The church has always been a sending church, and it does us good to keep company with those who go. Here are books I recommend on missions—how to do it well, what it looks like on the ground, and the lives of some who gave themselves to it. (See also my recommendations on evangelism and biographies.)
Top Recommendation
Short-term missions has very nearly become a rite of passage, and a great deal of money and goodwill goes into it. Corbett and Fikkert tell us what we have been doing wrong and offer solid, practical, biblical advice on what we can do to get it right at last. If you are going on a short-term missions project, if your church is getting involved with the poor in your community, or if your church is looking at missions work overseas, you need to read this book.
From the Field
With one eye on the present and one on the past, Keesee tells the stories of dedicated men and women from today and from days gone by. I encourage you to join him on this journey and come to see and know the greatest treasures in the world. (I wrote the foreword for this one.)
We often hear a great deal about the church in China but rarely hear from it. This is a powerful and moving collection of translated sermonic letters from Chinese pastors. Read it and you will be blessed, encouraged, and better equipped to endure persecution and whatever else providence may have in store.
Keesee traces his own battle with cancer and spends time with believers around the world who have suffered in other ways. Told by as skilled a writer as Tim, it is a beautiful book as well as a comforting one.
Not missional living or the mere theory of mission work, but real work on the real mission field. Sitton has focused his life and ministry on unreached tribal peoples. The risks are high; the reward is overwhelming.
A ground-level look at one family’s work in a needy place. It is real and honest, wonderfully written, and thoroughly enjoyable. I highly recommend it.
Good as far as it goes, but read When Helping Hurts first—that one has the more holistic understanding of poverty, the kind that includes a relationship with God through the gospel. Once you have read it, you may wish to follow it up with this.
Lives Worth Knowing
Judson, Adoniram
Adoniram Judson remains a fascinating individual and a missionary we do well to remember, and there is a great deal we can learn from his life and ministry. Christie is an excellent biographer who brings his subject to life. I highly recommend it.
Paton, John
Missionary to the Cannibals of the South Seas
Few have carried out a more difficult, costly, or perilous mission than John Paton. Schlehlein has done the church a great service in telling his story again, and telling it well—his theology of risk, his strategy, and the beliefs that fuelled his evangelism.
Lloyd, Davy & Natalie
Written by Davy’s parents about the young missionaries murdered in Haiti in 2024. It is good for us to know that there are martyrs today as there have been in every day for the past 2,000 years.
Macris, Costas
A stirring tale of an amazing life, and one I knew nothing about until the biography unexpectedly showed up in the mail. Consider reading it—you’ll be blessed if you do.
Burnham, Gracia
Gracia Burnham’s account of the year she and her husband Martin spent as hostages in the Philippines. A powerful book and one that is sure to provide encouragement.
