Includes bibliographical references (pages 482-498) and indexes.

The biblical narrative of mission: entering God's story Spiritual awakenings for mission: reflecting God's glory Theological foundations of missions: developing a theology of mission The church: God's embodiment of mission Motives for missions: reasons for participating in God's mission Types of missionaries: the many faces of missionary ministry The missionary cycle: predeparture through reentry Epochs of the world Christian movement: the survival and growth of authentic Christianity through mission Becoming incarnational: illustrations of incarnational ministry Entering a new culture: learning to be learners where worldviews and customs are different Becoming multicultural: overcoming feelings of superiority The nature of cross-cultural communication: encoding and decoding God's eternal message The missional helix: developing practices for God's mission Creative strategies for planting, nurturing, and training: practical ways of implementing God's purposes Planting, nurturing, and training: an incarnational model for tribal Africa Planting, nurturing, and training: an incarnational model for North Africa Using money in missions: the good, the bad, and the ugly The benefits and challenges of short-term missions: how short-term ministry can have long-term impact Selecting areas for cross-cultural mission: intertwining factors

“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.