Roundup: Books, Books, and More Books about Missions

Sources: Various

Living in a world with many distractions, do you find it’s getting harder to read whole books from cover to cover? Even so, the publishing industry doesn’t seem to have waned in its production. Here are some I loved, and you might too—plus a list of books we’ve mentioned in 2024.

People Vision: Reimagining Mission to Least Reached Peoples, by Leonard N. Bartlotti. William Carey Publishing, 2024. 324 pages.

A few months ago I wrote about my struggle to call people to take the gospel to the places and populations with the greatest need and least opportunity, given all I know about the debates and divisions surrounding how we think and talk about people groups now. This book helped. It’s a compendium reflecting a wide variety of perspectives, expanded from a core first published in Evangelical Missions Quarterly (Fall 2020). It’s helped me and those I work with as we seek to harmonize theory, message and practice. The most significant work on this topic today.

Learn more or get the book from the publisher or elsewhere.

Not on Board: Jonah’s Plunge Into God’s Plan, by Steve Richardson. Pioneers, 2024. 104 pages.

Most Christians know the story of “Jonah and the whale,” but have we thought deeply about its global implications? Steve Richardson’s new book shows there’s a lot more going on under the surface than most people realize, as a surprising God sent an unlikely conscript on an unthinkable mission and got an extraordinary response—and what it means for us today.

Learn more or get the book. You can read it online for free or get the ebook for US$.99 if you don’t want to spring for a paperback.

Lead with Prayer: The Spiritual Habits of World-Changing Leaders, by Ryan Skoog, Peter Greer and Cameron Doolittle. FaithWords, 2024. 256 pages.

Is this a mission book? Not exactly. But take a look. The authors spent three years interviewing Christian leaders on six continents who collectively serve in more than 100 countries. In a winsome and inspiring way, they share what they learned from these leaders (and others) about the crucial role of prayer in their lives and work.

If you or a ministry you serve with has gotten to the point where you tend to rely on competence rather than desperately seeking God, you may need this book.

Learn more. The website also has practical tools to download.

And More Books About Mission

I won’t load you up with all the links, but here are other new or new-ish mission books I read this year. You might want to look up a few to put on your TBR (to be read) list.

Reviewed or excerpted in Missions Catalyst:

  • Cabbages in the Desert: How God Transformed a Devout Muslim and Catalyzed Disciple Making Movements Among Unreached Peoples, by Aila Tasse with Dave Coles
  • Chasing Faith Among Yaks and Nomads: A Memoir, by Ann Wyse
  • Crossing Cultures with the Gospel: Anthropological Wisdom for Effective Christian Witness, by Darrell L. Whiteman
  • The Faith Road: The True Story of Peril and Mission in Southeast Asia, by Eliot Branch
  • Hainan: Pearl of the South China Sea, by Paul Hatthaway
  • Propelled by Hope: The Story of the Perspectives Movement, by Yvonne Huneycutt
  • Shaped by the Spirit: Being Formed into an Outward-Focused People, by Kate Pocklington

Read but not reviewed:

  • Clothed with Strength: Single Women Serving Christ in the Arab World, by Christine Ford McLaren
  • Digging in the Dirt: Musings on Missions, Emotions, and Life in the Mud, by Jonathan Trotter

And here are a few I want to read but haven’t yet:

  • From Banned Book to Bestseller: Bible Mission in Contemporary China, by Cynthia Oh
  • The Mission of God and the Witness of the Church, by Justin A. Schell
  • When Serving Gets Tough: A Thirty-Day Devotional for Missionaries, by Carol Ghattas

What books are on your list?

As a social media post reminded me, this could be your last week to buy books as Christmas gifts if you plan to read them before you wrap them!

Events: Conferences, Classes and More Coming up in January

Source: Missions Catalyst Calendar

Here’s what I have so far. What would you add?

January 2-4, CROSS Conference (Louisville, KY, USA). Help this generation make their lives count.

January 5, EXPLORE Gathering (Atlanta, GA, USA). One-day regional mission conference; new this year. Provided by Global Frontier Missions.

January 6 to May 11, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online). An additional class launches January 20 and others throughout the year.

January 6 to April 6, Encountering Muslims (online). Classes start several times a year, or you can sign up to do it as a cohort.

January 12-14, Sending Church Elements Cohort (Tempe, AZ, USA). Discover practical strategies that can multiply your church’s sending. A joint project of Upstream Collective and Frontiers.

January 13 to February 8, COMPASS (Palmer Lake, CO, USA). Language and culture acquisition provided by Missionary Training International.

January 17-18, MissionConnexion Northwest (Portland, OR, USA). A free, regional missions conference. Come early for Leadership Connexion or a MissionExcellence workshop on best practices for short-term missions, and sign up in advance for focused tracks focused on short-term missions and missionary care.

January 17-18, Agriculture Missions Summit (Manhattan, KS, USA). Hosted by Pioneer Bible Translators, Team Expansion, and Farming God’s Way.

January 22-26, Vision 5:9 MERGE Conference (Orlando, FL, USA). A gathering for all reaching out to the Muslim diaspora in North America. Organized by a network of organizations and churches. Registration closes December 20, so sign up now.

View the complete calendar. Submissions welcome.

Following Jesus in Lebanon, Pakistan, Australia and More

  1. Lebanon: Seminary Pivots to Shelter Hundreds of the Displaced
  2. Pakistan: Christian Man a Victim of Fake Conversion to Islam
  3. Australia: Nami’s Legacy, an Illustrated Children’s Bible for Her People
  4. India: Persecution Escalates in Manipur
  5. East Africa: Media Ministry Spreads the Gospel in Hostile Territory

Read or share the email edition.

Lebanon: Seminary Pivots to Shelter Hundreds of the Displaced

Source: Mission Network News, November 29, 2024

Crises can happen in a moment, but they can also drag on beyond all expectations. Yet God has sustained his people in the Middle East to be his hands and feet during years of tumult.

Take Lebanon. It has endured decades of conflict and economic collapse. The current war no one wanted has displaced an estimated 1.3 million people.

“Crisis, wars, disruptions [are] nothing new to this region. We’re used to difficulties and hardships,” says Loulwa Maalouf with the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary.

“But at the same time, we are used to seeing God at work, and we are called to be here and be part of his work.”

Today [ABTS] not only provides biblical education to around 240 students, but it also shelters a couple hundred displaced people.

“With every crisis in Lebanon, we are used to taking a step and saying, ‘Okay, how does God want us to respond now?’” Maalouf says.

Read the full story.

Also from Mission Network News, see New Approaches Needed for Growing Mongolian Church.

Pakistan: Christian Man a Victim of Fake Conversion to Islam

Source: Morning Star News, November 28, 2024

A judge in Pakistan has overturned a verdict that denied a Christian’s effort to correct his name and religion on his national identity card as he was a victim of fake conversion to Islam, his attorney said.

[On November 16], Ahmad Saeed, additional district judge of Pattoki Tehsil, Kasur District, Punjab Province, overturned the verdict of Pattoki Civil Judge Mian Usman Tariq, who had ruled that 24-year-old Sufyan Masih could not revert to Christianity after “converting” to Islam, said the Christian’s attorney, Sumera Shafique.

Masih had definitively affirmed his Christian faith and had reiterated that declaration in his statement to the district judge, she added. He told the judge that Asif Ali, the brick kiln owner where Masih worked, had registered his name in the NADRA record as Muhammad Sufyan and his religion as Islam in a bid to enslave him.

“Being an illiterate person, Masih failed to read the form filled by the data entry operator on the directives of his employer,” Shafique said, noting that Masih had put his thumbprint on the form in ignorance.

Read the full story.

Also learn about a Baptist church in Uzbekistan that has been unable to use its building or meet publicly for worship since 2021. Other religious groups in the country are experiencing similar problems (Forum 18.)

Australia: Nami’s Legacy, an Illustrated Children’s Bible for Her People

Source: United Bible Society, November 25, 2024

Inspired by seeing the children’s Bibles available in English, Nami Kulyuru, a long-serving Pitjantjatjara Bible translator from Central Australia, had the vision to pass on the stories of the Bible to her descendants using traditional paintings.

After sharing her idea with friends and colleagues, Nami began the artistic work for this book in 2021. She was passionate about seeing the children in her community, including her children and grandchildren, have access to visual representations of Scriptures with which they could connect.

Following Nami’s passing in 2022, her family and community ensured that Nami’s legacy would live on through “Godaku Tjukurpa” (God’s Story)—the Pitjantjatjara Children’s Illustrated Bible—produced by Bible Society Australia.

Read the full story and see some of the pictures.

Check out these additional stories about Bible translation and distribution:

  • Believers in Oklahoma hope translating the Bible into Choctaw will fuel revival among the people and help preserve the language, which Choctaw people were forbidden to speak for decades (God Reports).
  • You may have seen a story in the Wall Street Journal reporting that sales of Bibles are booming in the U.S. due to first-time buyers and new versions. The article credits the trend to rising anxiety, a search for hope, and, in some cases, focused marketing efforts.
  • YouVersion’s Verse of the Year reflects what leaders say is a global trend of seeking peace through prayer.

India: Persecution Escalates in Manipur

Source: Global Partners, November 19, 2024

For the past year and a half, severe terrorism against Indian Christians has escalated in Manipur, India. The attacks [by] Hindu and non-tribal people—known as the Meiteis—[on] tribal and Christian people have significantly worsened over time.

[In mid-November], the Meitei terrorists attacked Christian communities in Jiribam, where the most important district headquarters of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of East India is located. There, terrorists burned down and vandalized 25 houses and five church buildings.

By the grace of God, no members were injured, as the houses had been deserted in time. Now the members are displaced, staying in various places, including relief camps.

In addition to this loss, over the past week, ten young Christian village volunteers were brutally killed for guarding one of the villages with guns, [and]in a quiet village within the Jiribam district, a devoted teacher and loving mother was attacked and burned to death [allegedly by Meiteis]. As she was well-known for her dedication to nurturing children in the village, her loss has left her village heartbroken.

Read the full story and pray for peace in this region.

From neighboring Myanmar, see Decades of Abuse Leave Rohingya and Myanmar Searching for Hope, which reports that a church bombing recently killed nine people near the border with China, seven of them children (Mission Network News).

East Africa: Media Ministry Spreads the Gospel in Hostile Territory

Source: Pioneers-USA, December 2, 2024

After experiencing trauma, Asha turned to drugs. But it was when she turned to Jesus that her mom called the police.

In a sensitive part of East Africa, the gospel faces much opposition from people loyal to the majority religion. Yet, some are receptive to the gospel.

A church-planting team began looking for people God was drawing to himself. One day, they connected with an 18-year-old girl named Asha and started sharing with her from Scripture. As Jesus filled her heart, she committed to follow him and was baptized.

Emboldened, Asha began sharing stories about Jesus on social media. But her mother was horrified and contacted the police. Asha spent the next 18 months in prison.

Can you imagine living in a place where your own mother would turn you over like that? Trust is scarce in this hostile environment, and after what happened to Asha, new believers are learning wiser ways to share their faith. Media strategies can help spread the gospel in places where unrest and suspicion make other ministries nearly impossible.

Read the full story.

Another story from Pioneers starts with a believer in South Asia who didn’t think her family could ever follow Jesus—especially her dad, who had done puja (a worship ceremony) to Krishna every day since he was six years old. Hear what changed his mind (Relentless Pursuit Podcast).