The Story Of Faith Missions

Born of nineteenth-century Evangelical Awakening, and closely linked to Hudson Taylor and the China Inland Mission he founded in 1865, faith missions were unique in two key areas: they were interdenominational and they held firmly to the 'faith principle' of financial support. The faith mission movement has lost none of its vitality and relevance as it continues to play an important evangelistic role in Africa and worldwide. The result of more than a decade of research in Africa, Europe and the United States, and extensively supported by maps and charts, this book is the most comprehensive study available on the faith mission movement in Africa. Setting faith missions in the context of the many revival and missionary movements, which have shaped Protestant church history, the author describes their spiritual and practical evolution over 125 years, and outlines the challenges they face today.

It was not the European and American churches which evangelised Africa, but the mission societies. The missions from the Great Awakening such as the London Missionary Society and Church Missionary Society, or the Holy Ghost Fathers and the White Fathers, which started the process of Sub-Saharan Africa becoming a Christian continent are well known and documented. Less known, and less documented are the interdenominational faith missions which began in 1873 with the aim of visiting the still unreached areas of Africa: North Africa, the Sudan Belt and the Congo Basin. Missions such as the Africa Inland Mission or Sudan Interior Mission gave birth to some of the big churches like ECWA in Nigeria and Africa Inland Church in Kenya. It is the aim of this book to describe faith missions and their theology and to present an overview of the early development of faith missions insofar as they touched Africa.

Modest and unobtrusive, Anthony Norris Groves did not consider himself a gifted evangelist. His name is not usually mentioned alongside William Carey and Hudson Taylor, but Groves had a pioneering influence that went beyond his personal reach. He and his family followed God's call to Baghdad and India, leaving their comfortable English lives behind. Though he doubted his success as a missionary, Groves' character and ideas shaped the people who followed him as he followed Christ. Exhaustively researched, Father of Faith Missions is not merely about the life of one missionary but also a record of Groves influence on missionary initiatives and the Brethren movement. Drawing upon Groves own journals and letters in addition to copious scholarship, this book is both a journey into history and a reminder that God's faithfulness is as true now as it was then.

This close look at what the Lord is doing to spread the gospel highlights the key scriptural principles that help Christians reach out in love to share the gospel in their own community.

This volume comprises an excellent introductory survey of Christian missions from A.D. 30 to the twentieth century.

It was not the European and American churches which evangelised Africa, but the mission societies. The missions from the Great Awakening such as the London Missionary Society and Church Missionary Society, or the Holy Ghost Fathers and the White Fathers, which started the process of Sub-Saharan Africa becoming a Christian continent are well known and documented. Less known, and less documented are the interdenominational faith missions which began in 1873 with the aim of visiting the still unreached areas of Africa: North Africa, the Sudan Belt and the Congo Basin. Missions such as the Africa Inland Mission or Sudan Interior Mission gave birth to some of the big churches like ECWA in Nigeria and Africa Inland Church in Kenya. It is the aim of this book to describe faith missions and their theology and to present an overview of the early development of faith missions insofar as they touched Africa.

In this addition to the highly acclaimed Encountering Mission series, two leading missionary scholars offer an up-to-date discussion of missionary strategy that is designed for a global audience. The authors focus on the biblical, missiological, historical, cultural, and practical issues that inform and guide the development of an effective missions strategy. The book includes all the features that have made other series volumes useful classroom tools, such as figures, sidebars, and case studies. Students of global or domestic mission work and mission practitioners will value this new resource.