1 Pam International Missionary Council M-Z, Burke Library, New York (henceforth Pam IMC, BL), ‘The first meeting of the International Missionary Council, Lake Mohonk, N.Y., Sept. 30–Oct. 6, 1921’, p. 8.

2 Robert, Dana L., ‘Shifting southwards: global Christianity since 1945’, International Bulletin of Missionary Research, 24, 2, 2000, p. 50 Google Scholar. For a numerical breakdown, see Table 1.

3 On the ‘absence of Africa’, see Stanley, Brian, The world missionary conference: Edinburgh 1910, Grand Rapids, MI: Wm B. Eerdmans, 2009, pp. 97–101 Google Scholar. On Africa in the history of the IMC, see Kallaway, Peter, ‘Education, health and social welfare in the late colonial context: the International Missionary Council and educational transition in the inter-war years with specific reference to colonial Africa’, History of Education, 39, 2, 2009, pp. 217–246 Google Scholar; Pobee, John S. and Ositelu, Gabiel II, African initiatives in Christianity: the growth, gifts and diversities of indigenous African churches: a challenge to the ecumenical movement, Geneva: WCC Publications, 1998 Google Scholar; Ugwuanya Nwosu, L., ‘African religion in ecumenical perspective’, Africa: Rivista trimestrale di studi e documentazione dell’Istituto italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente, 49, 2, 1994, pp. 161–179 Google Scholar; Utuk, Efiong, From New York to Ibadan: the impact of African questions on the making of ecumenical mission mandates, 1900–1958, New York: Peter Lang, 1991 Google Scholar.

4 Kenneth J. King, ‘Africa and the southern states of the USA: notes on J. H. Oldham and the American negro education for Africans’, Journal of African History, 10, 4, 1969, p. 659.

5 Berman, Edward H., ‘American influence on African education: the role of the Phelps-Stokes Fund’s education commissions’, Comparative Educational Review 15, 2, 1971, pp. 132–145 Google Scholar; Berman, Edward H., ‘Tuskegee in Africa’, Journal of Negro Education 41, 2, 1972, pp. 99–112 Google Scholar; King, Kenneth J., Pan-Africanism and education: a study of race, philanthropy and education in the southern states of America and East Africa, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971 Google Scholar; West, Michael O., ‘The Tuskegee model of development in Africa: another dimension of the African/African-American connection’, Diplomatic History, 16, 3, 1992, pp. 371–387 Google Scholar. For studies that emphasize Tuskegee’s connection to German colonialism, see Zimmerman, Andrew, Alabama in Africa: Booker T. Washington, the German empire, and the globalization of the new south, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010 Google Scholar; Beckert, Sven, ‘From Tuskegee to Togo: the problem of freedom in the empire of cotton’, Journal of American History, 92, 2, 2005, pp. 489–526 Google Scholar.

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9 See, among others, Dianne Savage, Barbara, ‘Benjamin Mays, global ecumenism, and local religious segregation’, American Quarterly, 59, 3, 2007, pp. 785–806 Google Scholar; Sawyer, Mary R., Black ecumenism: implementing the demands of justice, Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Pr Intl, 1994 Google Scholar; Sawyer, Mary R. ‘The Fraternal Council of Negro Churches, 1934–1964’, Church History, 59, 1, 1990, pp. 51–64 Google Scholar.

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12 Robert, ‘First globalization’, p. 58. For similar perspectives, see Hollinger, David, Protestants abroad: how missionaries tried to change the world but changed America, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2017, p. 79 Google Scholar; and Walls, Andrew F., ‘Cross-cultural encounters and the shift to world Christianity’, Journal of Presbyterian History, 82, 2, 2003, pp. 112–114 Google Scholar.

13 Indirect rule was a colonial form of governance that involved local authorities in expanding control into tribal communities. See, Mamdani, Mahmood, Citizen and subject: contemporary Africa and the legacy of late colonialism, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996 Google Scholar. On the limits of indirect rule, see Kirk-Greene, A. H. M., ‘The thin white line: the size of the British colonial service in Africa’, African Affairs, 79, 1980, pp. 25– 44 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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19 Macfarland, Charles S., ed., The churches of the Federal Council: their history, organization and distinctive characteristics and a statement of the development of the Federal Council, New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1916, p. 246 Google Scholar.

20 Hogg, Ecumenical foundations, p. 141.

21 Ecumenical missionary conference, New York, 1900, Report of the ecumenical conference on foreign missions held in Carnegie Hall and neighboring churches, April 21 to May 1, 1900, New York: American Tract Society, 1900, vol. 1, p. 10.

22 Ibid., pp. 469–72.

23 Justin Reynolds, ‘The questionnaire and the ecumenical ordering of Protestant missionary knowledge in the world missionary conference of 1910’, unpublished paper for ‘Mapping Entanglements’ conference, Washington DC, 10–11 February 2017, pp. 2–3. For missiology and its claim to scientific status, see Stanley, World missionary conference, ch. 1; and the essays in Patrick Harries and David Maxwell, eds., The spiritual in the secular: missionaries and knowledge about Africa, Grand Rapids, MI: Wm B. Eerdmans, 2012.

24 World missionary conference 1910, Report of commission III: education in relation to Christianisation of national life, Edinburgh: Oliphat, Anderson and Ferrier, 1910, pp. 302–3.

25 Gairdner, W. H. T., Echoes from Edinburgh: an account and interpretation of the world missionary conference of 1910, New York: Layman’s Missionary Movement, 1910, p. 17 Google Scholar.

26 Quoted in Howard Hopkins, C., John R. Mott, 1865–1955: a biography, Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979, p. 344 Google Scholar.

27 Oldham, Joseph H., ‘The editor’s notes’, International Review of Missions, 1, 1, 1912, p. 1 Google Scholar.

28 King, ‘Africa and the southern states’, pp. 661–2.

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33 ‘Constitution of the International Missionary Council’, reprinted in Mott, John R., Addresses and papers of John R. Mott, vol. 5, New York: Association Press, 1947, pp. 238–239 Google Scholar.

34 Ibid., p. 241.

35 Ibid, p. 239. In contrast to the ecumenical conference in New York in 1900, this financial bias was already in place in Edinburgh in 1910. See Stanley, Brian, ‘Twentieth-century world Christianity: a perspective from the history of missions’, in Donald M. Lewis, ed., Christianity reborn: the global expansion of evangelicalism in the twentieth century, Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, p. 79 Google Scholar.

36 ‘Constitution of the International Missionary Council’, p. 239.

37 ‘Adoption of the constitution of the International Missionary Council’, reprinted in Addresses and papers, vol. 5, p. 236.

38 ‘Extracts from the minutes of the meeting of the International Missionary Council held at Lake Mohonk, New York, October 1–6, 1921’, reprinted in Addresses and papers, vol. 5, p. 232.

39 IMC, Addresses and other records, New York: International Missionary Council, 1929 Google Scholar, The Madras series, vol. 7, pp. 87–93.

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41 Maclennan, Kenneth, Twenty years of missionary co-operation, London: Edinburgh House Press, 1927, p. 44 Google Scholar.

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44 Ibid., p. 17. On Asia, see Monshan Wu, Albert, ‘The quest for an “indigenous church”: German missionaries, Chinese Christians, and the indigenization debates of the 1920s’, American Historical Review, 122, 1, 2017, pp. 85–114 Google Scholar.

45 ‘What is the new strategy for the world mission? Views resulting from the recent annual meeting of the Foreign Missions Conference of North America held at Asbury, N.J.’, Voice of Missions, 40, 13, 1936, p. 7.

46 David Schermerhorn, William, The Christian mission in the modern world, New York: Abington Press, 1933, pp. 246–247 Google Scholar. For a concise overview on African initiated churches, see Killingray, David, ‘Passing on the gospel: indigenous mission in Africa’, Transformation, 28, 2, 2011, pp. 93–102 Google Scholar; and Kalu, Ogbu U., ‘African Christianity: from the world wars to decolonization’, in Hugh McLeod, ed., World Christianities c.1914–c.2000, vol. 9, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006, pp. 197–218 Google Scholar. For a fuller account, see Sanneh, Lamin and Carpenter, Joel P., The changing face of Christianity: Africa, the West, and the world, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005, part 1 Google Scholar.

47 Mott, John R., Cooperation and the world mission, New York: International Missionary Council, 1925 Google Scholar, p. 13.

48 Pam IMC, BL, ‘The first meeting of the International Missionary Council’, third session, 1 October 1921.

49 Jerusalem meeting of the International Missionary Council, 24 March–8 April 1928, The relationship between the younger and the older churches, New York: International Missionary Council, 1928, vol. 3, p. 3.

50 For connections to African Americans, see Riley Case, Jay, An unpredictable gospel: American evangelicals and world Christianity, 1812–1920, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012, ch. 7 Google Scholar; Campbell, James T., Songs of Zion: the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States and South Africa, New York: Oxford University Press, 1995 Google Scholar; Mutero Chirenje, J., Ethiopianism and Afro-Americans in Southern Africa, 1883–1916 , Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1987 Google Scholar; Burlacioiu, Ciprian, ‘Transatlantische Vernetzungen indigener christlicher Eliten am Beispiel der African Orthodox Church, 1920–1930’, in Ulrich van der Heyden and Andreas Feldtkeller, eds., Missionsgeschichte als Geschichte der Globalisierung von Wissen: Transkulturelle Wissensaneignung und -vermittlung durch christliche Missionare in Afrika und Asien im 17., 18. und 19. Jahrhundert, Stuttgart: Steiner Verlag, 2012, pp. 97–109 Google Scholar.

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52 Albright, L. S., The International Missionary Council: its history, functions and relationships, New York: International Missionary Council, 1946 Google Scholar, p. 11.

53 Jerusalem meeting, Relationship, p. 3.

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55 John R. Mott, ‘The race problem: address at the Australian Missionary Conference Melbourne, 12th April, 1926’, in Addresses and papers, vol. 5, p. 608.

56 Mott, Cooperation, p. 49.

57 ‘Constitution of the International Missionary Council’, p. 240.

58 World Mission of Christianity, Messages and recommendations, pp. 40 and 45.

59 Lenwood, Frank, ‘The International Missionary Council at Lake Mohonk, October 1921’, International Review of Missions, 11, 1922, p. 32 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

60 ‘First meeting of the International Missionary Council’, pp. 2–3.

61 Cf. Hogg, Ecumenical foundations, p. 203.

62 Speer, Robert E., Race and race relations: a Christian view of human contacts, New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1924 Google Scholar; Weatherford, W. D., The negro from America to Africa, New York: George H. Doran, 1924 Google Scholar; Jesse Jones, Thomas, Education in Africa, New York: Phelps-Stokes Fund, 1922 Google Scholar; Bryce, James, The relations of the advanced and backward races of mankind, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1902 Google Scholar; Gulick, Sidney L., American democracy and Asiatic citizenship, New York: Scribner, 1918 Google Scholar; Hoyland, John S., The race problem and the teaching of Jesus, London: Religious Tract Society, 1926 Google Scholar; Matthews, Basil, The clash of colour: a study in the problem of race, New York: George H. Doran, 1926 Google Scholar.

63 Fleming, J., ‘Relative racial capacities’, International Review of Missions, 12, 1923, pp. 112–121 Google Scholar.

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65 Ibid., pp. 10–12.

66 Ibid., p. 13.

67 Ibid., p. 20.

68 Ibid., pp. 218–31.

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71 Ibid., pp. 169–70.

72 Ibid., p. 227–9.

73 Fraser, A. G., ‘Impressions from Hampton Institute’, International Review of Missions, 1, 1912, pp. 704–713 Google Scholar.

74 Frissel, H. B., ‘The value of industrial education’, International Review of Missions, 4, 1915, pp. 420–431 Google Scholar; Washington, Booker T., ‘David Livingstone and the American negro’, International Review of Missions, 2, 1913, pp. 225–235 Google Scholar.

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77 Ibid., p. 708.

78 Guggisberg, Gordon and Fraser, A. G., The future of the negro: some chapters in the development of a race, London: Student Christian Movement Press, 1929, pp. 25 Google Scholar.

79 School of Oriental and African Studies, London, IMC Archives (henceforth SOAS, IMC), FBN 94, 267021, letter to Lionel Curtis, c/o Committee of Reference and Council, Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America, 2 November 1921.

80 Schermerhorn, Christian mission, p. 231.

81 ‘Missionaries study industrial schools in the south’, Voice of Missions, 40, 11, 1936, p. 6.

82 SOAS, IMC, FBN 94, 267021, G. W. Morrison to J. H. Oldham, re: a tour among some negro schools in the southern states of the USA, 1921.

83 For literature on the Phelps-Stokes commission on education in Africa, see n. 5.

84 BL, Missionary Research Library, International Missionary Council records (henceforth MRL, IMC), box 3, folder 2, Minutes, Lake Mohonk meeting, afternoon session, 3 October 1921.

85 Ibid.

86 SOAS, IMC, FBN 37, Fiche 3+4, letter to F. P. Turner, 27 March 1923, The National Archives, London, Colonial Office, CO 323/899/443, ‘Memoranda A, B, and C, revised September 1921 regarding the admission into India of aliens desiring to undertake missionary, educational, or other philanthropic work in India after the war’.

87 SOAS, IMC, FBN 37, Fiche 3+4, letter to F. P. Turner, 4 May 1923.

88 SOAS, IMC, FBN 37, Fiche 3+4, ‘Negroes in Africa’, memorandum of interview with Mr Bottomly at the Colonial Office, 22 March 1923.

89 ‘The American negro as a missionary’, Foundation, July 1929, p. 7.

90 W. E. B. Du Bois, ‘African missions’, Foundation, September 1932, p. 17.

91 ‘American negroes and Africa’, Foundation, May 1927, p. 19.

92 SOAS, IMC, FBN 37, Fiche 3+4, ‘Negroes in Africa’.

93 SOAS, IMC, FBN 37, Fiche 3+4, letter to F. P. Turner, n.d.

94 SOAS, IMC, FBN 37, Fiche 3+4, W. C. Bottomly to J. H. Oldham, 21 July 1923. For a detailed account on African American missionaries in east Africa, see Kenneth J. King, ‘The American negro missionary to east Africa: a critical aspect of African evangelism’, African Historical Studies, 3, 1, 1970, pp. 5–22.

95 Rhodes House Library Papers, J. H. Oldham Papers, mss Afr. S. 1829, box 10, file 2, item 1, ‘Christian education in Africa conference at High Leigh, Hoddesdon, 8–13 September 1924’, report and memorandum (1924). In 1925 conferences were held in London and Hartford. See Utuk, From New York, pp. 105–79.

96 SOAS, IMC/CBMS, box 216, folder ‘High Leigh conference, April 1924’, conference minutes.

97 SOAS, IMC, FBN 37, Fiche 3+4, letter to F. P. Turner, October 1925.

98 Smith, Edwin W., The Christian mission in Africa: a study based on the proceedings of the international conference at Le Zoute, Belgium, September 14th to 21st, 1926, New York: International Missionary Council, 1926 Google Scholar.

99 SOAS, IMC/CBMS, box 217, folder ‘consultative member reports’, John L. Dube, Report: the international conference in Le Zoute Belgium, from September 14 to 21, 1926, p. 2. The list of commission members is in Smith, Christian mission, p. 176.

100 Smith, Christian mission, pp. 122–3.

101 Ibid., pp. 123–4.

102 Killingray, David, ‘The black Atlantic missionary movement and Africa, 1780s–1920s’, Journal of Religion in Africa, 33, 1, 2003, p. 23 Google Scholar.

103 World Mission of Christianity, Messages and recommendations, pp. 32–3 and 44–5.