Modality (theology)

Modality, in Protestant and Catholic Christian theology, is the structure and organization of the local or universal church.

These include missionary organizations and Christian charities not linked to specific churches.

Central to the dispute is whether the missionary travels of Paul the Apostle should be categorized as an expression of modality or sodality.

A practical consideration in the modality/sodality dispute is that certain Christian efforts, like translating the Bible into different languages, are difficult to organize and fund solely by local congregations in the absence of parachurch organizations.

Ralph D. Winter of the US Center for World Mission has argued that modes of modality and sodality are both necessary and will be most effective if they are supportive of one another.