Where Did the Gritty Missionaries Go? David Joannes on Missionary Motivations

C.T. Studd is credited with saying, “Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.” But in today’s world where everyone is encouraged to “live on mission,” this classic missionary grit is increasingly absent. What happened, and what are the internal and external motivators that lead someone to risk everything to serve abroad? To answer that question, we invited missionary, author, and researcher David Joannes.

How Much Contextualization Is Too Much?

Today in missions there’s a lot of talk about contextualization. The “C scale” developed by John Travis makes a case for so-called insider movements—professing believers in the Islamic world who follow Jesus, yet remain culturally and religiously Muslim. Is that biblical? How can we adapt the gospel to new cultures—and how far is too far?