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Guidelines for Contributors

The IBMR is a peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to an analysis of Christian mission and the study of World Christianity. Articles that do not fall within the fields of Mission Studies, World Christianity, or Intercultural Theology will not be accepted. To be accepted, articles should be presented with academic rigor and care. This means that in addition to the quality of the text itself, an article should include supportive endnotes but not bibliographies. Articles of a general, popular, polemical, or exhortatory character are not accepted.

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Article themes range from mission history to analysis of current events and trends in world Christianity, and from mission theory and practice to mission theology or intercultural theology. Mission biography enjoys a special place in the profile of the IBMR, as does archival research.

Contributors can familiarize themselves with the diversity and breadth of the IBMR’s content and approach by reading back issues from across the full span of the journal’s publication. This will require you to have an individual or institutional subscription with SAGE.

Book reviews, a vital feature of the IBMR, are usually assigned by the editors. Unsolicited book reviews are rarely accepted. Guidelines for reviews can be furnished upon request.

Preparing and Submitting Article Manuscripts

Reference Style. All submissions should follow the Chicago Manual of Style (17th Edition), supplemented by the editorial guidelines of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL). Please refer to our Style Guide and Word List.

Format. Manuscripts (including endnotes) should be single-spaced, using a 12-point common font such as Times New Roman, with one-inch margins. Please do not use an author-date style of citation; all citation information must appear in endnotes. Endnotes are a sufficient guide for readers and researchers, so we no longer publish bibliographies.

Length. Articles are typically 3,000–7,000 words in length, including endnotes. Longer articles appearing in the IBMR have been approved by the editorial team.

Submission. Completed manuscripts adhering to these guidelines may be submitted via Sage at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ibmr. Please create a profile and follow the site instructions.

Other Details

Author identification. Articles accepted to be considered undergo an anonymized review process. Please remove identifying marks (your name, institution, etc.) from the article. Submit a separate document with a brief biographical note (1 or 2 sentences) indicating your current position (with full name and location of school or agency), missionary experience, if any (country, assignment, and years); and nationality.

Abstract and keywords. Please prepare a 100-word abstract and 4–6 keywords to submit with your article.

Author photo. Please e-mail a recent, professional quality, color photograph of yourself in JPG or TIF format to the managing editor (see below) for inclusion with the author identification. Images sent as e-mail attachments will need to be at least 300 DPI and should be at least 2 MB in size.

Article photographs. Whenever possible the IBMR will publish one or more photographs with your article. Detailed information regarding photographs will be sent to authors during the copy editing process.

Previous Publication

The IBMR publishes original articles and reviews. Articles and reviews that have been previously published in print or online will not be accepted. In submitting manuscripts to be considered for publication in the IBMR, authors certify that they have not previously appeared in print, been published in online journals or books, or been posted online; that they are not under consideration by another publication; and that if accepted for publication they will not be posted online or submitted to another publication without permission from the IBMR editor.

Further Questions

Additional queries may be sent to us at ibmr@ptsem.edu