C. René Padilla (12 October 1932[1] – 27 April 2021[2]) was an Ecuadorian evangelical theologian and missiologist known for coining the term integral mission (Spanish: misión integral) in the 1970s to articulate Christianity's dual priority in evangelism and social activism.

[3] He later pursued a BA in philosophy and a MA in theology at Wheaton College, before completing a PhD in the New Testament from the University of Manchester, under F. F.

[4] His education and experiences with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship underscored Padilla's evangelical foundations and the priority he placed on the historical-critical approach to hermeneutics.

[3] However, in 1959, Padilla was appointed a traveling secretary in Latin America for International Fellowship of Evangelical Students.

In his work with universities throughout Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador, Padilla was faced with a tense sociopolitical context.