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The Narrow Road: Stories of Those Who Walk This Road Together
As a boy he dreamed of being a spy undercover behind enemy lines. As a man he found himself undercover for God. Brother Andrew was his name and for decades his life story, recounted in God’s Smuggler, has awed and inspired millions. The bestseller tells of the young Dutch factory worker’s incredible efforts to transport Bibles across closed borders—and the miraculous ways in which God provided for him every step of the way. Revell and Chosen now reintroduce this powerful story with two new a 35th anniversary edition and The Narrow Road, an expanded youth edition. Both contain a new foreword and afterword. The youth edition also features information about ministry to the persecuted church today, including country profiles, quotes from Christians in underground churches, "what if" scenarios based on real-life threats they face, and stories from others who have participated in Brother Andrew’s Bible-smuggling work. Brother Andrew’s story remains as inspiring today as it was thirty-five years ago, and with these new releases it will motivate a whole new generation to risk everything to follow God’s call.
336 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
August 8, 2015
EDIT: I realized a while ago that the book I loved was actually called God's Smuggler, and this edition is what is called The Narrow Road. I did not actually like this edition; I found the added stories annoying and distracting. But I'm leaving my review here in case others, like me, come across Brother Andrew's story in this version.
I LOVE THIS BOOK.
I'm giving it the incredible status of Best Homeschool Literature Book Ever. Which is saying a lot, since I've read countless books in the ten years I've been homeschooled. I read this one just last year for school, and fell in love with it from the first chapter.
It was one of those books I couldn't wait to read the next chapter of, yet didn't mind waiting to read only one chapter a day, rather than just demolishing the thing all at once. I saved it for last on the good days, and when I was feeling grumpy I read it first and I'm serious, it made the rest of the school not seem half as bad because I was laughing so hard and smiling as I thought about the chapter.
The thing is...this is one of those books that's a real story, and therefore includes humor, sadness, happiness, foolishness, despair, triumph, and astonishment. It's beautiful, funny, thought-provoking, and utterly true.
I love this story so much and I know I'm going to keep reading it again, and again, and again.
I hate to be cliche and say "EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS!" but really...everyone should, at least every Christian should. It challenges you to view our "modern" Christian world here in the countries where we still have some sort of religious freedom differently. I know one thing that's not left my mind since the first time I read the book was, "What would these persecuted believers think of our flashy, entertaining church services?"
The Narrow Road is the story of one man who learned what God will do to protect his church, if only we open our eyes and decide to act.
I LOVE THIS BOOK.
I'm giving it the incredible status of Best Homeschool Literature Book Ever. Which is saying a lot, since I've read countless books in the ten years I've been homeschooled. I read this one just last year for school, and fell in love with it from the first chapter.
It was one of those books I couldn't wait to read the next chapter of, yet didn't mind waiting to read only one chapter a day, rather than just demolishing the thing all at once. I saved it for last on the good days, and when I was feeling grumpy I read it first and I'm serious, it made the rest of the school not seem half as bad because I was laughing so hard and smiling as I thought about the chapter.
The thing is...this is one of those books that's a real story, and therefore includes humor, sadness, happiness, foolishness, despair, triumph, and astonishment. It's beautiful, funny, thought-provoking, and utterly true.
I love this story so much and I know I'm going to keep reading it again, and again, and again.
I hate to be cliche and say "EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS!" but really...everyone should, at least every Christian should. It challenges you to view our "modern" Christian world here in the countries where we still have some sort of religious freedom differently. I know one thing that's not left my mind since the first time I read the book was, "What would these persecuted believers think of our flashy, entertaining church services?"
The Narrow Road is the story of one man who learned what God will do to protect his church, if only we open our eyes and decide to act.
April 26, 2024
We read this as part of my son's homeschooling and it was such an amazing read. Even my son thought we should recommend it as the next study at Wednesday Night church in the youth room. Even though this book already taught us so much within the story of "God's Smuggler" and the short profiles the book shared of other Christian smugglers or people persecuted for their faith around the world, we also went down rabbit holes. We searched for the location of each country mentioned on the globe, discussed what certain words meant and used an online translator to hear the other languages spoken in their "native tongue". I absolutely loved digging into this book in that way.
I did get emotional when reading this book. I wouldn't say it was an emotional roller coaster, but you can't help but get your heartstrings tugged at (I cried at least once) or become disturbed/upset at some of the things shared (quite a few actually) that happened in not only Brother Andrew's life but in some of the other stories shared.
Growing up, I had heard the term, The Iron Curtain, but I didn't know what it was. Wow! I'm so glad that most of those countries have been able to overcome the communist governments they once had. Everywhere Brother Andrew went you heard them say they felt like they were alone, that no one knew about their struggles and the propaganda about Christianity pushed on to their youth and that the US was a horrible country. It was incredible. I can only imagine what that would have been like. I know that people/governments push for power, but I don't understand why in this particular manner. It truly boggles my mind.
The only thing that bothered me about this book was the profiles that they included in each chapter. Though I enjoyed them, they didn't fit. It felt weird breaking the story to read the inserts, just to start the story again, so I would go back to the profiles after I had finished the chapter and the "Imagine This...What Would You Do?" question.
I should make note that I also own the book, "God's Smuggler." I hadn't read it yet when I started this one. I thought that maybe they would have a short snippet from "God's Smuggler" and stories from others that walk 'the narrow road,' in this book, but no. This book is "God's Smuggler" with the extra profiles and questions at the end of the chapters. It says on the cover that it includes "God's Smuggler," so that was my mistake.
I highly recommend this book, even if you aren't much of a history buff as the material is not dry and easy to read. It will truly open your eyes to life in a communist country and the persecution of Christians that occur, even to this day.
I did get emotional when reading this book. I wouldn't say it was an emotional roller coaster, but you can't help but get your heartstrings tugged at (I cried at least once) or become disturbed/upset at some of the things shared (quite a few actually) that happened in not only Brother Andrew's life but in some of the other stories shared.
Growing up, I had heard the term, The Iron Curtain, but I didn't know what it was. Wow! I'm so glad that most of those countries have been able to overcome the communist governments they once had. Everywhere Brother Andrew went you heard them say they felt like they were alone, that no one knew about their struggles and the propaganda about Christianity pushed on to their youth and that the US was a horrible country. It was incredible. I can only imagine what that would have been like. I know that people/governments push for power, but I don't understand why in this particular manner. It truly boggles my mind.
The only thing that bothered me about this book was the profiles that they included in each chapter. Though I enjoyed them, they didn't fit. It felt weird breaking the story to read the inserts, just to start the story again, so I would go back to the profiles after I had finished the chapter and the "Imagine This...What Would You Do?" question.
I should make note that I also own the book, "God's Smuggler." I hadn't read it yet when I started this one. I thought that maybe they would have a short snippet from "God's Smuggler" and stories from others that walk 'the narrow road,' in this book, but no. This book is "God's Smuggler" with the extra profiles and questions at the end of the chapters. It says on the cover that it includes "God's Smuggler," so that was my mistake.
I highly recommend this book, even if you aren't much of a history buff as the material is not dry and easy to read. It will truly open your eyes to life in a communist country and the persecution of Christians that occur, even to this day.
November 8, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Well written. Learned a lot about brother Andrew and his evangelism behind the iron curtain. Encouraging to hear about the courage he and other missionaries had. Also fascinating to hear about the propaganda within these communist countries. I appreciated the style of writing that included new vocabulary for me.
Well written. Learned a lot about brother Andrew and his evangelism behind the iron curtain. Encouraging to hear about the courage he and other missionaries had. Also fascinating to hear about the propaganda within these communist countries. I appreciated the style of writing that included new vocabulary for me.
May 3, 2023
The added stories sprinkled through this book were distracting... I read them after I was done the book. Love reading about how God works through Christians! Reminded me to pray for boldness and to look for opportunities God presents to us! We have so much richness in being able to worship freely but also are surrounded by so many who need the truth of Jesus!
January 22, 2026
We read the God's Smuggler portion but haven't gone back and read all the little insets yet.
June 29, 2022
This is essentially God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew but with a lot of additional content sprinkled throughout the book. The additions are not from Andrew, but from a team of editors that have repackaged and retitled Andrew’s autobiography with other smaller stories from similar missionaries’ experiences.
There are 4 categorical additions:
-Personal testimonies from persecuted Christians
-personal accounts of smugglers with Open Door International
-blurbs with information about countries that have/are persecuting Christians that are taken from the book Please Pray for Us
-questions at the end of each chapter to consider the dilemmas of being persecuted for your faith
Personally, I didn’t care for this book. I found all the additional items very distracting. Every few pages there is a box text with one if these three types of inserted additions, that take up on average half a page.
The information itself isn’t a problem, but this autobiography reads in a very compelling linear narrative of Andrew’s life story, and trying to stop every few pages to read something completely unrelated is taxing.
As for my review for God’s Smuggler, the bulk of this book’s content, please see my previous review for that book-
God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew
What a fascinating autobiography that reflects a very unique time in history, but has a timeless message to the Church concerning state regulation of the faith.
This is Brother Andrew’s story of his coming to faith after his service for the Netherlands in Indonesia during WW2, and his subsequent smuggling of bibles and preaching to soviet block countries during the Cold War.
I particularly loved the very specific history lesson about the Netherlands and Indonesia. Although it isn’t much in that regard, it did inspire me to look more into an easily looked over event, that has a lot of significance. And more to the point was Andrew’s personal experiences which line up with some of the best war fictions like All Quiet on the Western Front. And with these experiences, we get reflections on war and how it isn’t compatible with His faith.
His experiences in the Soviet Block countries are also extremely interesting historically, but also as a christian, for the first hand experiences of the ways that the communist state usurps and oppressed the faith. Even showing how the state copied sacraments and rituals to draw people away from the church and pressure the church to abandon withholding sacraments from those participating in the mimicking state traditions.
⚠️ Parental Warning ⚠️
Because this book is recommended in many homeschool curriculums, I think it’s important to note the subject matter that is in this book:
Accounts of WW2 sadness, death and destruction.
The word “bastards” is used.
“naked porters,” likely used just for “shirtless”.
Brother Andrew’s experience with killing people, and specifically civilians, disgusts him but sends him and his comrades into murderous rages and then drinking binges as a coping mechanism.
“Orgies” is used in a probably non-sexual, just drinking way.
Throughout the book and experiences we encounter characters that have mentioned but non descript conversations about “Perversion and bathroom talk”, “lewd talk”, “Sodomy”, “prostitution”, “sex,” “Smutty stories”, “street walker”,
As well as mentions of a woman that will “sell her body” and that “pornography” was illegal, and a nonracial context of “n!@@&*dly”
Spiritually there were a lot of red flags. Not to take away from the significance of what this man has accomplished, but I have some serious issues with the type of Christianity that can be inferred from his story:
There are implications of karma christianity as he shows that he did good things and immediately from God received funding.
He also shows the practice of closing eyes and picking Bible verses as special messages from God.
There are illustrations of Christian omen reading, like checking a clock to get a special message about a certain time.
There are 4 categorical additions:
-Personal testimonies from persecuted Christians
-personal accounts of smugglers with Open Door International
-blurbs with information about countries that have/are persecuting Christians that are taken from the book Please Pray for Us
-questions at the end of each chapter to consider the dilemmas of being persecuted for your faith
Personally, I didn’t care for this book. I found all the additional items very distracting. Every few pages there is a box text with one if these three types of inserted additions, that take up on average half a page.
The information itself isn’t a problem, but this autobiography reads in a very compelling linear narrative of Andrew’s life story, and trying to stop every few pages to read something completely unrelated is taxing.
As for my review for God’s Smuggler, the bulk of this book’s content, please see my previous review for that book-
God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew
What a fascinating autobiography that reflects a very unique time in history, but has a timeless message to the Church concerning state regulation of the faith.
This is Brother Andrew’s story of his coming to faith after his service for the Netherlands in Indonesia during WW2, and his subsequent smuggling of bibles and preaching to soviet block countries during the Cold War.
I particularly loved the very specific history lesson about the Netherlands and Indonesia. Although it isn’t much in that regard, it did inspire me to look more into an easily looked over event, that has a lot of significance. And more to the point was Andrew’s personal experiences which line up with some of the best war fictions like All Quiet on the Western Front. And with these experiences, we get reflections on war and how it isn’t compatible with His faith.
His experiences in the Soviet Block countries are also extremely interesting historically, but also as a christian, for the first hand experiences of the ways that the communist state usurps and oppressed the faith. Even showing how the state copied sacraments and rituals to draw people away from the church and pressure the church to abandon withholding sacraments from those participating in the mimicking state traditions.
⚠️ Parental Warning ⚠️
Because this book is recommended in many homeschool curriculums, I think it’s important to note the subject matter that is in this book:
Accounts of WW2 sadness, death and destruction.
The word “bastards” is used.
“naked porters,” likely used just for “shirtless”.
Brother Andrew’s experience with killing people, and specifically civilians, disgusts him but sends him and his comrades into murderous rages and then drinking binges as a coping mechanism.
“Orgies” is used in a probably non-sexual, just drinking way.
Throughout the book and experiences we encounter characters that have mentioned but non descript conversations about “Perversion and bathroom talk”, “lewd talk”, “Sodomy”, “prostitution”, “sex,” “Smutty stories”, “street walker”,
As well as mentions of a woman that will “sell her body” and that “pornography” was illegal, and a nonracial context of “n!@@&*dly”
Spiritually there were a lot of red flags. Not to take away from the significance of what this man has accomplished, but I have some serious issues with the type of Christianity that can be inferred from his story:
There are implications of karma christianity as he shows that he did good things and immediately from God received funding.
He also shows the practice of closing eyes and picking Bible verses as special messages from God.
There are illustrations of Christian omen reading, like checking a clock to get a special message about a certain time.
March 17, 2016
"The Narrow Road" by well-known Christian missionary, Brother Andrew is essentially the story of his adventures behind the Iron Curtain (helping persecuted churches during the Cold War), as told in his classic book, "God Smuggler". It includes additional information like profiles about countries with persecuted Christians, short stories from persecuted Christians and stories from missionaries to some of those countries. This extra information could be distracting to some readers, I just read those sections separately to the main story. This book is eye-opening and thought-provoking. It moved me greatly. Brother Andrew learns to trust God in ever-increasing ways as he ventures into dangerous Communist territories to bring Bibles to the Christians who need them, among many other things. I was humbled and encouraged by what I read. Towards the end, the story became reasonably repetitive. Otherwise, I recommend this book to all Christians, but especially to Christian missionaries.
8/10
8/10
October 25, 2016
The format of the book was pretty annoying, and I gave up reading the interspersed "random" stories and snippets that interrupted the main text.
But the life of Brother Andrew is amazing.
But the life of Brother Andrew is amazing.
November 3, 2020
"We have given ourselves over to the familiar incense of the tradition. We have grown accustomed to the perception of a King with few dimensions. We have wrapped ourselves in the robe of safety & settled into our cozy surroundings. We have fallen asleep, while a warming fire rages just out of reach. B/c it has always been far less dangerous to believe in a small Kingdom ruled by a King void of surprise, mystery, or wild abandon, than to contend with the tension & confusion of the kingdom as it actually exists."
"...uor culture has been blinded from a true vision of the way God works in suffering. ... There are miracles & tragedies, passion & suffering, great joy & indescribable injustice, none of which fit into our narrow worldview."
"But it was in their struggles that they found great joy. They are truly a suffering people, blessed by God."
"My God was not big enough to speak into tragedy with laughter."
"Time and place are our own limitations...we must not impose them on God."
"If he were a King in name only...I would remain a Christian, but ...know my religion was only a set of principles, excellent and to be followed, but hardly demanding devotion."
"Persecution is an enemy the Church has met & mastered many times. Indifference could prove to be a far more dangerous foe."
"...the role of a christian when his country is in trouble. Is it to run, or is it to stand?"
"Everyday we see fresh proof that indeed all things - even evil ones - work together for those who are called by His name."
"...uor culture has been blinded from a true vision of the way God works in suffering. ... There are miracles & tragedies, passion & suffering, great joy & indescribable injustice, none of which fit into our narrow worldview."
"But it was in their struggles that they found great joy. They are truly a suffering people, blessed by God."
"My God was not big enough to speak into tragedy with laughter."
"Time and place are our own limitations...we must not impose them on God."
"If he were a King in name only...I would remain a Christian, but ...know my religion was only a set of principles, excellent and to be followed, but hardly demanding devotion."
"Persecution is an enemy the Church has met & mastered many times. Indifference could prove to be a far more dangerous foe."
"...the role of a christian when his country is in trouble. Is it to run, or is it to stand?"
"Everyday we see fresh proof that indeed all things - even evil ones - work together for those who are called by His name."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 14, 2017
This book was given to me by a family member shortly after it was published, and it sat on my shelf for fifteen years. What a pleasant surprise I found beneath an unappealing cover identifying the book with the band "Jars of Clay." I found the meat of the material, Brother Andrew's 50-year-old autobiography properly titled "God's Smuggler," to be compelling and inspiring. Mini-stories are scattered throughout the book; the reader can engage with them or not - they distract from the main narrative of Andrew's biography, but they paint a picture of some of the severe adversities faced by Christians in parts of the world. Brother Andrew's story of ministry behind the Iron Curtain documents a season of history that has passed but should never be forgotten, especially by Christians in the West. History does have a way of repeating itself.
March 2, 2021
An amazing story of one who walked purely by faith and was able to see how God grew that very first seed of trust into an amazing ministry. I was very moved by this story and found great resources to seek out at the end of the book. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in missions, a true faith walk, and miraculous answers to prayer.
March 4, 2025
Hard to get into, then difficult to put down. Takes place before and during WW II, focusing on Dorrigo Evans, an Australian who spends 3 ½ years in a Japanese POW camp. The horror of the camp went on a little long, but it does help support the insights the prisoners and their guards learn about themselves and those around them. Beautiful writing with great depth. Read August 2024
April 28, 2021
This is a version of Brother Andrew’s book God’s Smuggler which is fantastic. The editor added reflection questions and snippet missionary stories from around the world which I found distracting. For the most part I skipped them.
July 19, 2021
Amazing reading experience! Very inspirational, full of reminders of the power of our God! I read The Narrow Road slowly, a couple chapters at a time to give myself time to absorb individual adventures. Not my first Brother Andrew book, to be sure. Each one is well worth the time.
December 29, 2025
The Narrow Road is inspirational to my faith. I read this story many years ago for the first time, but it was worth rereading in this season of my life. Although the globe has changed much politically since Brother Andrew wrote his testimony, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
January 20, 2026
Brother Andrew's story is simply outstanding. He is a perfect example of sacrificial love. His devotion to introducing Christianity around the world is unparralled. What a terrific, inspiring memoir!
May 11, 2017
Wonderful story! Great read with uplifting and hopeful message in a stressful uncertain time with insight into a time period that is often overlooked.
March 29, 2018
I loved reading the story of Brother Andrew, Bible Smuggler, the stories of others who have joined in the work, and the stories of Christians under great persecution for their faith. Very inspiring.
August 23, 2018
This book encouraged me so much in the faith. An amazing tale of how to trust God.
November 25, 2018
Written like a grandfather tells you stories.
October 19, 2019
It was a great lesson in faith!
August 22, 2020
This is God's Smuggler with other little anecdotes included. I think they add to it.
September 25, 2023
This book is challenging and thought-provoking, and absolutely full of God-moments. Highly, highly recommend!
November 25, 2025
Wow, really refreshing and powerful.
September 25, 2011
This was a great read! There is so much adventure in this book. I felt like all the places that the author talked about going that I now have to go myself (Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Albania, etc.). It is very inspiring. Definitely a must read for anyone interested in mission work and Communism.
My criticism is about the format of the book. There were a lot of added stories (A Traveler's Story, Diary of a Smuggler, etc.) that were really distracting from the main story. They were almost as annoying commercials; so, once I finished the book I went back and read all of the added stories separately. They were interesting, but very easily could have been put in an appendix. Also, I have no idea why Jars of Clay got their name on the book; there were a few pages in the book about them, but they were not even included in the main story.
My criticism is about the format of the book. There were a lot of added stories (A Traveler's Story, Diary of a Smuggler, etc.) that were really distracting from the main story. They were almost as annoying commercials; so, once I finished the book I went back and read all of the added stories separately. They were interesting, but very easily could have been put in an appendix. Also, I have no idea why Jars of Clay got their name on the book; there were a few pages in the book about them, but they were not even included in the main story.
December 4, 2012
This book was, by far, one of the best I've read. An amazing story of God's goodness and power, 'The Narrow Road' will definitely keep you turning pages! I could barely put it down as I read about mission after mission that Brother Andrew went on in different countries. Amazing how the Lord 'made seeing eyes blind' in order to conceal hundreds of Bibles in the car, or how God provided even just a lowered price on laundry detergent to prove His love for Andrew. Truly an amazing and inspiring book and I highly recommend it.
June 26, 2008
This book is about Brother Andrew, the author of God Smugglers. It is an amazing book! Is has many stories from around the world about the persecution of the church and really reminds us of what we American Christians so easily forget, that standing for your belief in Christ may cost your your life. I loved the story of Brother Andrew's life and how God work in it as he become a preacher. These are stories that inspire and challenge you. It is a very easy read and a great book.
August 2, 2010
Never give up! God is amazing and if you are faithful, the Lord will give you what you need to fulfill that mission, whether that is friendship, favor, and/or a spouse. Brother Andrew was bold and brave to smuggle bibles into place where the Word was scarce. If we all can be that bold and trust the Lord as this man did, we would all be making a huge difference in our cities.
December 30, 2007
Brother Andrew begins by being honest about his wayward youth. And then details his life of service. This is a version of the book God's Smuggler written for youth, but anyone will enjoy it. Brother Andrew smuggled Bibles into other countries.
May 31, 2008
One of my favorite missionary books...he's got story after story of how God comes through-his trust and faith that God would come through on every aspect of his life, finances, direction, purpose, even love, should be an example of how one should live.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews