Audio for Week Two
Pete Nelson – The Missionary God
Jason Vander Burgh – Holy Spirit and Missions
Biblical Basis of Missions / God’s Heart for the Nations
This short video summarizes the idea of how Missions is interwoven into the very fabric of the Bible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmtfBZyO_hI
For more information on this topic, including a longer version of the video, visit Global Frontier Missions
Here there is a longer version of the video, with much more detail!
Article
The Living God is a Missionary God
Book Recommendations
Chan, Francis and Danae Yankoski. Forgotten God: Reversing our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit. Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2009.
Sadly, most believers and churches are known for talent or intellect rather than supernatural power. What’s worse is that we’re okay with it. Could it be that we’ve forgotten the One who distinguishes us from every religion and cult in the world? Through scriptural support and compelling narrative, Francis Chan reminds us of the Holy Spirit as the Bible describes Him.
Cymbala, Jim. Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1997.
In Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, pastor Jim Cymbala shares the lessons he learned when the Spirit ignited his heart and began to move through his people. For anyone seeking to live at the center of God’s purposes, Cymbala has updated this well-loved book to show how God is still working in the Brooklyn Tabernacle years later.
This book sparked a revolution in our own ministry in Nairobi. I mark reading this book as one of the key points in our ministry – when I gave up trying to force my vision for the church, and instead trusted in the power of the Holy Spirit to direct our steps.
Cymbala, Jim. Spirit Rising: Tapping into the Power of the Holy Spirit. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012.
You can have regular devotions, great preaching, a strong emphasis on the Bible, a great worship team, and a congregation that is trying, but if you aren’t vitally in touch with God’s Spirit, you are missing out on the life God has for you. The Holy Spirit, he points out, is God’s agent on earth. Yet he is the least understood, least preached about, and least discussed member of the Trinity. That is sad, because without him, our spiritual lives will always become dry, mechanical, and a struggle.
A great follow-up to Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, Spirit Rising invited you to experience God in a fresh way.
Mandryk, Jason. Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2010.
Whether you are an intercessor praying behind the scenes for world change, a missionary abroad or simply curious about the world, Operation World will give you the information necessary to play a vital role in fulfilling the Great Commission by praying for the people of the world and the nations they belong to.
Pratt, Zane, and David Sills. Introduction to Global Missions. Nashvile: B&H Publishing Group, 2014.
Introduction to Global Missions provides a foundation for readers to consider their own missionary call, whether as a full-time field missionary or a church member on short-term projects. No matter their role, Great Commission Christians need a framework for doing missions well.
I used this as a source book for a missions class at the Calvary Chapel Bible College in Nairobi. It is written closer to a textbook style, but written in a way that it is not a diffuclt read.
Winter, Ralph D. and Steven C. Hawthorne. Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader. 4th ed. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2009.
Writings from more than 150 mission scholars and practitioners portray the history and anticipate the potential of the global Christian movement. Every one of the 170 articles and sidebars offers practical wisdom enabling Christians to labor together in bold, Biblical hope to finish the task of seeing that Christ is named and followed among all the peoples of the earth.
This book is a great resource for anyone who wishes to understand more fully the growth of missions and issues facing missions around the world. Many articles we share during this course are found in this book.
