Introducing World Missions, 2nd Edition
A Biblical, Historical, and Practical Survey
series: Encountering Mission
About
In this volume, leading missionary scholars offer an engaging introduction to the work of missions in the contemporary world. The authors provide a broad overview of the biblical, theological, and historical foundations for missions. They also consider personal and practical issues involved in becoming a missionary, the process of getting to the mission field, and contemporary challenges a mission worker must face. Sidebars, charts, maps, and numerous case studies are included. This new edition has been updated and revised throughout and features a full-color interior.
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About the Series
The Encountering Mission series is designed to introduce a new generation of students to missions. Authored by leading evangelical scholars, these volumes explore the issues, context, and changes in world missions in the twenty-first century.
Contents
1. Missions in the Modern World
Part 1: Encountering Mission in the Scriptures
2. Encountering Mission in the Old Testament
3. Encountering Mission in the Gospels
4. Encountering Mission in the New Testament Church
5. Encountering Mission Theology
Part 2: Encountering Missions in History
6. Expansion in the Premodern Era, AD 30-1500
7. Expansion in the Era of Discovery and Colonialism, AD 1500-1900
8. Expansion to and from Every Continent, AD 1900-2000
Part 3: Encountering Missions as a Candidate
9. First Steps: Have You Been Called?
10. Missionary Preparation
11. Charting a Path from Here to There
Part 4: Encountering Missions as a Sent One and as a Sender
12. Personal and Family Issues
13. Strategic and Ministry Issues
14. Relating to People of Other Cultures
15. Relating to Churches and Other Shareholders
Part 5: Missions Encountering the Contemporary World
16. Communicating with People of Other Cultures
17. Mission Trends and Paradigm Shifts
18. Encountering the Religions of the World
19. Mission and the Future
Reference List
Indexes
Endorsements
Praise for the First Edition
"No introduction to the global phenomenon of missions has been as up-to-date, or, in many a day, as thorough and well organized as this superb volume by three outstanding missions scholars."
Ralph D. Winter, William Carey International University
"This foundational volume is comprehensive, contemporary, and challenging. It speaks to the issues and concerns of the current student generation and introduces the reader to every major facet of the missionary enterprise. Well-chosen case studies, helpful diagrams, and attention-grabbing sidebars supplement the well-written text. Sections on encountering missions as a candidate, a sent one, and a sender make this book an outstanding text for an introductory missions course as well as an invaluable resource for prospective missionaries and local church leaders. I recommend it highly."
Kenneth B. Mulholland, Columbia Biblical Seminary and School of Missions
The Authors
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© Michael Hudson A. Scott Moreau
A. Scott Moreau (DMiss, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is academic dean and professor of intercultural studies at Wheaton College Graduate School in Wheaton, Illinois. He is the editor of Evangelical Missions Quarterly and has authored,...
Continue reading about A. Scott Moreau
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Gary R. Corwin
Gary R. Corwin (MA, Northwestern University) is a missiologist serving with SIM International (Serving in Mission) and is associate editor of Evangelical Missions Quarterly.
Continue reading about Gary R. Corwin
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Gary B. McGee
Gary B. McGee (1945-2008) received his PhD from St. Louis University and was distinguished professor of church history and Pentecostal studies at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary.
Continue reading about Gary B. McGee
Reviews
"The entire book has been updated. . . . The actual content makes this book one of the best introductory texts for teaching Evangelical missions. . . . Each chapter includes missions case-studies, encouraging students and professors to dig deeper into the material. Each chapter is filled with 'sidebar material,' providing detailed explanations and questions for further discussion. . . . The authors have also developed a website which includes helpful articles and other learning tools. Finally, and perhaps most creatively, the book is filled with non-western, artistic descriptions of different biblical stories. These color pictures . . . are intended to encourage the reader to meditate thoughtfully on cross-cultural ministry and living. The book's goal is to capture the heart, as well as the mind, of the student. There is no reason to think that this cannot happen with Introducing World Missions. This book will be a helpful addition to academic missionary literature and a useful tool for teaching a new generation of students."
D. Scott Hildreth,
Southeastern Theological Review
Praise for the First Edition
"[The authors] have provided teachers and students of mission with an up-to-date textbook introducing the subject of Christian world missions from an evangelical perspective. The text is written with intended usage in introductory mission courses at the upper undergraduate or lower graduate level. It achieves its goal admirably, being not only readable but attractive in layout, broad in content, balanced in perspective, and in a teacher- and student-friendly format. . . . Each chapter includes helpful and attractive sidebars, case studies . . . , quotations, maps, diagrams, discussion questions, illustrative material, and longer texts from various sources. . . . The authors succeed in striking a balance between the extremes of oversimplification in brevity and overload with detail, thus providing the ideal textbook for an introductory course on Christian world missions. This reviewer has used the text in such a course and students have also been enthusiastic. In this regard Moreau, Corwin, and McGee have commendably achieved their goal and met a genuine need. There is simply no other textbook that compares with it."
Craig Ott,
Trinity Journal
"A remarkable textbook containing the history of missions (biblical and modern era); a thorough guide to candidacy and choosing an organization; a discussion of personal and family life for missionaries; and a philosophical discussion of the current trends in (and future of) missions. . . . [An] educational and practical resource for missions pastors and would-be missionaries."
Outreach
"This is an excellent introductory survey for would be missionaries but it is also a very helpful preliminary text for those who want and need an overall survey in the whole area of world missions. . . . This volume is very well produced. It is enhanced with excellent case studies that leave the reader (or class) to work through unanswered problems, numerous sidebars accompanied by questions that directly relate to the text, many very relevant highlighted quotations from missionaries and missiologists past and present, and also a good number of informative maps. If that were not enough, the authors give us a number of good websites, and a very comprehensive bibliography. . . . As an introductory survey it can hardly be bettered."
Bryan Hardman,
Reformed Theological Review
"This is a quality, up-to-date textbook on world missions. . . . This book is intended first and foremost for prospective missionaries, but anyone who is interested in becoming educated about the complexity of issues surrounding missions to other nations and cultures will find this a valuable text. . . . What is more, this text proves valuable even for church leaders serving in their own native culture inasmuch as many of the issues that confront missionaries in a foreign culture find parallels to bringing the gospel to unchurched people in our own secularized North American setting, with the struggle to disciple them. This is nothing short of a well-executed project from start to finish, and it deserves a wide readership."
J. Mark Beach,
Mid-America Journal of Theology
"Offers an overview of mission thought for students in Bible colleges and seminaries, prospective missionaries, and those who would support missionaries. . . . Throughout the book there are engaging sidebars with quotations by missionaries and mission thinkers and/or brief content summaries with questions for further reflection and discussion. Each chapter concludes with a short case study that is often engaging and helpful. . . . A fair, well-presented, and accessible textbook of 'world missions' from an American conservative evangelical perspective."
Ian T. Douglas,
Anglican Theological Review
"Introducing World Missions is the most comprehensive introduction to world missions in print. . . . I taught an introductory course to missions in a Bible College for seven years. If I were to teach the subject again, this is the text I would use for my students. The sidebars with additional helps as well as the case studies dealing with issues faced in missionary ministry are particularly helpful. . . . Additional material (including power point presentations) is also available to teachers who adopt this tome as their text, thus increasing the value of this text. . . . This book can be highly recommended to all who want a thorough and biblical approach to missions from a number of perspectives. This book being so good bodes well for the whole series."
Robert J. Vajko,
Evangelical Review of Theology
"This is a superb book which should be in the library of every person who is contemplating missionary service and every church which wishes to nurture missionary support and activity. Among missions studies I have read, this book stands out as a remarkable resource. . . . It is comprehensive. As the subtitle suggests, this book provides very helpful discussion of the biblical foundations for missions, the history of the church's missionary activity and practical matters facing a modern missionary candidate. . . . It is current. All the discussions of theory and practice draw on the most up to date literature and research as well as classics from the past. The 22 page bibliography is a valuable resource for anyone who is looking for further reading materials beyond this introductory text. It is readable. . . . The text is clearly presented and is augmented by helpful maps and diagrams. Frequent text boxes offer striking quotations from notable missionaries . . . or describe ways in which congregations have effectively fostered missionary activity. . . . It is practical. The three authors are all experienced missionaries as well as competent academics and they address some very practical issues."
Alistair I. Wilson,
Monthly Record
"Three well-qualified mission scholars have collaborated to produce a valuable book that comprehensively introduces the subject of world missions. . . . They have succeeded in presenting a biblical, historical, and practical survey that keeps these three areas in proper balance. . . . The text of Introducing World Missions flows smoothly even though it is interrupted occasionally by sidebars, maps, and case studies. The authors did it so well that the interruptions are always beneficial for understanding the material. . . . This is an exemplary modern textbook. It makes use of technology that is available in just about all areas of our lives. I recommend this book as an excellent tool in teaching missions. Choosing this book will improve your teaching and will prepare your students to go and make disciples of all nations."
Josef Solc,
Faith & Mission
"This book brings together a great deal of useful information and presents it very attractively. Someone teaching mission could find classroom resources in this introductory text and put them to good use."
Cathy Ross,
Mission Studies