Skip to main content

Finishing the Task





Finishing the Task: How Indigenous Missionaries Are Reaching the Unreached in the 21st Century by Christian Aid Mission

There are many unreached people groups in the world that need to hear and see the love of Jesus Christ poured out to them.  Yet, often the best and most effective way of reaching these people groups is through indigenous missionaries reaching out.  In other words, indigenous missionaries are those that live in the area in which the unreached people group exists.  The people group is their people, they know the culture, customs, and thinking of the group.  In this excellent book entitled Finishing the Task, Christian Aid Mission has gathered up stories of these indigenous missionaries that bear witness to God’s work among unreached people groups.

The first chapter focuses on a man named Prem, who served in the Indian army, began to read the Scriptures in the army and converted to the Christian faith.  After being rejected by his family, Prem proclaimed the Gospel, even facing prison after baptizing new believers in the river where government officials could see.  Yet, this did not stop Prem from the gospel ministry.  Alongside in the same chapter, Bob Finley is introduced as helping begin Christian Aid Mission to support indigenous missionaries.  After seeing the mighty work God was doing through indigenous Chinese missionaries, Bob knew that supporting these ‘neighborhood’ workers was the best route to reach unreached peoples. 

Gabriel Barau’s work in Nigeria is mentioned in chapter 4.  His desire to see the Fulani come to know Jesus Christ was instrumental, alongside MCM and Christian Aid Mission’s help. After befriending a family and evangelizing to them, one local MCM missionary met Ardo whose cattle had destroyed his groups.  Rather than respond in anger and violence, the man befriended Ardo, shared the gospel with him and he became a believer.  His life was not easy, though, as those in his community called him to recant, and eventually poisoned three of his children.  The faith Ardo committed to was not one that was an easy option, but God has led him through even these great difficult times.

You get a glimpse of what God is doing in the work of indigenous missionaries here in Finishing the Task.  I heartily recommend this book to all those who want to find out what’s going on in the countries in the world and how God is reaching them through his people.


Thanks to Christian Aid Mission and WinePress Publishing for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saving Casper

Saving Casper: A Christian and an Atheist Talk about Why We Need to Change the Conversion Conversation by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Casper-Christian-Conversion-Conversation/dp/1414364881 Many readers will quickly know the authors of this book from their previous release Jim and Casper Go to Church.  Jim and Matt’s new book entitled Saving Casper focuses on the way we talk about conversion in the church and the devastating ways we have pushed away atheists and other non-believers by our posture.  Both Jim and Matt traversed the national landscape, meeting in churches and asking hard questions about faith, conversion, and life. The basic premise of the book and travel is laid out here in their words, “Part of what Casper and I are trying to achieve when we speak to a group of Christians is to help people move a little bit on their “judgment meter.”  This capacity, while intellectually and often theologically uncomfortable,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Essential Christian Doctrine

  Essential Christian Doctrine , General Editor John MacArthur Pastor John MacArthur has for years been teaching the Word of God in both pulpit ministry, books, and conferences with an aim to displaying God’s revelation to his listeners in a winsome and foundational manner.  This new book, Essential Christian Doctrine takes an entire life of teaching and preaching and encapsulates the main contours of the Christian faith for its readers.  John in a systematic way highlights the most necessary teachings from Scripture including God’s Word, the Trinity, while also including sections on Man and the Future. One of the most helpful ways the authors bring to light biblical truth and theology is the way in which they group together particular themes.  In the section on the Holy Spirit, instead of a complex discussion of personhood, word pictures of the Holy Spirit are introduced in a discernible and profitable manner.  The metaphors for the Holy Spirit include fir...
Post a Comment
Read more

God's Grace for All of Life

The Romance of Grace by Jim McNeely III To be honest, when I received this book in the mail I had visions of what it might be like with a title like, ‘The Romance of Grace.’  The emotional rollercoaster and one-sided perspective on how our emotions fuel our faith was my presumption about the book, but this was the furthest thing from the truth as I started reading.  The Romance of Grace by Pastor Jim McNeely III is a careful look at the movements of grace in the way God pursues us with his love and his desire to get us to love him back.  McNeely writes, “We are entering a cosmic romance with a passionate lover, and He is interested in our heart’s truest desire.  His deepest objective isn’t to make us more moral; it is to get us to love Him back.  Virtue is the fruit, not the root” (18).  Why is this helpful?  For one thing, beginning with God’s initiating grace frees us from starting out on the wrong foot in the way we tell the story and...
2 comments
Read more