Missions: Biblical Foundations and Contemporary Strategies

by Gailyn Van Rheenen, Anthony Parker (Primary Contributor)

“In a rapidly changing world,… the central missionary vision of the church must be constantly renewed, lest its foundations become lost in the confusion of change or its practices trapped in missionary models of the past.”

In this second edition of Missions, long-time missionary Gailyn Van Rheenen revises and updates his classic text on Christian missions, laying sound theological and strategic foundations for the missionary of today and tomorrow.

Van Rheenen helps renew the missionary vision by discussing areas such as:


The history of Christian mission, and how it affects where we are today
Spiritual formation for God’s mission
The missionary cycle
Cross-cultural communication
The character and calling of missionaries
Types of missionaries
Church maturation
Selecting mission fields
The role of money in missions
Four levels of involvement in missions
But Missions is more than blackboard theory. Written by a long-time missionary, it carries the conviction and insights of one who has lived his subject. Accessible to students, practitioners, and laypeople alike, Missions provides a primary go-to resource for understanding and becoming involved in the dynamic activity of world missions.

Genres: Nonfiction, Theology, Reference, Christian

514 pages, Hardcover

First published August 13, 1996

Reviews

[Seth Mcdevitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not like this book. I thought "Introduction To Global Missions," by Pratt, Sills, and Walters was a much more thorough treatment of Cross-cultural ministry. The fictional narrative of a husband and wife missionary added nothing to the book and was actually incredibly distracting. I also thought that the sections in the book designed to support Rheenens 'missional helix' were just unnecessary. This book lacked substance where it was needed and contained too much fluff where it was not. Great class, terrible textbook.

[Dwain Minor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a well written and easily readable intro to Missions.

[Nate Weis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The practical/strategic sections were excellent-5 stars: the theological sections 3 stars. For a book on the theology of missions and the motivation behind missions, read Piper’s “Let the Nations be Glad!”

[Jordan Kasiske · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave it 4 stars because I thought it should have spent more time on the nature and primacy of God's word. Some areas were very self-repeating, causing the book to be even longer then necessary. Though, I may be just judging wrongly from inexperience.

[Matthew Bandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone considering overseas work should absolutely read this from cover to cover and study it carefully. The depth of knowledge and wisdom is amazing.

[Nadine Damo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Motivating and thorough!

[D · Rating 2 out of 5]

My scale:
1-bad, don’t read
2-it was okay, wouldn’t recommend
3-good, might recommend
4-great, recommend
5-excellent, highly recommend

[jacob van sickle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taught a Global Missions class and this was the textbook. Entry level but good.

[Ian Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent book for increasing my understanding of missions. It did a good job of explaining different styles and philosophies of missions. It is an excellent introduction.