Customer Reviews

The Church Is Bigger Than You Think: The Unfinished Work of World Evangelism

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Patrick Johnstone obviously understands contemporary missions. He also has an evident heart for reaching the world with the saving message of the cross. He has observed and researched many different kinds of mission work in many different areas. This book is not only a record of what he has observed and researched, but it also a book with many challenges and ideas for missions in the future. I appreciated the great deal of numbers, statistics and facts. These were very educational. I also was intrigued by his `tripartite structure' for missions. This structure consists of a balance between the local church, the mission agency and the training institute. There are obvious challenges for the local church, the mission agency and the training institutes in reaching the world for Christ. There is a great few chapters in the back about the Christian life and how that applies to `mission'.

As somewhat of a `conservative evangelical' I found myself cringing at times with his more inclusive view of the Church. And at times, I did not necessarily agree with his interpretation of Isaiah 53. But these may need to be areas that I need to grow in.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in reaching the world with the saving message of the cross. The church has been around for 2000 years, and there is still a lot of work for us to do. I believe this book will inform and challenge us about the unfinished task.

It is an encouraging book to a man trying to explain the importance of mission

Johnstone does well to describe the status of the Church and her lack of missional emphasis in history. He balances this description with hope for world evangelization within the near future, and describes systems and underlying theologies to get the job done. A must-read!