Mission Ministry

Pursuing his calling with singleness of vision, John Wesley defied the strength of angry mobs and longstanding traditions to offer the hope of Christ to millions of people who were outside the influence of the churches of the day. Passionate and tireless, this Anglican clergyman rode a quarter of a million miles on horseback during his lifetime, stopping to preach more than forty thousand sermons in open fields, churches, and barns.

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 must 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?

Evangelism isn't something you do, it's a world-changing way of life. Rebecca Manley Pippert shows how we as Christians, who are called to be the salt of the earth, can get out of the saltshaker and into life itself. People crowd Becky's book, with language and lifestyles to match. She confronts them with a Jesus as contemporary as themselves, a Christ they can see, who cares. Listening to her book, we laugh at her mistakes, identify with her failures, and find ourselves eager to emulate her spiritual progress.

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.

Why would a leader ever want to be mean? It's all about the vision. Almost every organization has a vision, but few stick to it over time. Even after short-term success, visions tend to blur, drift, and fade. Why does this happen? Accomplishing the vision requires intentionality. It requires consistency. It requires commitment. It requires courage. In Be Mean About the Vision, author Shawn Lovejoy challenges leaders to stay true to the vision—regaining and sustaining its trajectory over time. The kindest, godliest thing we can do is Be Mean About the Vision.

In the middle of diapers, dishes, papers, or presentations, deep down, we long to live a life of purpose, with a bit of adventure. But if we do something, we think we have to do everything - and do it in Africa. In Across the Street and Around the World, Jeannie Marie shows us we can change the world right where we live, work, play, and study - by learning to grow genuine, spiritually deep friendships with people from other countries, cultures, and faiths. Marie gently guides us away from common cultural missteps, so we can offer Jesus in a winsome way....

The fullness and vigour of Christianity has been in decline in the life of the West, the application of gospel truths often limited to personal evangelism and our personal prayer life. But this is a radically narrow view of the Christian mission. In the biblical narrative we see a vision for the mission of God’s people that is nothing less than the faithful worship of God in every area of life and culture - in our laws, educational institutions, politics, and arts, to name just a few.

Subversive mission is submission—to God and local leaders. Subversive mission offers a new way forward for outsiders called to crosscultural ministry by serving as humble alongsiders. Join Craig Greenfield on this inspiring journey in Asia and beyond as he rediscovers the fivefold missional gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher, and demonstrates how each of these must look radically different in a crosscultural context. Along the way, you'll discover your own missional type through the Missional Type Inventory and come face to face with the five most common pitfalls that Westerners face in crosscultural settings.

While globalization gives North American Christians unprecedented opportunities to influence the world, we need to take care not to slip into a type of postmodern colonialism in which we make ourselves the experts or the "hero come to save the day". Jesus commanded us to make disciples of all nations, not to spread Western cultural Christianity or solve the world with American dollars.

Ten Who Changed the World is seminary president Daniel Akin's powerful tribute to the transformational work done by some truly inspiring Christian missionaries. With each profile, he journeys into the heart of that gospel servant's mission-minded story and makes a compelling connection to a similar account from the Bible.

His street name was Daylight. But he was a nightmare. On the streets of New York, darkness and violence reigned. Dimas "Daylight" Salaberrios began selling drugs when he was 11 years old, and by 16 he had served his first stint at the notorious Rikers Island prison. Dimas saw only one way to survive: by reigning over the streets. He would be the richest, most powerful ruler in the hood...or die trying. Street God is the true story of one man's dangerous journey through the underworld.

It happens to every parent. One day, you have a sweet son or daughter who loves to snuggle on the couch and who puts a smile on your face just by walking into the room. The next day, it's as if someone left the door open and let in an alien with a smart mouth and an attitude that, frankly, you could do without. Entering middle school is like stepping onto a different planet - for parent and child alike. It's a planet where peer pressure, social media, and hormones can wreak havoc in your child's life.

"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.

Darla’s story of how she rescued street children and transformed their lives by the power of God’s love will grip your heart. Agape’s Children is the heartwarming story of how an ordinary woman responded when confronted by child beggars in Kisumu, Kenya.

No relationship is perfect - but it can be better. The secret to stronger relationships isn't to become more charming or funny or to solve the world's problems or to just try harder. All you have to do is listen. It's that simple. Yet our noisy culture hasn't equipped us to do this. With warmth and a touch of humor, personal coach and expert communicator Becky Harling shares simple, practical listening tools that will help you become a person others are drawn to and want to spend time with.

With pundits asking, "How did he win?" this book explores whether there was a supernatural element involved. Christian leaders prophesied before the election that God had raised up Donald Trump to lead the nation through a time of crisis. But could this billionaire reality-TV star actually convince the voters he was for real? If so, what is God doing now, not only in Donald's Trump's life, but also in the life of the nation?

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.

The days of cultural Christianity are fading. It's time to rethink normal. Suffering and exclusion are normal in a believer's life. At least they should be. This was certainly Jesus' experience. And it's the experience of countless Christians around the world today. No matter your social location or set of experiences, the biblical letter of 1 Peter wants to redefine your expectations and reinvigorate your hope.

In our quest to renew the church, Christians have walked through seeker-friendly, emergent, missional, and other movements to develop new expressions of the body of Christ. Now, in the post-Christian world in North America, we're asking the question again: Is there a way to be the church that engages the world, not by judgment nor accommodation but by becoming the good news in our culture?

A chilling behind-bars encounter with a killer unfolds. Step into the heart-wrenching world of his victim’s grieving mother. Can the unforgivable be forgiven? As Tammy Horvath grapples with the weight of depression following her profound loss, she discovers that no amount of exercise or travel can completely mend her shattered soul. The quest for genuine healing takes a courageous turn as she confronts the murderer, unraveling the haunting mysteries behind Luke’s tragic death.