A deeper understanding of the grand history of mission leads to a faithful expression of God's mission today. From the beginning, God's mission has been carried out by people sent around the world. From Abraham to Jesus, the thread that weaves its way throughout Scripture is a God who sends his people across the world, proclaiming his kingdom. As the world has evolved, Christian mission continues to be a foundational tradition in the church. In this one-volume textbook, Edward Smither weaves together a comprehensive history of Christian mission, from the apostles to the modern church. In each era, he focuses on the people sent by God to the ends of the earth, while also describing the cultural context they encountered. Smither highlights the continuity and development across thousands of years of global mission.

Missions specialist Paul Borthwick brings an urgent report on how the Western church can best continue in global mission. Providing current analysis of the state of the world and Majority World opinion, Borthwick offers concrete advice for Western churches who want to avoid the pitfalls of colonialism.

Veteran missiologist Samuel Escobar explores the new realities of our globalized world, assesses the context of a changing mission field, sets forth a thoroughly biblical theology of missions, and considers implications for how Christians are to go about the task of global mission.

Aimed at practitioners, church leaders, academics, and students of mission and world Christianity, Mission in the Twenty-First Century provides fresh insights on the theology and practice of mission in our age. It brings together scholarly reflection on practice, case studies and stories, and questions for discussion. Addressing the "five marks of mission ? evangelism and proclamation, discipleship, social service, social transformation, and ecological concern ? chapters examine these marks in the context of such important factors as globalization, migration, Islam, "old Christendom," and peace and reconciliation. In addition to the editors, the international group of contributors includes Desmond Tutu, Jehu Hanciles, Anne Marie Kool, David Zac Nirigiye, Tony Gittins, Lamin Sanneh, Ashish Crispal, Melba Maggay, Hami Tutu Chapman, Gerald Pilay, Kwame Bediako, and Moonjang Lee.

China, Pakistan, Egypt, Iraq . . . God is at work. Christians are testifying. The gospel is advancing. In this captivating travelogue, a veteran missions mobilizer leads readers to experience global Christianity, exploring the faith and lives of Christians living in some of the world's most perilous countries. The incredible accounts recorded here—stories that span the globe from the Balkans to Afghanistan—highlight the bold faith and sacrificial bravery of God's people. Ultimately, this book magnifies Christ's saving work in all the earth and encourages Christians to joyfully embrace their role in the gospel's unstoppable advance!

Global Mission is divided into two sections: the first, Reflections and Foundations, comprises nine essays of a more general nature; the second, Contextualization at Work, contains twenty one essays of a more specific nature, most of them case studies from a particular location and people group. The thirty-three contributors come from five continents, and a host of contexts. Some are veterans, some quite young, but every one of them is passionate about God's mission, and about building bridges for the gospel in a way that is absolutely faithful to Scripture but also sensitive to specific contexts. North and South, East and West, demonstrate precious unity in Christ in our common calling.