Lesslie Newbigin began his career as a missionary to Madras, India, with the Church of Scotland in 1933, where, as an evangelist, he worked to bring about unity among the various church and mission organizations. At the age of 37, he became one of the first bishops in the newly formed Church of South India. He was elected chairman of the International Missionary Council in 1958, and helped bring about the integration of the IMC into the World Council of Churches. In 1965 he became Director of the WCC Division of World Mission. In 1974 he began five years of service as Professor of Missiology and Ecumenism at the Selly Oak College in Birmingham. He died in 1998.

Newbigin was a prolific and influential theologian and writer. Some of his best-known works include The Household of God, The Open Secret: Sketches for a Missionary Theology, Foolishness to the Greeks, and The Gospel in a Pluralist Society.