Customer Reviews

To All Peoples: Missions World Book of the Christian and Missionary Alliance

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Niklaus has with this work provided a sequel to his history of the C&MA, "All for Jesus." While the former work gave a good explanation for the history of the movement and why foreign missions were emphasized, this book gives the details overseas and chronicles the growth of the mission fields themselves.

Despite the C&MA being a North American based denomination, the vast majority of growth has taken place overseas, Several of these planted national Churches have exceeded the size of the US Church and are functioning as their own Church and missions sending organizations. This is an amazing legacy and a clear model upon which to base missions efforts.

A great deal of this occurred because since before WWII the C&MA took the strategy of rejecting colonial evangelism and sought instead for the missionary to plant the church and then rather than directing it indefinitely to raise up indigent leadership and then step aside and allow the Church to form.

The fruits of this approach has been many countries closed to other missions movements, open to the Alliance because they do not threaten their culture or sense of independence. When war, famine or political upheaval have thrown missionaries out of countries, where other Churches have foundered without missionary presence and leadership, Alliance works have thrived because the missionary was just an outside consultant, not the key to the movement.

This book is rife with wonderful stories of faith and martyrdom. It presents a legacy that is amazing.

This work, more than any other, makes me proud to have been a part of the C&MA. Whatever other flaws there are, and they are there, the bottom line is that God has used the C&MA to reach many areas of the world and ours is a model that many other look to in hopes for the same success. That is a legacy and and hope for the future. Whatever issues remain to work out, this type of impact is worth working to continue!

An important book for the C&MA but also one for evangelical Christendom to look to, to rejoice in and to emulate in outreach.