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Review: Perspectives on the World Christian Movement

Perspectives of the World Christian Movement book cover on blue background

If you were to ask me what my favourite Christian non-fiction book is (outside of the Bible), I would hands down pick Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Comprised of shorter essays and excerpts from seminal missiologists around the world, this classic book is the textbook for the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course, offered by Perspectives USA. I had the blessing of taking this course when I was in college, and it completely changed my life.

Book Synopsis

Perspectives on the World Christian Movement presents a multi-faceted collection of readings exploring the biblical, historical, cultural, and strategic dimensions of world evangelization.

Writings from more than 150 mission scholars and practitioners (over 60 of them new to this edition) portray the history and anticipate the potential of the global Christian movement. Every one of the 170 articles and side bars 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.

The Fourth Edition contains over 60 articles and sidebars that are new to this edition. Many articles have been updated and revised.

Source: Publisher

Book Thoughts

If there is one book out there that can convince any Christian about God's heart for the nations, it is this book. Covering the biblical, historical, cultural, and strategic perspectives of what it means to go and make disciples of Jesus Christ of all the nations (Matthew 28:16-20), Perspectives on the World Christian Movement is precisely that, the four perspectives of how we can understand God's global purposes. Since this book accompanies a course, it is quite thick, but with short chapters that are easily digestible for readers who pick it up. Don't let the size of the book deter you! It is a magnificent compendium of everything related to missions and evangelism, but more than that, it teaches believers how to have a global Christian mindset. This is the very book that convinced me that I could not remain a Christian who was uninterested in what was happening to others around the world. Apart from the Bible, this book has had an immeasurable influence on my life, changing the trajectory of how I practice my faith and how I choose to live.

Not only are there inspiring stories of God at work around the world, written by the very people who have witnessed the transforming power of Jesus, there are calls to action that I have carried with me to this day after first hearing about it decades ago. If there is just one section that a Christian should read, I highly recommend all the chapters under World Christian Discipleship. This section gets at the heart of what it means to follow God, to be a blessing to others, and to share in God's heart for the world. Ralph D. Winter, who sadly passed away just before the release of the fourth edition, wrote a chapter called "Reconsecration to a Wartime, Not a Peacetime, Lifestyle" that has undoubtedly convicted me to not live life for myself. If these three short pages can make that much of a difference in my formative and adult years, imagine what the full book and accompanying course can do in your walk with God!

Book Summary

  • Format of book: 📖
  • Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Yes, this is 6 stars out of 5.)
  • Recommendation: 👍👍
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