A Theological Introduction to the Witness of the Church within the Mission of God

Mission is God's work. God spoke the first promise of gospel hope, sent his Son into this fallen world, and commissioned his Spirit to empower his church for witness. Until the day Christ returns, God has called his people to participate in his mission through evangelism, apologetics, church planting, cultural engagement, gospel suffering, and many other activities that faithfully communicate gospel hope in Christ.

This practical introduction provides a biblical framework for understanding the church's role in God's mission. It reviews the biblical story of God's mission, draws insights from the church's witness since Pentecost, and studies aspects of contemporary Christian witness. Each chapter ends with study questions to encourage further reflection and discussion by church members and ministry leaders. Readers will gain refreshing insights into how they can participate in faithfully bearing witness to Christ through the church's work in the world today.

• Confessional and Contemporary: Precisely defines the biblical aspects of God's mission and Christian witness, built upon time-tested theology, yet freshly applied for witness in the post-Christendom world
• Accessible: Written for church members, college and seminary students, ministry workers, and church leaders who are committed to creating a community that bears witness to Christ in an unchurched society
• Practical and Motivational: Clear and crisp writing style, enhanced by many helpful figures and charts, and infused with a gospel passion to declare God's glory among the nations
• Spurs Discussion: Thought-provoking study questions at the end of each chapter to encourage further reflection and faithful action
• Winner, 2024 The Gospel Coalition Book Award (Missions and Global Church)
• Runner-Up, 2024 Christianity Today Book Award (Missions and Global Church)

In an age of deconstruction and rethinking, the Church should not be surprised to find itself confused by words like mission, missions, and missionary. Some struggle to redefine these categories and some seek to reclaim them, while others reject them outright, with or without providing new terms to guide us forward.

But words and their meaning matter; our confusion has a cost. Competing priorities pressure us to stretch our mission definitions as wide as they can go, releasing our people to creatively engage in service of every description. Some churches turn away from traditional mission efforts all together, giving preference to local service and evangelism while outsourcing any cross-cultural effort to those who surely must be more effective than we would be.

As an unfortunate result of these tendencies, many of our churches lack a coherent, compelling sense of what we're all about as we engage with the world. And if we lose our scriptural moorings, how far will our missions efforts drift?

Matthew Ellison and Denny Spitters call us to refocus our gaze on the gospel and the Great Commission. They assert that thinking must come before doing and shape our world mission practices and priorities. When Everything Is Missions is for church and ministry leaders and all who look to clarify their own answers to questions like these:

• What is the mission of God?
• What is the mission of the Church?
• Is every Christian a missionary?

Embark on a transformative journey of faith and courage with Unleash Your Bravery: Saying Yes to Jesus Even When You're Afraid. In this compelling and inspiring book, Heidi Elizarraraz, a seasoned missionary to Mexico, shares profound insights drawn from two decades of adventures, challenges, and unwavering commitment to following Jesus.

Unleash Your Bravery is not just a book; it's a guide to living boldly in the face of fear and uncertainty. Through captivating stories, biblical wisdom, and practical guidance, Heidi explores the essence of true bravery-a bravery rooted in surrendering to God's plan and saying yes to Jesus even when trembling with fear.

The remarkable true story of renowned Chinese Christian Brother Yun

This is the gripping story of how God took a young, half-starved boy from a poor village in Henan province and placed him on the front line for Jesus, in the face of impossible odds. Instead of focusing on the many miracles or experiences of suffering, however, Yun turns his gaze to and centers his story on the character and beauty of Jesus. Interspersed with his personal account are contributions from his wife, Deling, made mostly during her husband's frequent periods of imprisonment.

This dramatic autobiography of one of China's dedicated, courageous, and intensely persecuted house church leaders is a watershed book that will turn the reader to prayer and praise. It deserves comparison with past classics such as Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand, or the Life of Watchman Nee.

The unforgettable true story of five evangelists who sacrificed everything for their faith.

Elisabeth Elliot, beloved Christian author of Let Me Be a Woman and A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael, shares the story of five missionaries who were brutally killed in Ecuador--one of whom was her husband, Jim Elliot.

In 1956, five young men traveled deep into the jungles to establish communication with the fierce and isolated Waorani tribe. In a nearby village, their wives huddled around a radio receiver, eagerly awaiting news of the historic encounter. The news they received sent shock waves around the world and changed their lives forever.

Be inspired by these martyrs' powerful examples of:

• Courage to share the Gospel in the face of danger
• Trust in God
• Repaying cruelty with forgiveness

Through Gates of Splendor is a powerful wake-up call to all who may feel reluctant about serving Christ.... God used this book to change my life. - Chuck Swindoll

Sojourners are people who venture far from home to live in a foreign place and culture. They have amazing adventures and experience significant fulfillment, but along with the adventure and fulfillment comes a unique set of stressors, losses, and struggles: struggles in understanding a different culture, a new language, a new identity and in figuring out how to balance many demands with legitimate personal needs. Fatigue is a frequent and understandable result.

This workbook is designed to help the new sojourner, or an experienced one, to develop personal skills for managing the stress, mourning the losses, and crafting a lifestyle that leads to sojourner health on every level.

Throughout each chapter, psychologically based coping skills are integrated with Scriptural truth and spiritual disciplines to provide a foundation for healthy cross-cultural living and effective relationships that last for the long term.

What happens when a nineteen-year-old boy leaves home and heads into the jungles to evangelize a murderous tribe of South American Indians?

For Bruce Olson, it meant capture, disease, terror, loneliness, and torture. But what he discovered by trial and error has revolutionized then world of missions.

Living with the Motilone Indians since 1961, Olson's efforts have sent a spiritual ripple around the world that reaches deep into the hearts of mission-minded Christians and anthropologists as well as the government of Columbia.

Bruchko, which has sold more than 300,000 copies worldwide, has been called more fantastic and harrowing than anything Hollywood could concoct. Olson has won the friendship of four presidents of Colombia and has made appearances before the United Nations because of his efforts. Bruchko includes the story of his 1988 kidnapping by communist guerrillas and the nine months of captivity that followed.

This revised version of Olson's story will amaze you and remind you that simple faith in Christ can make anything possible.

[Bruchko is] an all-time missionary classic. Bruce Olson is a modern missionary hero who has modeled for us in our time the reaching of the unreached tribes. --Loren Cunningham Co-founder, Youth With A Mission

At its beginning Christianity was surprising, powerful, creative, world-shaking. Today in the West it is many times familiar, common, and expected, losing its power to surprise and transform. We have developed societal amnesia and ignorance of what Christianity originally was - and what it still can be. We need to recover the surprise of Christianity. We need to ask the same fundamental questions as the early Christians, which will help us rediscover the surprising power of Christianity in our midst. Focusing on the surprise of the gospel message takes us into the heart of what it is to understand Christianity at all, and thus what it is to remember and relearn the life-giving power and witness that went with being Christian at the beginning. This remembering and relearning can, in turn, surprise us all over again and chart a course for our witness today.

The meals of Jesus represent something bigger. They represent a new world, a new kingdom, a new outlook.

Tim Chester brings to light God's purposes in the seemingly ordinary act of sharing a meal--how this everyday experience is really an opportunity for grace, community, and mission. Chester challenges contemporary understandings of hospitality as he urges us to evaluate why and who we invite to our table. Learn how you can foster grace and bless others through the rich fare being served in A Meal with Jesus.

Features in Catalyst Services' Best Missions Books of 2022 list

Payne offers a taste of a theology of mission that serves the church and beginners very well. --Themelios

God's mission is on every page of Scripture

In Theology of Mission: A Concise Biblical Theology, J. D. Payne traces the theme of mission throughout Scripture. The Bible is a story of God's mission. God takes initiative to dwell with humanity. He desires to be known. To this end, he sends and is sent. Through Christ, God redeems sinful humans and recreates the cosmos. And he has invited his people to join in this mission.

Payne shows that God's mission is on every page of the Bible and is foundational to the church's own existence. With reflection questions following concise chapters, all readers can consider their place in God's work.

Perspectives on the World Christian Movement presents a multi-faceted collection of readings exploring the biblical, historical, cultural, and strategic dimensions of world evangelization. Writings from more than 150 mission scholars and practitioners (over 60 of them new to this edition) portray the history and anticipate the potential of the global Christian movement. Every one of the 170 articles and side bars offers practical wisdom enabling Christians to labor together in bold, biblical hope to finish the task of seeing that Christ is named and followed among all the peoples of the earth. The Fourth Edition contains over 60 articles and sidebars that are new to this edition. Many articles have been updated and revised.

Christ's Faithfulness for Our Fruitfulness

Amid life's constant change and uncertainty, the call to serve in the Great Commission can often feel overwhelming and isolating. How can one maintain steadfastness and joy through the pressures and obscurities of such a calling? The answer is found not in the strength of our own efforts but in a deep, transformative truth often overlooked due to its simplicity: life in Christ.

In Great Commission Spirituality, E. D. Burns skillfully unfolds the peace-giving assurance of our union with Christ. This weighty truth provides not only the foundation but also the force behind our endeavors, allowing us to labor with confidence even in barren fields. By emphasizing that Christ lives in and works through us, Burns reassures readers that true fruitfulness in ministry comes from abiding in Christ, who orchestrates our work by his Word and perfect timing. This resource offers a robust theological framework paired with practical applications.

This book encourages any layperson, church leader, or missionary burdened by their vocation and calling to rediscover the joy of serving in reliance on Christ. Whatever your season of life or place of service, may this renew your vision and strengthen your soul with the unchanging truth of Christ's life within you.

La RVR 1960 Biblia económica de evangelismopresenta el texto de la Reina Valera Revisada 1960 a un precio económico.

Esta es la herramienta perfecta para cualquier persona que busca tener el texto completo de la Biblia a un precio accesible. Esta edición incluye el plan de salvación y otras características que la hacen el recurso perfecto para cada creyente.

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Reina Valera 1960 Economic Bible

The Reina-Valera 1960, Economic Edition features the text of the beloved RVR 1960 available at a low cost. This is the perfect tool for anyone looking to have the full text of the Bible at an affordable price. This edition contains the plan of salvation, as well as other features that make it the perfect resource for every believer.

This edition contains:

• The plan of salvation
• Concordance
• Other features that make it the perfect resource for every believer

Almost all the direction you have been given to discover your calling in life is backward.

You don't make a reliable guide for yourself so why start with yourself to find your purpose? To live for the things that will last forever, start with someone who is everlasting and then discover how to live life backward.

Has the God who prepared the gospel for all people groups also prepared all people groups for the gospel?

Don Richardson, author of the bestselling book Peace Child, has studied cultures throughout the world and found startling evidence of belief in the one true God within hundreds of them. In Eternity in Their Hearts, Richardson gives fascinating, real-life examples of ways people groups have exhibited terms and concepts in their histories that have prepared them for the gospel. Read how Pachacuti, the Inca king who founded Machu Picchu, the majestic fortress in Peru, accomplished something far more significant than merely building fortresses, temples, or monuments. He sought, reached out, and found a God far greater than any popular god of his own culture. And there have been others throughout the world, like him, who lived to receive the blessing of the gospel.

Get ready to be amazed at these intriguing examples of how God uses redemptive analogies to bring all men to Himself, bearing out the truth from Ecclesiastes that God has also set eternity in the hearts of men (3:11).

The gospel of Jesus has not always been good news for Native Americans. But despite the far-reaching effects of colonialism, some Natives have forged culturally authentic ways to follow Jesus. In his final work, Richard Twiss surveys the complicated history of Christian missions among Indigenous peoples and voices a hopeful vision of contextual Native Christian faith.

In 1920, Henry B. (H.B.) Garlock and some months later his bride, Ruth, traveled to West Africa to bring the gospel to a place known as the white man's grave. Before We Kill and Eat You tells the Garlocks' fascinating real-life story of faith and calling in the face of malaria, cannibals and witch doctors. Readers will be inspired and encouraged by tales, as if taken straight from the book of Acts, of blind men healed and of people raised from the dead. Though many of their colleagues before them succumbed to death, H.B. and Ruth persevered in the midst of unbelievable hardship to reap an incredible harvest of believers that continues to this day.

You become who you follow.

It's time to upgrade the voices in your life. Many times we forget that others have went before us and faced the same obstacles to obeying God as we do. Nothing is more inspiring than the stories of faithful Christians who gave everything and considered it joy to join God in changing the world. The Traveling Team has developed the Mobilization Series to help equip a new generation of goers and senders to obey God and to multiply their vision into those around them. Here I Am God, Send My Sister is a short look into the lives of eleven of the most influential women missionaries in history and what we can learn from their lives. Read the stories of these remarkable leaders who shaped missions. Spanning several decades, these women teach us how to walk closely with God and live out our faith in our unique time and space.

In Leading Healthy, Growing, Multiplying Small Groups, Rod Dempsey and Dave Earley make the process of forming your own small group attainable. They demonstrate the necessity of small groups, and then teach their readers how to structure a new group. Dempsey and Earley share their passion for discipleship and Christ-centered community, and show others how they can further the Great Commission in their own lives. From local churches to neighbors and extended families, Dempsey and Earley encourage their readers to reach out to those around them. Leading Healthy, Growing, Multiplying Small Groups provides the wisdom and tools to transform your community.