What is Luke’s main purpose in writing the book of Acts? In this close study of the entire Acts narrative, McGinnis analyzes Luke’s story of the first Christians in light of ancient rhetorical conventions, concluding that Luke presents his stories to strengthen the missional commitment and practice of his readers. Missional Acts approaches a vast amount of varied mission content systematically, dividing it into rhetorical instruction about missional stimuli, structures, strategies, and suffering, while using a body analogy to provide coherence. Even the enigmatic ending of Acts intentionally advances Luke’s rhetorical purposes. Luke’s teaching finds its culmination in the ministry of his archetypal missionary, the apostle Paul, whose missionary journeys are a Lukan masterclass in mission strategy with much to teach about ministry that transforms whole regions. McGinnis rejects the traditional dichotomy that Paul is either a missionary or a prisoner and shows that throughout his work Luke depicts suffering as an integral part of the mission, seeking to prepare his readers to face opposition of various kinds. Missional Acts will help readers approach Acts in innovative ways by reading it through a primary missional lens.

This book is a distillation of reading Acts for over fifty years, preaching it for twenty-five years, and studying it in-depth for five years. My aim is for students, church leaders, preachers, and missionaries to join me on a journey of narrative theology—a literary exploration of transformation by the Spirit and the Word in Acts. As with every part of God’s inspired Scriptures, there is always more to discover and apply. As a Reformed Charismatic I believe that Acts is our story. However, rather than just attempting to copy it, I suggest that the book’s unexpected literary shape reveals a challenging missional significance. The need for world gospel mission continues today. However, like the early church, we often contain the Holy Spirit within our own structures and are reluctant to move out of our comfort zones. Acts shows the church’s priority is to be God’s mission instrument in the world. Let’s study, lead, preach, and go from Acts so that we realize Jesus’s promise “that you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the end(s) of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

"Mission" has become, for many North American Christians, an ambiguous and often uncomfortable term. To many it brings to mind a past in which western culture was identified with the gospel in missionary practice and programs. Distressed with this history and uncertain about how to overcome it, many prefer to ignore the New Testament mandate that the church must be in mission if it is to be the church. Others swing the other way, declaring that everything the church does is mission, depriving the idea of mission of its power to define those specific actions of God which proclaim the gospel and build God's kingdom. "The church exists by missions, just as fire exists by burning." With these words of Emil Brunner, the author reminds us that to be the church is to be in mission. After describing the various "captivities of mission" which plague North American Christianity, the author argues for a robust and engaged practice of mission, beginning in congregations and extending to the broader community.

Cathy Ross and Steve Bevans are two of the biggest names in the study of mission and missiology worldwide. Cathy is director of OxCEPT at Ripon College Cuddesdon and Steve Bevans is teaching missiology at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. The contributors in the book consider mission through the lens of ‘prophetic dialogue'. The book consciously tries to bring a fresh approach – introducing some newer themes (identity, creation, migration) and bringing a different perspective on some older themes by grouping them in this way. It is theological rather than issues-based and involves both older and newer contributors. The book is aimed at scholars and students of missiology in the UK, the US and worldwide. It is also a contribution to the study of world Christianity and contextual theology. Contributors include Jonny Baker, Kirsteen Kim, Gavin d'Costa, Emma Wild-Wood, Robert Schreiter and S. Mark Heim.

Drawing on insights from the training practices of the English medieval craft guilds, a global survey of 500 church planters, interviews with artists and church planting trainers and the authors’ 30 years of ministry experience, 'The Craft of Church Planting' offers a distinctive and imaginative perspective on the methods used to train future practitioners in the art of church planting. Demonstrating how training for the next generation of church planting leaders might be informed by the historic master-apprentice model, guild learning communities, creativity and an artisan approach to ministry, this book is a vital resource to inform the methods of training for the next generation of church planters.

Christians should make disciples as disciples. Christians who are engaged in missions regularly face ethical challenges. But the approaches and standards of modern missions often further complicate, rather than alleviate, matters. Modern missiology debates what actions constitute mission work, how to measure growth, and the difference between persuasion and coercion. In Virtuous Persuasion, Michael Niebauer casts a holistic vision for Christian mission that is rooted in theological ethics and moral philosophy. Niebauer proposes a theology of mission grounded in virtue. Becoming a skilled missionary is more about following Christ than mastering techniques. Christian mission is best understood as specific activities that develop virtue in its practitioners and move them toward their ultimate goal of partaking in the glory of God. With Virtuous Persuasion, you can rethink the essence of Jesus's Great Commission and how we seek to fulfill it.

The Emerging Church movement developed in the mid-1990s among primarily white, urban, middle-class pastors and laity who were disenchanted with America’s conservative Evangelical sub-culture. It is a response to the increasing divide between conservative Evangelicals and concerned critics who strongly oppose what they consider overly slick, corporate, and consumerist versions of faith. A core feature of their response is a challenge to traditional congregational models, often focusing on new church plants and creating networks of related house churches. Drawing on three years of ethnographic fieldwork, James S. Bielo explores the impact of the Emerging Church movement on American Evangelicals. He combines ethnographic analysis with discussions of the movement’s history, discursive contours, defining practices, cultural logics, and contentious interactions with conservative Evangelical critics to rethink the boundaries of “Evangelical” as a category. Ultimately, Bielo makes a novel contribution to our understanding of the important changes at work among American Protestants, and illuminates how Emerging Evangelicals interact with the cultural conditions of modernity, late modernity, and visions of “postmodern” Christianity.

How should we bear witness to the gospel in a postmodern world? How do we navigate the turbulent waters of social, cultural, and religious difference in a pluralistic society? How can we minister effectively in multicultural contexts and swim against the unconscious currents of ethnocentrism? These questions compel the church to thoroughly reconsider its priorities and rethink its strategy of public engagement. Amidst the diversity and the complexity of our world, such an examination can rekindle our prophetic imagination and equip us ever more fully in God’s kingdom purposes. This book reexamines the church’s mission and makes specific applications in numerous areas of contemporary concern, including outreach to the religious unaffiliated, digital natives, people of other faiths, immigrants, and the poor.

Is ministering to youth like being a cross-cultural missionary? You'd better believe it. The parallels between ministry within youth culture and global missions have long been touted by youth ministry experts, yet few resources exist to help youth workers benefit practically from the insights of missiologists. In Youth Ministry as Mission, Brian Hull and Patrick Mays fill this gap with an introduction to missiology, missions practice, and missionary witness tailored especially for a youth ministry context. Youth ministers will discover missiological language that describes realities they face regularly and activities of cross-cultural missionaries that translate well into leaders within youth ministries. Hull and Mays address issues such as: • Understanding the relationship of the incarnation to ministering in youth culture • Translating stories and practicing storytelling as preparation for witnessing • Teaching for witness in a multi-religious context Youth Ministry as Mission will be a valuable guide for college and seminary students as well as a breath of fresh air to those already working in youth ministry. "Hull and Mays show us how missiology can help us see a way forward in youth ministry, humbly discovering the mission of God right where we are--where we, too, have been sent to become living translations of the gospel for young people." --Brad M. Griffin, senior director, Fuller Youth Institute; author of 3 Big Questions That Change Every Teenager "With deferential scholarly humility, Hull and Mays have written a book that insists on integration over invention." --Dr. Dave Rahn, coauthor of Disrupting Teens with Joy

Theology disconnected from mission is not Christian theology at all. The pastors, professors, and missionaries writing Theology and Practice of Mission provide a clear biblical-theological framework for understanding the church's mission to the nations. Toward that goal, the book holds three major sections: God's mission, the church's mission, and the church's mission to the nations. Part one explores the canon of Christian Scripture from narrative and systematic angles, explaining how the mission of God-to redeem a people who will be a kingdom of priests to the praise of his glory, bear witness to his gospel, advance his church, and dwell with him forever on a new heaven and earth-is communicated in the Bible's four movements: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. Part two sees the mission of God's people in the light of God's mission, emphasizing not only preaching and church planting but also gospel witness in every dimension of human culture-glorifying God in family, church, work, community, through the arts, sciences, education, business, and the public square. The writers encourage us to live missionally, leaving all of our resources at God's disposal for the sake of his kingdom. Finally, part three contends that the North American church must come to terms with its missional calling-just as international missionaries do-and gives a starting point and parameters for conceiving the church's mission to all people groups and cultural contexts. Chapters here include ones on unreached people groups, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Postmoderns.