Western Christians in Global Mission - by Paul Borthwick (Paperback)

About the Book

Missions specialist Paul Borthwick brings an urgent report on how the Western church can best continue in global mission. Providing current analysis of the state of the world and Majority World opinion, Borthwick offers concrete advice for North American churches who are ready to pursue genuine partnership with their non-Western counterparts.

Book Synopsis

Christianity Today Book Award of Merit Winner

Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year

The world has changed.

A century ago, Christianity was still primarily centered in North America and Europe. By the dawn of the twenty-first century, Christianity had become a truly global faith, with Christians in Asia, Africa and Latin America outpacing those in the rest of the world. There are now more Christians in China than in all of Europe, more Pentecostals in Brazil than in the United States, and more Anglicans in Kenya than in Great Britain, Canada and the United States combined. Countries that were once destinations for western missionaries are now sending their own missionaries to North America.

Given these changes, some think the day of the Western missionary is over. Some are wary that American mission efforts may perpetuate an imperialistic colonialism. Some say that global outreach is best left to indigenous leaders. Others simply feel that resources should be focused on the home front. Is there an ongoing role for the North American church in global mission?

Missions specialist Paul Borthwick brings an urgent report on how the Western church can best continue in global mission. He provides a current analysis of the state of the world and how Majority World leaders perceive North American Christians' place. Borthwick offers concrete advice for how Western Christians can be involved without being paternalistic or creating dependency. Using their human and material resources with wise and strategic stewardship, North Americans can join forces with the Majority World in new, interdependent ways to answer God's call to global involvement.

In this critical age, the global body of Christ needs one another more than ever. Discover how the Western church can contribute to a new era of mission marked by mutuality, reciprocity and humility.

Review Quotes

"Western Christians in Global Mission combines up-to-date analysis of what God is doing worldwide with passionate commitment to obeying and fulfilling the Great Commission. Here is a textbook for students, a guidebook for missions leaders, a study book for small groups and a challenge book for every Christian."

--Leith Anderson, president, National Association of Evangelicals, Washington, DC

"Borthwick introduces Western readers (especially Americans!) to what they need to know to engage the diversity of global Christian faith. Offering both critique and encouragement, he reminds us of how Americans perceive themselves and how they are perceived by sisters and brothers around the world. It's a solid dose of humility to offset our pride at being so-called world leaders."

--Scott Moreau, "The 2014 Christianity Today Book Awards," Christianity Today, January/February 2014

"Borthwick's insights and recommendations, the product of decades of extensive world travel, research, teaching and strong relationships with leaders in the Global Church, make this book a valuable resource for anyone involved in long or short term cross-cultural missions, and for those who are calling them out and preparing them to go."

--Hayward Armstrong, Renewing Minds

"Professors and students of missions will find this a supportive companion to other readings. He remains frank, yet humble, and positive from start to finish. The wider this book circulates in schools, churches and mission agencies, the better for the advancement of the good news in this country."

--Paul W. Shea, Evangelical Missions Quarterly, October 2013

"This book provides practical ideas on how the Western church can best continue in global mission--without being paternalistic or creating dependency--by using its human and material resources with strategic wisdom marked by a posture of humility, purposeful reciprocity and partnership equality."

--Robert L. Gallagher, Outreach Magazine, 11th Annual Resources of the Year: Global Outreach "Also Recommended," March/April 2014

"Written in popular style, this book deserves a wide reading in the North American context. Majority World readers should also find it instructive. Relevant roles still remain for North Americans, but new attitudes and strategies will be required. Western Christians in Global Mission offers intentional strategies to the humble so that a new era of missions can be discovered and learned together with genuine partners from the Majority World."

--Tom Steffan, Missiology, 42(1)

About the Author

Femi B. Adeleye (M.Th., University of Edinburgh) is a Christian minister and ordained priest in the Anglican communion. He is associate general secretary for partnership and collaboration for the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES). He previously served as regional secretary for the IFES movement in English-speaking Africa. Adeleye has also been a featured speaker at the Urbana Student Missions Conference and spoke at the Cape Town 2010 Lausanne Congress.He is the author of Preachers of a Different Gospel (Zondervan, 2011). He is currently pursuing a doctorate in African Christian history from the Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology in Ghana.

Paul Borthwick is senior consultant for Development Associates International and teaches missions at Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. His books include A Mind for Missions, How to Be a World-Class Christian and Six Dangerous Questions to Transform Your View of the World.