Partnership is a controversial concept in Protestant mission. This historical and missiological study traces the relations between Dutch and Indonesian churches from the colonial through the postcolonial era in the history of the Netherlands Missionary Council, the International Missionary Council and the World Council of Churches. Based on his research in missionary and ecumenical archives, the author sheds light on equality, mutuality and reciprocity in Dutch-Indonesian mission partnerships. He also discusses the changing role of missionaries in the twentieth century.

Wilbert van Saane is campus minister and lecturer in religion at Haigazian University in Beirut. He also serves as a part-time lecturer at the Near East School of Theology. He is an ordained minister in the Protestant Church in the Netherlands.