Gisbertus Voetius, a pioneer in Protestant missiology and a Dutch Reformed theologian, served the Lord from AD 1589 to 1676. He was a minister, theologian, and professor during a vital time in European Christianity called the Dutch Second Reformation or Further Reformation, a continuation of the Protestant Reformation in the Netherlands. Voetius was the first Protestant theologian to write a comprehensive missiological work. His significant contributions to the theology and work of the church include the founding and teaching at Utrecht University (1634-1676), involvement in the Synod of Dort or Dordrecht, the Dutch Reformed response to the Arminian doctrines and documents in the church, and several theological and missiological works which include Selectae Disputationes Theologicae (5 vols., 1648-1669) and Politica Ecclesiastica (3 vols., 1663-1676).¹

Voetius’ missiological position can be understood from his two multivolume works that were previously mentioned. However, these works were written in Latin and thus were incomprehensible for laypeople who did not know the language. Moreover, the works of Voetius were lost for over two hundred years until Abraham Kuyper helped to “[rediscover] and [dust them] in the Synod of Middelburg in 1896.”² The missiological components were then systemized by a missionary named H.A. Van Andal in his dissertation, De zendingsleer van Gisbertus Voetius (1912).³ Because of these two men, Voetius' work and his doctrine of mission are accessible to the public in multiple languages, yet English translations are almost nonexistent.⁴

A key point of Voetius’ missiology is that missions should be ecclesiastical endeavors. In other words, “[only] apostles and assemblies such as synods have the right to establish missions; it is not the right of the pope, nor princes and magistrates, nor companies to do so.”⁵ This belief contradicts William Carrey’s, the Father of Modern Missions, doctrine of parachurch agencies carrying the Gospel to the lost, unreached nations of the world.⁶ However, like Carrey, Voetius believed that the Great Commission is relevant for all believers who can share the good news, with the difference that missionaries' endeavors must be approved and commissioned by a church body. More specifically, Van Andal writes that Voetius believed “the mandate for mission and the fulfillment thereof lies in Matthew 28:19; only partially fulfilled in the extraordinary apostolic era, but to be continued by the church in the ordinary cause of history.”⁷ The missiological doctrine of missions being fundamentally ecclesiastical received opposition from many during Voetius’ time. The opponents of strict ecclesiastical missions condemned Voetius for being too similar to Roman Catholics in terms of missiology.⁸ They may not be wrong, as Voetius quoted many Catholic and Protestant theologians in his works.⁹

Another key concept of Voetius’ missiology is the broad scope of the term mission. Voetius believed that “almost all actions taken by the church could be considered part of its mission. Primarily, the mission would involve “the establishment of the ministry of the Word by the instituted church,” and secondarily, it meant “‘being sent’ to the ‘pagan’ world.”¹⁰ Indeed, he is correct as the Scriptures found deep within both the gathering of the church body and going out to the nations are central to Protestant Christian life. If the church is faithful to the Scriptures, then the Mission of God is being carried out and accomplished. This is because when one focuses on the Scriptures as they do in all aspects of the Christian life, they also focus on missions. If the Scriptures are genuinely a missiological work, as it has been commonly said, and Christians are supposed to focus on them in all things, then all things are missiological. This idea is reflected by the Apostle Paul when he concurs that the Scriptures are essential to the evangelism of the lost:

Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!’ … So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.¹¹

It is essential to notice that Paul says a preacher must preach the Word for the lost to come to faith. This is the same task that pastors perform in their pulpits. The Scriptures are essential to and preached by the pastor and the missionary as they sanctify the believer and lead the lost to saving faith. Romans 10:13-15 explains, “[t]he means by which mission should be done, is first and foremost the proclamation of God’s Word.”¹² Therefore, Voetius’ belief that the Christian mission is a broad task is correct and authenticated by the Scriptures.

The doctrine of God is also central to Voetius’ missiology. God accomplishes His mission with His power and means, yet He chooses to work through fragile humans. Voetius believed that “God incorporates (calls and sends) humans, particularly his Church, as organs in proclaiming his Word to the elect. In this regard, and unlike Catholic teaching, calling and sending (vocatio and missio) are considered synonyms. To be called as a minister would simultaneously mean to be sent as a missionary.”¹³ Again, this confirms Voetius’ belief in the Great Commission. For Voetius, to be called automatically mandates one to be sent, as the two terms come from the same decree of God and are synonymous. Because God works by His power through humans, His glory is the goal of missions. This is achieved “in the salvation of sinners, the gathering of the elect, and in the expression and fulfillment of God’s free and sovereign grace.”¹⁴ The emphasis on God’s elect in Voetius’ missiology demonstrates His focus on “God’s will, both hidden and revealed, [as] the basis of mission. The hidden will of God is God’s eternal decree by which God has predetermined who will be saved. The revealed will of God consists of the promises of salvation (i.e., Isa. 49 and 60), and the call to mission (Matt. 28:19).”¹⁵ However, Voetius chose to leave reprobation out of his missiological works, although he most definitely believed in some form of the doctrine, and instead focused only on “election and salvation, and the manifestation of the glory of God’s grace.”¹⁶ This is because loving and gracious evangelism is the heart of missions, consisting “in the proclamation of salvation in Christ to nonbelievers, in announcing forgiveness of sins, in calling people to repentance and faith in Christ, in inviting them to become living members of Christ’s earthly community, and [in beginning] a new life in the power of the Holy Spirit.”¹⁷

Alongside God’s election and sovereignty, the Trinity is essential in Voetius’ missiology. God’s power and will are characterized by His Three-in-One status. His Mission, the Missio Dei, is accomplished through the three Divine Persons of the Trinity. These Persons have eternal love and glorification for Each other, and “[if] the very life of the triune God is characterized by love, communion, care, and moving beyond the boundaries of the ‘self’; then the church is called to participate in this movement of the ‘affirmation of the other,’ mutuality and relationship.”¹⁸ To clarify, the “moving beyond the boundaries of the self” does not mean that God moves beyond Himself in His essence, but that the Persons of the Trinity exist to glorify and love Each other. They are not selfish but self-giving. Missions, therefore, are characterized by loving, self-giving actions and the preaching of the Word to win the lost. 

Voetius’ missiological position on the use of Scripture in conversion kept him from coercing the lost to convert through the means of the sacraments. He denied the Roman Catholic doctrine, ex opere operato or “out of the work performed,” and chose to persuade the lost through the Scriptures rather than to use “the sacraments as a mechanical means of infusing grace into persons.”¹⁹ His high view of Scripture kept him from works-based heresy.  This stance explains Voetius’ position at the Synod of Dort when the baptism of the children of unbelieving parents was debated.²⁰ They decided against baptizing the infants and children, not because they were advocates of credobaptism but because their parents were not yet a part of God’s visible covenant. 

Voetius held that newly planted churches should not be “subordinated to the sending churches of Europe.”²¹ This belief goes hand in hand with his view of ecclesiastical missions. Upon interpretation, one may conclude this to be a weakness of Voetius’ missiology as new churches often fall into theological error due to their lack of understanding of the Scriptures. It would be far more appropriate to guarantee and strengthen the faithfulness and orthodox doctrines of the new church before leaving it to its own. The new churches should have some autonomy as a church body but should still be under the care of their missionary elders, at least for a time. However, this critique can be refuted by Voetius' idea: “[the new church’s] order or form cannot be prescribed by the planting church, and the new relationship should be a coordinated one, voluntarily.”²² In other words, the sending church has no jurisdiction over the new, but they can still encourage orthodox doctrine through voluntary relationships. 

While Voetius remains relevant for many theological and missiological contributions, “The one facet of Voetius’ missiology that would have the greatest impact on future scholars of missiology… was his exposition of the threefold goal of mission.”²³ Initially, Voetius determined seven mission goals, but he later combined them into three for brevity. Summarily, the three goals are the collection and safety of the elect (collectio et salus electorum), the gathering and constitution of a church or churches (collectio et constitution ecclesiae aut ecclesiarum), and the glory and manifestation of divine grace (gloria et manifestatio gratiae divinae).²⁴ The three goals can also be considered sequential steps in accomplishing the Great Commission. The missionary is to make disciples that eventually constitute a church, all to God’s glory. 

It is a shame that much of Voetius's work is untranslated in English, as there is much to learn about theology and, indeed, missiology from him. Although he was a sinner like everyone else, his missiology is characterized by love and zeal for the Most High, and Christians would be wise to read his work where it is available.