In a stunning but sadly unsurprising move, the Presbyterian Church (USA) has announced the shutdown of its national missions branch, citing discomfort with "conversionism"—the belief that individuals must be called to personal faith in Jesus Christ. Once a hallmark of Protestant missions, the zeal to share the gospel and invite others into saving faith has been recast by some as oppressive or outdated. Yet this retreat is not a sudden shift; it is simply the next, inevitable step in a long process: the abandonment of the gospel that liberal Protestantism began generations ago.
The Heart of Orthodox Christianity: A Gospel to Share
At the very core of historic Christianity is the conviction that the gospel is good news—good news meant to be proclaimed, heard, believed, and responded to. Jesus Christ’s final earthly command was clear: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). Conversion is not a cultural preference or a relic of colonialism; it is the natural and necessary result of the gospel itself. Dead sinners are made alive through the Spirit and Word of God (Ephesians 2:1–10).
The early church knew this well. The Book of Acts is a chronicle of Spirit-empowered, conversion-focused mission. The apostles did not merely advocate for social reform, nor did they offer Christ as one valid option among many. They proclaimed, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
To deny or diminish this is to strike at the very foundation of the Christian faith itself.
Liberal Protestantism’s Long Drift
The PCUSA’s retreat from missions is simply the logical conclusion of a theological drift that began over a century ago. Liberal Protestantism replaced divine revelation with human speculation, substituted social activism for gospel proclamation, and traded the offense of the cross for the applause of the culture.
The roots of this decline stretch back to the early twentieth century, during the modernist-fundamentalist controversy. In the face of growing pressure from secular intellectual movements, many leaders within the old mainline Presbyterian Church chose accommodation over conviction. Rather than defending the authority of Scripture, the necessity of personal salvation, and the reality of supernatural truth, they embraced modernist theology, which reinterpreted Christianity as primarily a moral and social program. This theological shift culminated in denominational splits, with the more theologically conservative branches forming new fellowships (such as the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church in America), while the main body—eventually known as the PCUSA—continued down the path of doctrinal erosion. What we are seeing today in the closure of their missions arm is simply the bitter fruit of seeds planted long ago.
When a church ceases to believe in human sin, divine wrath, the exclusivity of Christ, and the necessity of personal conversion, it eventually ceases to believe in missions altogether. After all, if everyone is already basically good, and if Jesus is only one path among many, why bother calling anyone to faith and repentance?
The PCUSA’s decision to shutter its missions work is not the death knell of a once-faithful church. It is the death rattle of a religious system that abandoned biblical Christianity long ago.
Why Conversionism is a Good and Beautiful Thing
In contrast to the cynicism of modern liberalism, the instinct to share Christ—the heart of conversionism—is a beautiful act of love. It is not imperialism; it is compassion. If sin truly separates us from God, if judgment is real, and if salvation is found in Christ alone, then sharing the good news is not an act of arrogance but an act of mercy.
The great missionary movements of the past understood this. William Carey, Amy Carmichael, Adoniram Judson, Hudson Taylor—all were driven by the knowledge that eternity was at stake and that Jesus is a Savior mighty to save.
Moreover, conversion is not coercion. It is the free, Spirit-wrought transformation of the heart. It is the invitation to leave death behind and find life in the risen Christ. As Paul writes, "The love of Christ controls us" (2 Corinthians 5:14). Evangelism is nothing less than offering the world its only true hope.
A Call to Faithfulness
The future of Christianity does not belong to churches that apologize for the gospel, but to those who proclaim it with boldness, humility, and joy. The PCUSA's retreat is a warning: when the church surrenders the gospel, it soon has nothing left to say.
We must resist the cultural tides that seek to privatize or silence our faith. We must remember that the gospel is still "the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16).
The world does not need less conversion. It needs more. It needs Christ.
