Showing titles in Missions & Missionary Work

Duane Elmer asked people around the world how they felt about Western missionaries. The response? "Missionaries could be more effective if they did not think they were better than us". The last thing we want to do in cross-cultural ministry is to offend people in other cultures. Unfortunately, all too often and even though we don't mean it, our actions communicate superiority, paternalism, imperialism, and arrogance.

Our goal as Christians is never simply to build our own tribe. Instead, we seek the peace and prosperity of the city or community in which we live through a gospel movement led by the Holy Spirit, a movement united by the gospel of Jesus Christ, a common mission to reach and serve others, and a commitment to be gracious and generous to those who disagree with you. In Serving a Movement, best-selling author and pastor Timothy Keller looks at the nature of the church’s mission and its relationship to the work of individual Christians in the world.

As the transformational coach, one of Leanne’s greatest passions is equipping and empowering others to experience a transformation in their spirit, soul, body, and finances. Leanne is a power-packed minister on the subject of identity and destiny, as well as transforming cultures as priests and kings.

"In this life, I have lost. I lost my husband and best friend. My children lost their father. But Stephen didn't lose his life. He found it." Early one morning, just down the street from the local mosque, gunshots shattered the silence. A young American lay in a pool of blood, murdered by al-Qaeda extremists. When God called Emily and Stephen Foreman to bring the gospel to a Muslim nation where Christianity was illegal, they knew they were being called to a life of sacrifice. "We died before we came here" was their common refrain.

Many believe Charles Colson and Ellen Vaughn¿s The Body to be the watershed book of the past decade. It impacted the Church worldwide, encouraging Christians of diverse backgrounds to see themselves as part of the universal body of Christ. It challenged many to a new sense of unity, realizing that we blunt the Gospel message every time we divide over petty issues and personal turf.

Every day and everywhere, everyone can live a powerful life of Kingdom impact, Jesus-style! One ordinary life making a powerful difference - that's God's amazing 'Plan A' on display. Using real-life, riveting stories and a contemporary scriptural lens, Dwight Robertson shows how God's exciting kingdom-building plan takes life - literally - in ordinary individuals.

A spiritual biography of the "father of modern missions," Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret poses the question: What empowered Hudson Taylor's ministry in China? The answer: a fierce faith that believed God truly would fulfill the promises in His Word. Written by the missionary statesman's son and daughter-in-law, this book is intended for Christians who "need and long for just the inward joy and power that Hudson Taylor found."

Most Christians would agree that the Bible provides a basis for mission. But Christopher Wright boldly maintains that mission is bigger than that - there is in fact a missional basis for the Bible. The entire Bible is generated by and is all about God's mission. In order to understand the Bible, we need a missional hermeneutic of the Bible, an interpretive perspective that is in tune with this great missional theme. We need to see the "big picture" of God's mission and how the familiar bits and pieces fit into the grand narrative of Scripture.

“Reema Goode” and her family are Christians working in a closed Middle Eastern country where all of these things are true. Yet they are also firsthand witnesses of a whole new trend that is taking shape in missions to Muslims. Despite all obstacles, God is opening miraculous doors in the Islamic world, where an unprecedented number of Muslims are becoming followers of Jesus. Reema takes us deep inside her Arab neighborhood to show how God is opening doors in just one of many Islamic communities.

The Organic Outreach for Churches: Audio Lectures provides direction for local congregations to weave evangelism into the fabric of the church. Commitment to the Great Commission is not simply about sending money and praying for missions or holding occasional events to reach out (although these things are good). Organic outreach happens when evangelistic vision and action become the domain of every ministry and the commitment of every person in the congregation.

David Livingstone is primarily known as perhaps the most famous explorer of Africa, but he was so much more than that. He was a missionary and man of God who took the Gospel of Jesus Christ to some of the most dangerous, unreached, and rural places on earth. He faced spears and arrows, countless sicknesses, ferocious animals, and more perils than you or I can imagine. This classic biography, originally published in 1912, tells his story in a powerful way. It doesn’t just share the great adventures of Dr. Livingstone, but it shows the tender, human side of a seemingly superhuman man.

In Liturgical Mission, Winfield Bevins argues that the church's liturgy and sacramental life are in fact deeply missional. He explores the historic practices of the Christian church, demonstrating how they offer a holistic framework for everyday Christian discipleship and mission in the twenty-first century. The result is a book that not only invites all Christians back to the historic liturgy of the church, but also invites those already in liturgical churches to rediscover the missional life that has too often remained latent in their own traditions.

Some instruction is timeless. Regardless of the age in which we live, certain instruction carries no expiration on its relevance. Pastor, author, and leadership consultant Larry Osborne has discovered this to be the case with instruction on how to be a good leader. The best, most practical advice comes from the Bible, and in particular, 1 Peter 5:1-4. It's in this short passage where leaders are exhorted to shepherd the flock among them.

Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year. We live in conflicted times. Our newsfeeds are filled with inequality, division, and fear. We want to make a difference and see justice restored because Jesus calls us to be a peacemaking and reconciling people. But how do we do this? Based on their work with diverse churches, colleges, and other organizations, Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Graham Hill offer Christian practices that can bring healing and hope to a broken world.

Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary isn’t a book of theory. It’s an action plan to help you relate the message of Christ to the people you work around, live with, and call your friends. Using personal experiences, humor, compelling stories, biblical illustrations, and the latest research, Lee Strobel helps you to understand non-Christians and what motivates them.

Politics are being transformed by religion, namely in China - within the next 30 years, one-third of this potential superpower could be Christian. If this religious transformation occurs, China would be one of the largest Christian nations in the world.

I Am N reminds us that we are each “n”, or ن ― the Arabic letter radical Muslims use to identify followers of Jesus the Nazarene. Wherever we live, we have fellowship with those persecuted for their Christian witness — just like the individuals found in this book. So come meet their families. Hear their stories. And deepen your faith in a God who calls us to follow Christ's example of enduring suffering in order to fulfill God's redemptive mission.

Nearly all churches and ministries consider themselves dedicated to evangelism, and many explicitly include outreach in their mission statements. But few are actually bearing fruit. Kevin Harney diagnoses this problem and offers guidance for multiplying the outreach impact of churches. Organic Outreach for Churches provides direction for local congregations to weave evangelism into the fabric of the church. Commitment to the Great Commission is not simply about sending money and prayers to missions or holding occasional events to reach out (although these things are good).

A Just Mission examines evangelical mission from the perspective of the receiver, highlighting areas of weakness and naming injustices. Unveiling the negative impact of Western mission on the global church, Haddis addresses how white supremacy infiltrates and subverts mission organizations' good intentions, disrupting grassroots missions and local leadership development. Weaving together theology and Scripture with stories from people of color and diaspora groups, A Just Mission offers hope that the mission and message of Jesus can indeed become good news for all.

In Another Man's War, follow Sam Childer's remarkable transformation from violent thug to a man of faith, and his ongoing battle to save children in one of the world's most lawless areas.