12th May 2026
Stories
Bishop Saju on Missio Dei and Reimagining Mission for Modern England
The Bishop of Loughborough called Christians to recover a theological vision of mission rooted in God's own character — and to engage a bewildered world with the good news of Jesus.
During his Missional Leadership talk on Monday, the Rt Revd Saju Muthalaly, Bishop of Loughborough, returned to a foundational Latin phrase that he said reshapes everything: Missio Dei — the mission of God.
"It is the God of mission who has a church in the world," Bishop Saju explained. "It is not the church that has a mission, but God who has a mission." The distinction, he argued, is far more than semantic. It relocates the origin and authority of all Christian witness from institutional strategy to the very character of God.
From that theological foundation, Bishop Saju moved to the question of urgency. He described the present moment as one of bewilderment — a word he chose carefully to capture how seriously people today are wrestling with questions of faith. The reality of the kingdom of God, he said, is already present in the world, and that reality itself is the warrant for engagement in mission.
Drawing on the image of Dorothy's famous declaration in The Wizard of Oz, he observed that the church "no longer lives in Kansas" — the cultural landscape has shifted, and the church must respond with both faithfulness and imagination. "We live in a changing world where the church is changing," he said, pressing his listeners to ask what it means to live missionally and imaginatively in 2026.
A centrepiece of his talk was the figure of James Edward Lesslie Newbigin (1909–1998), the British theologian, missiologist, and longtime missionary to India. Bishop Saju highlighted Newbigin's return to Britain and his sharp-eyed observations about the state of mission in England during the 1970s and 80s — lessons which, he argued, carry direct relevance for the church today.
When asked to distil the entire talk to a single message, Bishop Saju was unequivocal: "God loves every human being, and he wants every person to know him and know his love. And that's why we ought to be engaging in sharing of this good news and being a witness to the resurrection of Jesus."
The Rt Revd Saju Muthalaly
Bishop of Loughborough, Diocese of Leicester (since 2022)
Born in Kerala, South India, Bishop Saju was ordained in the Church of England in 2008 after studying at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He leads the diocese's work on intercultural communities, racial equity, and vocations. Outside ministry, he is a keen cricketer, cook, marathon runner, and guitarist — and is married to Katy, with four children.
"God loves every human being and he wants every person to know him and know his love. And that's why we ought to be engaging in sharing of this good news and being a witness to the resurrection of Jesus."
— Bishop Saju Muthalaly, Bishop of Loughborough, speaking on missional leadership
