Customer Reviews

Revolution In World Missions

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I enjoyed reading about KPY's perspective on the Western church and the current native missionary movement in Asia. I agree wholeheartedly that we in the West desperately need to open our eyes and share our material blessings with the rest of the Body of Christ. In many ways, our wealth has been our spiritual downfall because we have kept so much of it for ourselves and have been blinded by it. It was also exciting to read about the adventures of faith that God took him through in his life.

On the other hand, I think that the book erroneously asserts that the Western church *primarily* has only financial gifts and prayer support to offer the 2/3 world. If we followed KPY's recommendation, I think that missions would suffer, not because we're so great, but that God has commanded every member of the Body to minister cross-culturally to the other members. Jesus said "Go to the ends of the earth," not just to the 2/3 church but to all believers. Just like we need the perspective and unique gifts of the church in India, for example, we likewise have gifts to share with them. Also, as for the argument that native missionaries are more effective and economical than foreign missionaries, that needs to be balanced with the fact that missions began with disciples going to other cultures and lands to share the gospel. Cross-cultural missions should not be excluded on the basis of economy, but on the contrary we need to obey our calling by inciting more Christians in the West to go and reach out to the unreached peoples.

GFA seems to be a great ministry for planting churches in Asia, and we should support such ministries enthusiastically and work in partnership with them...but don't be discouraged to not send Western missionaries abroad or go yourself.

This book challenged me greatly in this present time of the "Prosperity Message"! I needed to read this very much. If you Pastor, work in missions, or desire to do either, I say this book is a must. I wish all believers would read it, but those especially.
The fact that the book is available free shows the heart of K.P. Yohannan. Dont mistake it for not being worth anything.
The only 2 issues I wrestled with in the book was
1) I believe there needs to be more accountability with the money on the mission field. K.P. rejected monies that had strings attached to it, saying once the money was turned over to the local missionaries, it was between them and God if it was mishandled. There are too many Jacobs out there to just leave it at that (IMHO). We should be accountable to those who support us.
2) I belive like K.P. the best way to win the Chinese is with Chinese, and the Indians with Indians. I believe too many western missionaries have moved over seas and lived like kings and made no difference in the lives of the natives...I agree with all that. But, I kind of came away from this book feeling as an American missionary I had no reason to go to that foreign field, just send my money and prayers. Maybe I took it a little harsh, but anyone willing to go to that mission field with a pure heart is a great need and can have a great impact.

Not for the faint-hearted, this book is written for Christians here in America who are not afraid to be challenged and rebuked by this man of faith.

Personally, I was deeply challenged by this concept of the native missionary movement. It was difficult to read this book and not finish with a radically different perspective of how we should spend our money and how we should view the crucial work of 21st Century missions. I was not turned off by K.P.'s blatant pushing / selling of the work of his missions agency - given his background and passion, how can he not?

Read this book, then pass it along to a friend. Even if you don't have time to read the whole book, the first five chapters give you the gist of the story. And even if you don't agree with everything he says (I'm still digesting certain chapters), K.P. is someone whose story is worth knowing.

Overall this book was such a disappointment.

Let's start with the positives:
I totally agree that native missionaries are key to reaching their own people. I believe that once there is a viable church within a nation or people group, that church becomes primary custodians for the gospel there, along with others who God calls to assist them. The need to raise national missionaries cannot be understated (except in the case of marginalizing others in the process).
Some of K.P's insights into Indian culture are interesting, although I'm sure there is better stuff out there.

Now for the not so good stuff:
1. The ancient paradigm of the apparent irreconcilable gap between social action and gospel proclamation is really regrettable! KP goes as far as to say that missionaries who are feeding the hungry and clothing the naked (as Jesus commands) are condemning people to hell... Thankfully it seems that the majority of the evangelical missions community is getting over this kind of dichotomy.

I found it odd that when I went to the ministry's website I found opportunities to give toward social upliftment projects... so either the organization has changed their opinion about this or its just a front to get more funds. If the organization has moved on from that I think its great. I just wonder why they are still pushing this book which seems at odds with what they are doing.

2. The whole story about accountability was very strange. I wanted to shout "KP, you're missing the whole point!" The donor is speaking to says clearly that this is about being able to see for themselves the fruit of the ministry. But KP interprets this as neo-colonial mindset of control. Of course, KP trusts the missionaries because he knows them, but others don't, so they want to send someone they do know and trust to see that its all for real.

Finally, he condemns the fact that someone would have to fly to India, and that money could be used for missions.... Very strange.

3. The way KP criticizes the American church shows his own cultural insensitivity. I also lament money that is spent frivolously which could be used more wisely elsewhere. But the fact is that culturally, Americans will need nicer facilities for their worship than they do in India. They don't live, eat, or go to school in a shack so to expect them to do that for their place of worship is unreasonable.
His harsh critique also sends the idea that the church of India is perfect which most readers of the book would not question having not had the chance to go to India. His conclusion, of course, is that the only thing that Americans have to offer God is their money... Makes you wonder "what about poor Americans?"

4. While we're on the money issue, I think KPs relegating Americans to "missions bank" would be very destructive if it was adopted. People need to feel like they are a part of something, that they are partners in the vision and mission. KPs paradigm doesn't allow for that. Someone should tell him that money follows the heart, not the other way around. It is very easy for him to think about giving all his extra cash to missionaries in India precisely because he knows them, he has prayed and evangelized with them, he has shared his LIFE with them. If westerners aren't given the opportunity to take part in missions in a way that is relational and real, the superficial stuff (money) will dry up as well.

5. The other destructive outcome of KPs paradigm would be the mindset of Indian Christians themselves. He never gives a mention for the responsibility of Indian Christians to help with supporting their own missionaries... which is quite strange. Obviously he was so enamored by America's wealth that he decided that it should be their responsibility alone. I believe that the responsibility to reach the world with the gospel and the responsibility to fund missions lies with every nation. Absolute reliance on other nations is never a good thing. God forbid that the Indians become slaves to handouts from America!

6. KP limits his stories of Western missionaries to some of the worst I've ever heard. He presents them as the norm which is such a shame for all the cross-cultural missionaries around the world, most of whom live far, far below their earning potential and far from their native culture to reach and care for God's children. How sad that this book has caused many people to become cynical about Western missionaries who are doing amazing work around the world.

I am sure GFA is a great organization... I'm just not sure why they are so eager to get people to read this book. Perhaps it was really earth shattering in 1986, but I'd like to think the church has moved on from then.

I read this volume shortly after taking a "Perspectives on World Missions" course, and found an enormous difference in approach between the two missiological models. "Perspectives" assumes, to a great degree, that westerners are the ones going to foreign fields, but acknowledges the increasing degree at which non-western churches are sending out missionaries to other non-western countries. South Korea is an excellent example of this. Yohannan, however, places a much greater emphasis on what he calls the "native evangelism" model.

What's the difference? It's actually rather huge. Rather than trying to train, equip and support western missionaries to do evangelism work in cultures that are dramatically different from their own (like an American family serving in the "10/40 window"), Yohannan advocates supporting local evangelists to minister to their own people. The native evangelist, he argues rather convincingly, has enormous advantages over a western missionary in terms of familiarity with the language and culture, and is far less expensive to support. Thus, more effective ministry can be done with far fewer resources.

It was on this model that Yohannan built "Gospel for Asia" ministries from the ground up. Once an itinerant Indian evangelist himself, he was afforded the opportunity to come to the United States as a young man. When he arrived, he was shocked at both the affluence of the western church, and the degree to which it used its enormous resources in a way that did little to advance the gospel. The book goes on to detail the birth and growth of his ministry.

The one place where he lost me was toward the end, where he argues, in effect, that with the rise of the native evangelist model, there is no longer a need, or at least a very minimal need, for westerners to go to the foreign field. I disagree with the proposition for this reason. While cultural natives may be best suited for evangelistic efforts in their own countries, westerners continue to have a valuable role to play in training and discipling the native evangelists. A good example is our church's partnership with a church in Albania, where we are trying to foster native evangelism, but the leaders of that body are begging for western believers to come train them in theology, biblical counseling, small group methodology, spiritual leadership development, etc. These things take time and relationship-building, and that takes a long term missionary. Thus, while the role of the western missionary may be changing, the need is not diminished.

In short, this book provides excellent insights into the growing native evangelism movement, and issues a challenge to the western to pour its resources into this highly effective model of ministry. However, the author should take caution against becoming so enamored with his own ministry that he rejects the legitimate, indeed necessary, role that the western churches must continue to fill in world evangelism.

After going on a short term mission trip, I was completely disillusioned. It was rather horrible - no real work was done in the name of the Lord. There was a lot of playing with kids, and giving away candy, but to call it a mission trip I strongly felt was completely unfair to true missionaries. About a week after I got back, someone recommended this book.

When I read this book, my heart lept for joy. It completely defined and explained everything that I saw, and was burdened with in my heart.

The book is a call for the church to be the church - burdened for the lost, and using all of its resources in the most effective way possible to reach them. KP Yohanan presents a beautiful way that God is working in these last days. The only thing is, you have to be prepared to not get any glory, unlike telling people you're taking a 2 week mission trip to [insert country here]. He proves how ineffective these trips are, how ineffecient, and how the same resources could be used to help the church around the world send out its own missionaries, who are far stronger than the average American. It is also a radical call to true Christian living - sacrifice. This is a must read.

The only thing I would caution - KP is pretty dogmatic that foreigners should let people handle their own lands, because they can do it better. This does prey to the American "just drop some change in the bucket" church mentality. Although I believe this is the best option for most, God will sovereignly call some people to go to the mission field, and I would hate for them to doubt that call and think they can be of no use.

First published in 1986, I'm surprised that such an insightful book hasn't gathered more attention. One of a Christian's main goals is to reach the lost, this book describes a method by which we could possibly reach more unbelievers more rapidly. Even if a person was to not use the author's specific organization, the solution proposed is simple yet quite profound. His main point is a winner in my book. I assigned the 3 rating because the book is not in-depth and has only one main point. However, it is still worth reading.

Honestly, he's right about around 10% of what he says in this piece of fire-starter. In essence what he says is, 'send us money and ask no questions how it is spent. We don't need accountability like the rest of the world.' Then he really steps over a line when he tells us Western Missionaries aren't needed anymore. That we don't need to obey Christ in the great commission, but just give them the money to do so. Sure he leaves room for us in a few countries where there are NO churches, but other than that the message is straight. Go Home. Non-sense. If every western missionary went home or stopped going people would starve all over the world.

His story of how he courageously turned down money because the givers wanted accountability is a pathetic mask to cover something dark. I've been in numerous countries, and one of the TOP rules (if you don't want to corrupt or tempt people, worldwide) is make them give account for the money given. NO ONE is above that. The LOVE of money is the root of all evil.

Honestly, was excited the first few pages, but soon realized this book was to be kept in case I am ever in a cold part of the world, sharing the gospel, and need something to burn. Hate to be mean, but this book in the hand of people who have never traveled will result in good hearted missionaries loosing support. I spend my life doing this, and we work hard to help other missionaries raise money, butto be spit in the face so blatantly is appalling. He LIVES in the USA for goodness sake.


God bless his awesome workers worldwide. Thank God for them. This is no way sheds a bad light on the faithful working for Gospel for Asia.

K.P. Yohannan does a great job in this book in telling people about the problems of a lot of world missions.

One particular point I found eye-opening is in the chapter "A bowl of rice is no substitute for the Holy Spirit." In this chapter K.P. talks about how some Christian ministries often ask for money so that they can feed the poor and that would be a good representation of Christ. But as K.P. points out, feeding people for a period of time is useless unless they hear the Gospel and receive Christ through the Holy Spirit. He points out that often people make the mistake in assuming their money is going to help people come to Christ, but often it only makes them "convert" for a little while, until a group of Muslims come in with some rice -- then they become Muslims!

I also appreciated the chapter about native missionaries, called "Our policy is the natives." K.P. makes a strong case as to why natives are far better missionaries than foriegners. He explains that there is strong anti-western sentiment around the world, and are less-likely to hear westerners. He also potently makes the case that western missionaries just perpetuate the myth that Christianity is a WESTERN religion. I think this chapter of the book was really an eye-opener. Note, however, that he doesn't say that westerners should NEVER do world missionary work, but just that we should be conscious of the fact that the natives can relate and connect far better to their own people than can foreigners.

There are many more good aspects to this book which I think you should read for yourself. Many parts of the book may be contrary to your presuppositions about world-missions, but don't let that turn you off. If you have an open mind you will probably see the wisdom of his words.

I encourage you to pick up this book -- I can assure you that you will learn something.

This book was great because it gave an outsiders perspective of American life. Don't let this book deter you from overseas missions, I still encourage you that Western Europe is in need as well. He lives what he talks about and thats what I admire.