Mission Matters: Love Says Go

by Tim Chester

The Father delights in his Son. This is the starting point of mission, its very core. The word "mission" means "sending." But for many centuries this was only used to describe what God did, sending his Son and his Spirit into the world. World mission exists because the Father wants people to delight in his Son, and the Son wants people to delight in the Father. Tim Chester introduces us to a cascade of love flowing from the Father to the Son through the Spirit. And that love overflows and, through us, keeps on flowing to our Christian community and beyond, to a needy world. Mission matters. This book is for ordinary individuals willing to step out and be part of the most amazing, exciting venture in the history of the world.

Genres: Christian, Theology

176 pages, Paperback

First published April 17, 2015

About the author

Dr Tim Chester is involved in The Crowded House, a church planting initiative in Sheffield, UK. He was previously Research & Policy Director for Tearfund UK, and has been published widely on prayer, mission, social issues and theology. He is married to Helen and has two daughters.

Reviews

[James Bunyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the one I'd give to people thinking about mission- more concise and friendlier than Let the Nations Be Glad. Slow first couple of chapters but really exciting when it gets going- especially brilliant were the section on "Scope of the Mission," which was balanced and fair, and the chapter on the role of the Spirit! Worth buying for those parts alone.

Contents
-The God of Mission
1. In the love of the Father
2. In the name of the Son
3. In the Power of the Spirit

-The Story of Mission
4. A promise for the nations
5. The hope of the nations

-The Scope of Mission
6.Everyone with the church at its heart
7. Everything with proclamation at the centre
8. Everywhere with the unreached as the priority

-The Challenges of Mission
9. The cultural challenge
10. The personal challenge
11. A big ambition and a big God

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful overview of the theology of mission and why it matters. Having never engaged with Keswick convention (though I've heard a lot about it) it was good to read all the stories from the last century plus about those who have sacrificed so much for the love of the nations. Tim also touched on the importance of culture and the dangers of paternalistic mission that assumes the west knows best though more could have been said in this section.

The niggle throughout was the emphasis that mission was "over there" and although Tim rightly emphasises the local church that sends people to "needy areas" the context and stories seem to emphasise the ones who go to the corners of the earth with only minor hints that it must be held tension with those called to be missionaries by staying... or in missionary lingo, "sent" to their neighbours. It isn't that Tim doesn't say this at all, it is only a minor niggle and should not stop Christians from seeing this book as a very helpful resource to teach and inspire the people of God to be a blessing to all people.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful for what it aims to be - an intro to the topic of mission and an encouragement to think about our place in it. Not solely an inspirational journey or a dry theological text, it's a well balanced but entry-level book that will help kickstart the thinking of anyone who reads it.

For readers who've read other books on the topic, it might be introductory but it's still compelling and moves along fairly quickly.

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple but I really liked it. This is easy reading but challenging in some ways.
It is God's plan and delight and our privilege to partake of it. Do we love God and our fellow men? How do our lives reflect that?

[Ian Rees · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good overall summary of the rationale of mission. Well worth handing on to new Christians to stimulate their thinking about what it means to be involved in global mission.