2022 Christianity Today Finalist, Missions & Global Church Christians should make disciples as disciples. Christians who are engaged in missions regularly face ethical challenges. But the approaches and standards of modern missions often further complicate, rather than alleviate, matters. Modern missiology debates what actions constitute mission work, how to measure growth, and the difference between persuasion and coercion. In Virtuous Persuasion, Michael Niebauer casts a holistic vision for Christian mission that is rooted in theological ethics and moral philosophy. Niebauer proposes a theology of mission grounded in virtue. Becoming a skilled missionary is more about following Christ than mastering techniques. Christian mission is best understood as specific activities that develop virtue in its practitioners and move them toward their ultimate goal of partaking in the glory of God. With Virtuous Persuasion, you can rethink the essence of Jesus's Great Commission and how we seek to fulfill it.

Missionary medicine flourished during the period of high European imperialism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was considered the best and surest method to overcome the distrust of and gain access to the indigenous population in the so-called Muslim World. Through studying the medical activities and infrastructures of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in Persia and north-western British India, and building upon existing works on missionaries in the Middle East and British India, this book examines the practice of obtaining trust. A synthesis of Christian mission history, architectural history, emotions history and history of medicine and empire, Emotion, Mission, Architecture raises broader historical questions about the process of mobilising and regulating emotions in the Christian missionary contexts - contributing in turn to discussions on hybridity, missionary and local encounters, women's agency and the interactions between mission and empire.

The Christian life is many things, so it can be hard to know how exactly we should live it. Training is a guide to show new Christians just that-how you should live and grow. Walking through the basic spiritual disciplines, Training uses short stories to show how you can love God and your neighbor. What does it look like to follow Jesus, listen to God, talk to God, love your spiritual family and love the lost? That's what this book is all about.

Praise for "Church Unique"

"There is a screaming need today for leaders who will rise above quick fixes and generic approaches. Now, Will Mancini has brought an indispensable book to the church leader's toolbox, providing a thoughtful and creative process that will galvanize your team to unleash God's vision for your church."
--Howard Hendricks, chairman, Center for Christian Leadership;distinguished professor, Dallas Theological Seminary

"Will Mancini's vision for vision is contagious. "Church Unique" doesn't hold back--challenging existing paradigms, yes, but also providing new maps for churches to engage in God's mission."
--Ed Stetzer, director, LifeWay Research; coauthor, "Comeback Churches" and "Compelled by Love"

"If leaders are to steer the church through the challenges of the twenty-first century successfully, they will need help to negotiate the complexities of the spirituality, culture, history, and institutional structures that make up organizations. Will Mancini is a savvy navigator and "Church Unique" is an impressive blueprint for organizational renewal."
--Alan Hirsch, author, "The Forgotten Ways" and "The Shaping of Things to Come"; founding director, Forge Mission Training Network

"Will Mancini has done us all a great favor in releasing the practical ways he helps church leaders envision their own unique future.?His insights provide you the coaching you need to prepare for your next ministry chapter."
--Reggie McNeal, author, "The Present Future"

"If you don't know the unique purpose of your church, read this book now!"
--Jim Tomberlin, founder, Third Quarter Consulting; former regional pastor, Willow Creek Community Church

"Will Mancini's love for the local church and skill for facilitating vision makes this a must-read. He is a Sherpa, not a travel agent. He has the experience; he knows the trail."
--Lance Witt, founder, Replenish Ministries; former executive pastor, Saddleback Community Church

A weak gospel foundation leads to fragile missions practices. Understanding both the biblical foundations and biblical missionary practices is essential to joining the everyday mission of God.""
"Life on Mission" is a rich but simple guide that will help everyday missionaries (electricians, lawyers, church planters, students, etc.) in the areas of gospel and mission, which will lead to an effective ministry within one's own community. The content is adaptable to any context and can function well as an individual study or within a small group environment. "Life on Mission" not only delivers a robust gospel base with daily mission practices, but is threaded with engaging stories and powerful questions that help individuals to take their next steps to living life on mission.

When Oswald J. Smith wrote this book almost a hundred years ago he felt the most pressing need of the worldwide church was true revival-the kind birthed in desperate prayer and accompanied by deep conviction for sin, godly sorrow, and deep repentance, resulting in a living, victorious faith. If he were alive today he would surely conclude that the need has only become more acute with the passing years. The author relates how there came a time in his own ministry when he became painfully aware that his efforts were not producing spiritual results. His intense study of the New Testament and past revivals only deepened this conviction. The Word of God, which had proved to be a hammer, a fire and a sword in the hands of apostles and revivalists of bygone days, was powerless in his hands. But as he prayed and sought God in dead earnest for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, things began to change. Souls came under conviction, repented of their sins, and were lastingly changed. The earlier chapters of the book contain Smith's heart-stirring messages on the need for authentic revival: how to prepare the way for the Spirit's moving, the tell-tale signs that the work is genuine, and the obstacles that can block up the channels of blessing. These chapters are laced with powerful quotations from revivalists and soul-winners of former times, such as David Brainerd, William Bramwell, John Wesley, Charles Finney, Evan Roberts and many others. The latter chapters detail Smith's own quest for the enduement of power, his soul-travail, and the spiritual fruit that followed. In his foreword to this book, Jonathan Goforth writes, "Mr. Smith's book, The Revival We Need, for its size is the most powerful plea for revival I have ever read. He has truly been led by the Spirit of God in preparing it. To his emphasis for the need of a Holy Spirit revival I can give the heartiest amen. What I saw of revival in Korea and in China is in fullest accord with the revival called for in this book."

Lying at the very edge of the eighteenth-century city, behind high walls and forbidding gates, the Dublin Foundling Hospital was long viewed with horror and suspicion. Yet, following its closure, it seemed to have slipped from the city's memory. The Least of These uncovers the story of the Hospital, from its origins as a workhouse in 1703 during the Penal Laws to its demise in 1830. Its mission: to take in the children of poor Catholics and raise them as Protestants, loyal to king and empire. This was an institution where every infant was tattooed with an identification number, where thousands of children were fed opium and where, as with many foundling hospitals, the death toll was vast. But why did it endure for so long? And why did quite so many die? Based on original research, Mark B. Roe brings together eyewitness accounts, letters from desperate parents and individual life stories to finally bring the tragic story of Dublin's Foundling Hospital to light.

The life and times of C. S. Lewis's modern spiritual classic Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis's eloquent defense of the Christian faith, originated as a series of BBC radio talks broadcast during the dark days of World War Two. Here is the story of the extraordinary life and afterlife of this influential and inspiring book. George Marsden describes how Lewis gradually went from being an atheist to a committed Anglican-famously converting to Christianity in 1931 after conversing into the night with his friends J. R. R. Tolkien and Hugh Dyson-and how his plainspoken case for Christianity went on to become one of the most beloved spiritual books of all time.

This is the story of the birth and growth of Seattle's innovative Mars Hill Church, one of America's fastest growing churches located in one of America's toughest mission fields. It's also the story of the growth of a pastor, the mistakes he's made along the way, and God's grace and work in spite of those mistakes. Mark Driscoll's emerging, missional church took a rocky road from its start in a hot, upstairs youth room with gold shag carpet to its current weekly attendance of thousands. With engaging humor, humility, and candor, Driscoll shares the failures, frustrations, and just plain messiness of trying to build a church that is faithful to the gospel of Christ in a highly post-Christian culture. In the telling, he's not afraid to skewer some sacred cows of traditional, contemporary, and emerging churches. Each chapter discusses not only the hard lessons learned but also the principles and practices that worked and that can inform your church's ministry, no matter its present size. The book includes discussion questions and appendix resources. "After reading a book like this, you can never go back to being an inwardly focused church without a mission. Even if you disagree with Mark about some of the things he says, you cannot help but be convicted to the inner core about what it means to have a heart for those who don't know Jesus."-Dan Kimball, author,The Emerging Church "... will make you laugh, cry, and get mad ... school you, shape you, and mold you into the right kind of priorities to lead the church in today's messy world."-Robert Webber, Northern Seminary

What's so big about small groups? With proven results in drawing people into community and helping them grow to maturity in Christ, small groups have established themselves as a crucial ministry of the church to its members and its mission field. But whether leading a small group, coaching small group leaders or implementing a churchwide ministry, you need vision, knowledge and skill to minister effectively through small groups. Jeffrey Arnold knows the pressures of small group ministry, but he has also seen the power of small groups in many ministry settings. In this revised edition of The Big Book on Small Groups, he breaks down small groups so that you can see them from all angles. The first four chapters focus on the structure and benefits of a small group ministry. Further chapters explore the basics of Christian community--prayer, worship, Bible study, outreach and mission, as well as how to multiply groups. Resources for further reading, ideas for coaches and trainers, and curriculum to photocopy for small group sessions are also included. A constant companion throughout your small group ministry, The Big Book on Small Groups will give you the basics to get you going--and the support and nurture you need to make small groups effective as a strategy for outreach and discipleship.

Evangelism . The very word makes palms sweat and images spin: buttonholing in a city park, knocking on neighborhood doors, being conscripted into evangelistic campaigns, to say nothing of that annoying religious neighbor or coworker. We have met the evangelists-and they are not us. If evangelism is the welcome door to faith, why does it grate open on rusting hinges? Mark Teasdale has met these challenges and more. They come in the shape of students in his evangelism class. In Evangelism for Non-Evangelists he sympathizes with the perceptions and discomfort we bring to evangelism. But he also opens up a nonthreatening space for us to weigh what we believe the evangel of evangelism-the good news!-to be. And he helps us navigate our way toward expressing the gospel in a manner true to what we believe, authentic to who we are, and attractive and even compelling to others. For pastors, seminarians, church leaders, and lay people, here is a refreshing, practical, and companionable look at evangelism. It might even chart a course toward your own authentic evangelism.

More than ever, North America is being flooded by people from all around the world, many of them here illegally. How should the church respond to these sojourners among us? In Strangers Next Door professor of evangelism and church planting J. D. Payne introduces the phenomenon of migrations of peoples to Western nations and explores how the church should respond in light of the mission of God. As we understand and embrace the fact that the least-reached people groups now reside in (and continue to migrate to) Western countries, churches have unprecedented opportunites to freely share the gospel with them. This book includes practical guidelines for doing crosscultural missions and developing a global strategy of mission. It also highlights examples of churches and organizations attempting to reach, partner with, and send migrants to minister to their people. Discover how you can reach out to the strangers next door by welcoming them into God's family.

This is the definitive tribute to the life and legacy of Ruth and Billy Graham. Endorsed by the family and with a foreword by daughter Gigi Graham, it contains many photos and personal stories that have not been published before. The book release will coincide with Billy's 95th birthday. Billy Graham has preached the Gospel to more people in live audiences than anyone else in history - nearly 215 million people in more than 185 countries and territories. Hundreds of millions more have been reached through television, video, film, and webcasts. But behind this exceptional man, there was an equally exceptional woman. This new biography of Billy and Ruth Graham, endorsed by Billy himself and with a foreword by his daughter Gigi, focuses on the 10 core values that were foundational to the Graham ministry, and illuminates the quiet and impactful ministry of Ruth. The book contains many photos and personal stories that have not been published before. Billy Graham has received numerous awards and recognitions including Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) for his international contribution to civic and religious life, as well as the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation Freedom Award for contributions to the cause of freedom; the Congressional Gold Medal and the Templeton Foundation Prize for Progress in Religion. Billy is regularly listed by Gallup as one of the "Ten Most Admired Men in the World' and has appeared on the covers of Time, Newsweek, Life, and numerous other magazines and has been the subject of many newspaper and magazine feature articles and books. Billy Graham has three daughters, two sons, 19 grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren. He lives in the mountains of western North Carolina.

Rene Padilla is one of the premier representatives of orthodox evangelicalism in Latin America. He has consistently championed integral mission, a holistic understanding of Christian mission in which there is no artificial barrier between evangelisation and social responsibility. Biblical, faithful to Scripture, contemporary and inspirational, the core message of this updated classic remains just as urgent as when it was first published twenty-five years ago (Eerdmans, 1985). This revised version includes a new essay on the contemporary history of integral mission, a history that began with the Latin American Theological Fellowship, progressed within the Lausanne Movement, is bearing fruit globally through the Micah Network, and challenges evangelicals to address the major issues of our day.

Revival Fire - 150 Years of Revivals by Mathew Backholer features twelve detailed accounts of revivals from ten countries on five continents.
As a revival historian, the author through the use of detailed research, eye-witness accounts and interviews, presents some of the most potent revivals that the world has seen in the past one hundred and fifty years and tells the stories of those who lived through these spiritual awakenings and moves of the Holy Spirit which were days of heaven on earth
Read about the Prayer Meeting Revival that reverberated around the world, the Gold Coast Revival on the west coast of Africa, the Azusa Street Revival that ushered in the modern Pentecostal movement or the Pyongyang Great Revival where the Korean church, which was less than a generation old, swept the country
In every chapter, there are valuable lessons that can be learnt, alongside educational and inspiring conclusions that can be drawn from each historical account of revival. Discover how the Christians prayed, the Scriptures that they pleaded, the challenges faced and how they saw the blessing of God in their towns and cities as the Holy Spirit came down and convicted saints, converted sinners and transformed lives unto the praise and glory of God
The author makes many references to other lesser known revivals and brings facts to life through the use of detailed descriptions, statistics, interviews and eye-witness accounts; coupled with his broad and extensive knowledge of revival church history makes this book informative, and a truly inspirational read. Learn from the past, be challenged for the present and be inspired for the future
Mathew Backholer is the co-founder of ByFaith Media (www.ByFaith.org) and author of a number of books, including: Revival Fires and Awakenings, Understanding Revival, Global Revival and Revival Answers. As a revival historian, he documents, collates and records revivals from around the globe. He also films and co-presents ByFaith TV, which airs on more than a dozen Christian networks around the world. Mathew has travelled to more than forty nations researching revivals and carrying out mission work.

They were not professionals. They were not celebrities. We don't even know their names. We know very little about them, except that they were everyday people who were drawn to Jesus. When Jesus asked them to join him in his mission, they stepped up, answered the call, and went out in his name. And amazing things happened as a result. They were the 72. Pastor and evangelist John Teter explains how Jesus trains ordinary people to accomplish an extraordinary mission. He unpacks the story of the sending of the 72 to reveal how they were equipped in evangelism and discovered opportunities to herald God's kingdom in concrete and tangible ways. Filled with vivid stories of Teter's remarkable experiences in ministry and church planting, this book shows how we can live out God's call and witness the transformation of those around us. You too have been called by Jesus. Discover how God empowers you to play your part. Welcome to the 72.

The Reverend Howard Finster was twenty feet tall, suspended in darkness. Or so be appeared in the documentary film that introduced a teenaged Greg Bottoms to the renowned outsider artist whose death would inspire him, fourteen years later, to travel the country. Beginning in Georgia with a trip to Finster's famous Paradise Gardens, his journey - of which The Colorful Apocalypse is a masterly chronicle - is an unparalleled look at the lives and works of some of Finster's contemporaries: the self-taught evangelical artists whose beliefs and neuvres occupy the gray area between madness and Christian ecstasy. Bottoms draws us into the worlds of such figures as William Thomas Thompson, a handicapped ex-millionaire who painted a 300-foot version of the book of Revelation, Norbert Kox, an ex-member of the Outlaws biker gang who now paints apocalyptic visual parables; and Myrtice West, who began painting to express the revelatory visions she had after her daughter's brutal murder. Along the way, Bottoms weaves a powerful narrative, a work that is at once an enthralling travelogue, a series of revealing biographical portraits, and a profound meditation on the chaos of despair and the ways in which creativity can help order our lives.

The Missionary, the Catechist and the Hunter examines the role of Protestantism in the Danish colonisation of Greenland and shows how the process of colonisation entails a process of subjectification where the identity of indigenous population is transformed. The figure of the hunter, commonly regarded as quintessential Inuit figure, is traced back to the efforts of the Greenlandic intelligentsia to distance themselves from the hunting lifestyle by producing an abstract hunter identity in Greenlandic literature.

This collection of essays is committed to the belief that evangelicalism continues to have the historical assets and intellectual (hermeneutical and theological) tools able to contribute to the global church. Evangelicalism possesses assets with explanatory power to address significant theological and cultural issues arising out of the churches in the Global South. Evangelical approaches to contextualization and biblical studies can produce valuable fruit. Therefore in May 2008 over a dozen evangelical scholars (Chinese and Western) from the United States, Hong Kong and Taiwan, came together to address issues of Christian and evangelical identity. The Inter-Cultural Theological Conversation was titled Beyond Our Past: Bible, Cultural Identity, and the Global Evangelical Movement. This collection of papers from the conference demonstrates the value of the careful balancing of judicious appropriation of the social sciences and thorough biblical inquiry. Questions of evangelical identity in China and around the world are addressed from the disciplines of history, biblical studies, and systematic theology/contextualization.