Subject headings related to missions and world Christianity are many and varied. The most basic forms are:
- Missions--[name of country]
- [name of country]--Church history
In the interests of simplicity and standardization, a set of approximately fifty subject headings is drawn upon for base level cataloging of missions material in Orbis. These are the most commonly used subject headings in Orbis:
For sending agencies, the impact of Western missions:
- Missions--[name of country]
- Missions--Agricultural work
- Missions--Educational work
- Missions--Industrial work
- Missions--Linguistic work
- Missions--Theory
- Missions, Medical--[name of country]
- Missions to the blind
- Missions to Jews
- Missions to lepers
- [a people group]--Missions to
- Missionaries, Medical
- Missionaries--[name of country]--biography
- Missionaries--Training of
- Women missionaries
Integrating Christianity into non-Western context:
- Christianity and culture--[name of country]
- Church and social problems--[name of country]
- Church work with the poor--[name of country]
Indigenous church bodies, actions, groups, etc:
- [name of country]--Church history
- Christianity--[name of country]
- Christian sects--[name of country]
- Catholic Church--[name of country]
- [denomination]--[name of country]
- Pentecostal churches--[name of country]
- Christian education--[name of country]
- Christian literature, [language]
- Christian literature--Publication and distribution--[name of country]
- Evangelistic work--[name of country]
- Theology, doctrinal--[name of country]