Mission Ministry

When building a children’s ministry at a church, there is so much to consider: Which curriculum should we use? How many volunteers do we need? How do we keep parents in the loop? And that’s before we run into stalled check-in computers, missing activity sheets, and floors that need to be vacuumed. Writing from personal ministry experience, Jared Kennedy shares a four-fold approach for gospel-centered, missional children’s ministry: hospitality, teaching, discipleship, and mission.

For far too long, the church has tried to make disciples using a one-size-fits-all approach. Some churches advocate 1-on-1 discipling, others try getting everyone into a small group, while still others training through mission trips or service projects. Yet others focus all their efforts on...

What world missions ministry would arise if you only had the Bible? Answer: It would start and end with the local church. A focus on the local church is biblical, practical, and effective. It aligns with the New Testament. Local churches everywhere display God's wisdom and the glory of Christ in the gospel. You’ll see it from the view of Christ, the Great Commission, first-century Christians, Paul, and the New Testament canon itself. Once you see it, you can’t un-see it! This book walks through these steps: A.

Many Christians know they should be passionate about evangelism, but in reality they often find it daunting. In this concise version of God Shines Forth, Daniel Hames and Michael Reeves urge Christians to grow in their knowledge and enjoyment of God—as they know God more, they will be spurred on to authentic service through missions and evangelism. To illustrate how the nature of God influences evangelism and missions, Hames and Reeves address biblical themes such as the glory of God, Christ's sacrifice, the fallenness of man, and the church's future hope.

Youth With A Mission (YWAM) is a Christian missions movement like no other. Since 1960, it has launched wave after wave of young missionaries now into the millions who have impacted every nation on earth by simply listening to and obeying the voice of God. In Values Matter, YWAM Co-founder Darlene Cunningham shares inspiring stories of how God shaped YWAM into what it is today—a large and effective wave-maker for missions through the spiritual DNA carried within its Core Beliefs and 18 Foundational Values.

God Wants to Unleash Us into Fruitful Disciple-making Beyond Our Wildest Dreams. What if passionate Jesus followers began to multiply rapidly until thousands of lives and families were transformed? What if, instead of hard work with little fruit, God began to do “exceeding abundantly beyond all you could ask or imagine?” Imagine those you’ve invested in sharing Jesus freely, making their own disciples, and then training them until they too can disciples others.

In the 1980s, Erika Bornman’s family join, and ultimately move to, KwaSizabantu, a Christian mission based in KwaZulu-Natal, which is touted as a nirvana, founded on egalitarian values. But something sinister lurks beneath ‘the place where people are helped’. Life at KwaSizabantu is hard. Christianity is used to justify harsh punishments, and congregants are forced to repent for their sins. Threats of physical violence ensure adherence to stringent rules. Parents are pitted against children. Friendships are discouraged.

Every local church should be engaged with global missions, even if most individuals in the church aren't called to go overseas. But what does this engagement actually look like? How can local churches train, send, and support missionaries well? Unpacking principles from the Bible and applying them in the context of real life in a local church, this short guide is filled with practical steps and advice for supporting missionaries, forming international partnerships, sending short-term teams, and engaging with the nations here at home.

Both an emerging term and a developing concept, business as mission (BAM) has drawn much fascination in both mission and business circles, with the concept of strategically using business to accomplish missional purposes. Though the term is ubiquitous in mission circles, there is great disparity in what it means. There has been much talk about BAM in theory, but far less research done on how it works out in reality.

What will it take to accomplish Christ's mission in our lifetime? That's the question evangelicals have been asking for over a century, but our efforts to reach the unreached and finish the task have often sacrificed the important for the immediate. The greatest challenge in evangelical missions isn't a lack of urgency, but a lack of discernment. As we've prioritized movements that are simple and reproducible, the gospel and faithful churches are now threatened. In Mission Affirmed, Elliot Clark seeks to reshape our motivation by considering the example of Paul the missionary.

Discover how to navigate the motivations, expectations, sacrifices, and rewards of missional living. God thinks highly of you, esteems your uniqueness, and values your individuality. Whether He uses you at home or abroad, The Mind of a Missionary gives you the keys to thriving in your heavenly calling as you join God's redemptive mission.

In our modern world the gospel of Jesus is seen by many less as good news for all humanity, and more as the bigoted edicts of a bygone era. Benjamin Chang explores the stories of the revolution, tracing the trajectories of four of the biggest social justice movements–feminism, racial justice, gay pride, and the trans movement–before looking at the ways Christians usually engage with these arenas of cultural conflict (mirror, argue, ignore) and identifying a better way forward.

What is an ideal church, and how can you tell? How does it look different from other churches? More importantly, how does it act differently, especially in society? Many of us aren't sure how to answer those questions, even though we probably have some preconceived idea. But with this book, you don't have to wonder any more.

When God wanted to act on his promise to save the world, he started with a family and gave them a mission. He spoke to Abram and his household, and they became a family on mission. We see Jesus operating in the same way, gathering an extended-family-like group of disciples around himself before embarking on his mission. Jesus needed a family on mission.

The church is the origin, means, and end of missions. Scripture calls on missionaries to start and strengthen churches where new believers—and more missionaries—can grow. But today, many Christians downplay the role of the church in favor of pragmatism and parachurch ministries, weakening the missions cause. In this brief guide, pastors John Folmar and Scott Logsdon share their decades of experience working as pastors in Muslim countries. Showing how healthy churches are essential for fulfilling the Great Commission, they teach biblical ecclesiology and missiology with wisdom.

Mission Design by Aaron Abramson is a timely guide for ministry leaders navigating the challenges of a volatile and rapidly changing world. With technological growth, societal shifts, and economic instability reshaping the landscape, traditional five-year plans feel out of touch. Yet, even amidst uncertainty, opportunities for meaningful kingdom impact abound.

With subversive twists and turns, mesmeric highs, and gut-wrenching lows, Pete Atkinson's "ambitious and captivating" debut work skillfully weaves the threads which run from Genesis to Revelation, marrying brevity and listenability with scale, depth, and detail. "Impeccably researched", this "beautifully written" rendering features three narrative voices.

Christianity is the faith of the poor. As Christians, we worship the Lord Jesus Christ, who “though he was rich, yet for your sake became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (2 Cor 8:9). How do we discern the best responses to poverty? How should we as ministers, church leaders, and businesspeople engage in our communities? Sometimes it seems that we in the modern American church stand on opposite sides of an impassible gulf as we talk about poverty and justice.

James Kimmel had everything a missionary could hope for: a loving family, a strong faith, and a calling he could not ignore. When he, his wife Cathy, and their kids leave everything behind for the mission fields of Holland, they believe they are on the brink of changing the world. But beneath the surface of hope, disaster quietly gathers. Tragically, James makes mistake after mistake—until James’s dream collapses, and he is forced to leave the field in disgrace. James’ struggles are told through the honest and heartfelt emails from his mentor, Jonathan Hilkens.

Robert Moffat was a man totally set apart for the Kingdom of God. This Scottish missionary who left everything to minister in Africa, had a massive impact on the culture and history of the Southern part of the continent that is still reverberating in those lands today.