Today the world is as close as an airplane flight. Thousands take advantage of this, going for short visits to other countries to be more involved in God's worldwide mission. How can you prepare for such a trip? What are the hazards to avoid and the opportunities to embrace? Here is field-tested advice you should not leave home without Mack and Leeann Stiles are veteran leaders of more than a dozen two-month mission trips that have taken them around the globe. Their practical advice, hard-won lessons and hilarious stories will help you know what to expect as you get ready to see God in action in new ways. This book offers you the keys to establishing partnerships with sending churches learning from your hosts in the countries you visit becoming a culturally sensitive person overcoming the shortcomings of short-term missions growing a servant spirit learning to trust God, your hosts and yourself facing injustice with realism and compassion speaking about Jesus in a way that makes sense in a new culture dealing with reentry culture shock when you get back home Short mission trips can put feet on your knowledge of God and give you a God-sized picture of the world. In the process of going you will grow, and even though you may feel inadequate or scared, you will also give much to those you go to.

The word "evangelism" evokes strong reactions among Christians. Conflict about what it is, whether to do it, how to go about it, and the desired results divides churches, demonstrating the need for new theologies and methods that address today's religiously pluralistic and secular contexts. This book offers a comprehensive treatment of evangelism, from biblical models to contemporary practice. Frances Adeney shows that understanding different contexts and approaches to evangelism and accepting the views of others on this crucial topic can help replace the "evangelism wars" (social action vs. proclamation) with a more graceful approach to sharing God's good news with the world.

In 1875 the Livingstonia Mission landed on the west shore of Lake Nyasa. The first advance of the missionaries into Ngoniland was in 1878, and this 1899 work describes the enforced setting up of the mission among the Ngoni people, warriors of the Zulu race.

This collection of historical and theological essays re-assesses the centenary history of the Church Missionary Society by Eugene Stock and of the strategic vision of Henry Vann, one of the two architects of the Three-Self theory of the indigenous church. There are chapters on the close links between the CMS and the Basel Mission, female missionaries, and regional studies of Samuel Crowther and the Niger mission, Iran, the Middle East, New Zealand, India and Kikuyu Christianity. The text makes a contribution to literature on indigenization of missionary traditions and should be of interest to historians of the missionary movement and non-Western Christianity, as well as to theologians concerned with religious pluralism and mission.

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Gender, Culture and Global Politics

The first full-length biography of Rev. Long, one of the most remarkable Protestant missionaries working in India in the 19th century, examining his work and activities in the context of his own background, philosophy and motivation as well as the political and cultural climate of the day.

As the twentieth century passed its midpoint and was rushing toward its end, a growing number of Majority World theologians came to realize that they could in fact do theology in their own contexts for the benefit of their own people. Thus, from the 1960s onward, theologians in the global South have embarked on a form of theological construction that has sometimes been described as 'contextual' reflection or 'contextualized theology'. This volume is motivated by the conviction that these efforts have resulted in theological work that is also beneficial for Christians in other parts of the world. The editors have invited Majority World theologians to share their reflections on several themes of Christian faith from their own socio-historical perspectives but with an unswerving commitment to the authority of Scripture. It is hoped that these fresh reflections will help Christians in the West to engage and benefit from the perspectives of fellow believers in the global South.

Christian missions in Africa are commonly seen as a blatant example of ethnocentrism. This stereotype partly persists because the day-today interaction between missionaries and Africans has so rarely been studied. This book shows how Africans and missionaries co-produced a Catholic Church in the Uluguru mountains of eastern Tanzania in the late colonial period, and thereby adapted each others' routines in the fields of initiation, education, magic, and religion in Africa by showing how the presence of the mission resulted in a rift between spiritual and worldly magic, and in the underdevelopment of the capacity of Waluguru to mange their own practices of revelation.

Dynamic author with great platform, regularly invited to speak at events and run seminars both inside and outside of the church.

The word-wide impact of evangelicalism has long been recognized as a vital force. Providing both a clear and accessible guide to the recent literature, this introduction examines the revival in the British Isles during the 18th and 19th-century within a broadly international context.
By investigating the nature of the revival and emphasizing its link with popular culture, this analysis explores the centrality of religion in this period. Posing questions such a "how far was the revival a threat to order?" And "what was its influence on society?" This work provides an introduction to the topic for all A-level and undergraduate students of 18th and 19th-century British history.

Its momentum building, the "Jesus Movement" is unfolding, with Episcopalians longing to embody our branch of the movement in the world. John Newton's contribution is this look at God's reckless love. His aim is not for the head, but for the heart, to connect people with their passion and love for Jesus Christ, reawakening what may be dormant, because ultimately, it is not clever ideas but passion that mobilizes people. The Jesus Movement is not about our move toward God, but about a God who is for us in Christ Jesus, constantly moving toward fragile and broken humanity, recklessly loving us in all seasons and circumstances. Newton draws heavily from the gospels, and speaks to the grace of God in Jesus Christ. Each chapter begins with a gospel passage used to challenge the way we think about God, love, morality, grace, mission, evangelism, and the church. Three discussion questions in each chapter and the book can be used as a 10-week study, with groups discussing two chapters at a time. Chapters are intentionally short, and each unpacks a specific episode in Jesus's life that illuminates the reckless love of God in Christ.

Now available in paperback! This biography is the compelling story of Amanda Berry Smith, a former slave and washer-woman with less than a year of formal education who rose to become one of the nineteenth century's most important and successful Christian evangelists. Based on letters published in Christian newspapers, copies of her own newspaper The Helper, and numerous public records and documents, this biography puts Amanda Berry Smith's eventful life in a proper historical perspective, evaluating the significant impact of her deeds. It traces her beginnings as the child of freed blacks in antebellum Pennsylvania, her turbulent marriages, her search for communities and faith in New York City, and her eventual prominence as a camp-fire missionary and as a world traveler of spiritual faith. This thoughtful individual study probes the complex relationship between herself and other contemporary reformers, black and white, and answers many questions left unanswered by Smith's own autobiography.

The Basil Society's China mission, one of the ore successful Protestant missions in the nineteenth century, was distinguished by the fact that most of the initial proselytizing was conducted by Chinese converts in the interior rather than by Western missionaries in the treaty ports. Thus the first viable protestant communities were not only established by Chinese evangelists, they were established among an ethnic minority in south China, the Hakka people.

The autobiographies of eight pioneer Chinese missionaries featured in this book offer an unusual opportunity to view village life and customs in Guangdong during the mid-nineteenth century by providing details on Hakka death and burial rituals, ancestor veneration, lineages and lineage feuds, geomancy, the status of Hakka women, widespread economic hardship, and civil disorder.

The authors' commentary addresses the issue of conversion, which was fueled by individual desire for solace and salvation, the building of a support community amid social chaos and the possibility of social mobility through education. Despite an expanding role by Western missionaries, the Chinese origins, the rural interior locale, and the status of the Hakka as a disadvantaged minority contributed to successive generations of Christian families and to early progress toward an autonomous Hakka church.

A positive vision of the re-Christianization of Central America by Evangelical missionary activity and a dramatic shift in the cultural, social and economic realities in Latin America.

Despite the popularity of sport in contemporary China, the practice of physical education is not indigenous to its culture. Strenuous physical activity was traditionally linked to low class and status in the pre-modern Chinese society. The concept of modern PE was introduced to China by Western Christian missionaries and directors of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). It then grew from a tool for Christian evangelism to a strategic instrument in Chinese nation-building. This book examines the transformation of Chinese attitudes toward PE and sport, drawing on the concepts of cultural imperialism and nationalism to understand how an imported Western activity became a key aspect of modernization for the Chinese state. More specifically, it looks at the relationship between Christianity and the rise of Chinese nationalism between 1840 and 1937. Combining historical insight with original research, this book sheds new light on the evolution of PE and sport in modern China. It is fascinating reading for all those with an interest in sports history, Chinese culture and society, Christianity, physical education or the sociology of sport.

In this pathbreaking book, award-winning author Douglas Jacobsen describes global Christianity and provides a framework for understanding the varied experiences of Christians around the world. Focusing on the five big continents of Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America, Jacobsen recounts their differing histories, contemporary experiences, and cultural theologies. In the current era of massive and dynamic global challenges, this accessible and fair-minded volume sets the stage for Christians worldwide to engage the gospel--and each other--more deeply. Global Gospel contains numerous maps, charts, and illustrations that aid comprehension. Accompanying videos can be found on YouTube's "Global Christianity" channel (www.youtube.com/globalchristianity).

This book is for all who are concerned that the voice of the gospel be heard, clearly and distinctly, amid the bewildering variety of religious and political convictions competing for attention in the world today. The author explores fundamental questions about the nature and purpose of the gospel, enabling Christians to witness their own faith with greater sensitivity and awareness of different values of other people.

David Bosch (1929-1992) was one of the foremost mission theologians of the twentieth century; a prolific scholar, committed church leader and active participant in the global conciliar and evangelical mission movements. His distinctive role in the South African church's struggle against apartheid is less well known, however. After reviewing Bosch's background and exploring key themes in his understanding of mission and evangelism, Livingston explores Bosch's legacy from the perspective of the missionary nature of the church. The church is God's kingdom community, acting as a witness to and instrument of the coming reign of God. The church is God's alternative community, simultaneously set apart from the world but also existing for the sake of the world, exemplifying the radical implications of Christ's new community. It is also God's reconciled and reconciling community, serving as a sign and embodiment of God's love in Christ. For those acquainted with Bosch only as the author of his magisterial Transforming Mission, A Missiology of the Road shows how Bosch integrated his theology and practice in a faithful, contextually relevant way within South Africa and the global church.

Describes the exceptional wealth of missionary archives and the major contributions they can make not only to the study of the processes of Christian evangelism and Western imperialism but also their value in documenting and analysing the nature of Western encounters with indigenous societies.

While the world was reading one story, God was writing another. In 1977, amidst the bitterly cold days of the frigid Cold War, a young couple responded to God's dramatic call on their lives to go and live covertly behind The Iron Curtain. Filled with faith and buffeted by fear, they left the familiarity of family and the security of NATO to locate behind enemy lines inside Communist Poland in order to establish a Kingdom beachhead of evangelism and discipleship. From award-winning author Debby Thompson, Pulling Back the Iron Curtain is a collection of personal and intimate stories revealing a firsthand account of that unique assignment. Now, with authenticity and vulnerability, this pioneer missionary makes known to the world the tender and dramatic workings of God even behind the Iron Curtain.

The area of missionary activity and conversion, the exchange of one religious identity for another has, the author argues, been much neglected in the scholarly debate in spite of being one of the areas where religion as a dynamic factor in Indian society is most apparent. This work provides an analysis of religion as a dynamic factor in Indian society. Not only is the ritual, economic and power status of the missionaries examined but the effects of conversion to the individual, most notably a change insocial status and mobility.

* Popular author with broad appeal * New vision for shaping future church leaders The Church's mission is not dependent upon economic or worldly boundaries. The gospel will expand and grow where people respond to God's grace in their lives. The Episcopal Church, along with all denominational churches, is being forced to break out of old training models and traditions of ordination in this new age of mission. The Church must rethink formation of leaders (lay and clergy) to keep up with what God is already doing in the world. Participating in God's mission will press us to reconsider assumptions about the vocations themselves, and their shape for the future.