christian perspectives can be corrected, in as much as they are distorted by particular cultural thought frames and biases.

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