You Will Be My Witnesses: Theology for God's Church Serving in God's Mission
ISBN: 9781433591389A Theological Introduction to the Witness of the Church within the Mission of God
Mission is God's work. God spoke the first promise of gospel hope, sent his Son into this fallen world, and commissioned his Spirit to empower his church for witness. Until the day Christ returns, God has called his people to participate in his mission through evangelism, apologetics, church planting, cultural engagement, gospel suffering, and many other activities that faithfully communicate gospel hope in Christ.
This practical introduction provides a biblical framework for understanding the church's role in God's mission. It reviews the biblical story of God's mission, draws insights from the church's witness since Pentecost, and studies aspects of contemporary Christian witness. Each chapter ends with study questions to encourage further reflection and discussion by church members and ministry leaders. Readers will gain refreshing insights into how they can participate in faithfully bearing witness to Christ through the church's work in the world today.
- Confessional and Contemporary: Precisely defines the biblical aspects of God's mission and Christian witness, built upon time-tested theology, yet freshly applied for witness in the post-Christendom world
- Accessible: Written for church members, college and seminary students, ministry workers, and church leaders who are committed to creating a community that bears witness to Christ in an unchurched society
- Practical and Motivational: Clear and crisp writing style, enhanced by many helpful figures and charts, and infused with a gospel passion to declare God's glory among the nations
- Spurs Discussion: Thought-provoking study questions at the end of each chapter to encourage further reflection and faithful action
Read Sample Pages
Contents: Author: Brian A. DeVries (PhD, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the president of Mukhanyo Theological College in South Africa and adjunct professor of missiology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. DeVries has led three multiethnic church-planting teams in South Africa and currently serves as the pastor of Grace Reformed Church in Pretoria. He and his wife, Lanae, are blessed with five children. Endorsements: "By arguing convincingly that 'bearing witness' is both the central aspect of the church's mission and the identity of God's people, DeVries helps correct a number of mistaken notions about mission and opens up new avenues for embracing our own calling as witnesses. This book is a tremendous resource: careful, clear, confessional, biblical, hopeful, inspiring, and practical. This will be one of the first books-if not the first book-on missions that I recommend to pastors, students, and church members." "In this book, Brian DeVries helps us to see that we as Christians are called to be witnesses of what we have come to know of God's saving purpose in Christ. He shows this across the Bible and across history since the days of the apostles. I love the fact that he wrestles with how we can carry out this task in light of today's challenges. I am grateful for this warm and informative book!" "You Will Be My Witnesses should be the default introductory textbook for classes in missions, laying the theological groundwork carefully and thoroughly. But it also deserves to be read by a multitude of pastors and ordinary Christians who will be stimulated and encouraged to pray for and to participate in the task of bringing the gospel to all nations." "At its heart, this fresh reflection on witness and mission in the Scriptures, church history, and the world today is a book about the sort of piety that truly honors God. It shows how love for God and obedience to his command to bear witness to the great acts recorded in his holy word results in what DeVries rightly calls 'missional piety': a spirituality marked by passion and intentionality when it comes to sharing one's faith. All in all, an important reminder!" "We are not 'building' but 'receiving' a kingdom. Brian DeVries shows from Genesis to Revelation that God's mission in Christ is center stage. Instead of bearing this mission on our shoulders, we get to be ambassadors of this good news! This paradigm-shifting message from a veteran in missions should be at the top of any reading list on the subject."
Preface: Your Church Serving in God's Mission
Introduction: Witness within God's Mission
Part One: The Biblical Story of God's Mission
Chapter 1: Mission in the Old Testament
Chapter 2: The Mission of Jesus Christ
Chapter 3: The Mission of the Holy Spirit
Chapter 4: Witness in the New Testament
Part Two: Concise History of Christian Witness
Chapter 5: The Church's Witness after Pentecost
Chapter 6: Historical Themes in Christian Witness
Part Three: Our Witness in an Un-Christian World
Chapter 7: Christian Witness as Gospel Presence
Chapter 8: Christian Witness by Gospel Message
Chapter 9: Christian Witness by Gospel Response
Chapter 10: Christian Witness in Gospel Community
Conclusion: Motivating Our Churches to Witness
--Kevin DeYoung, Senior Pastor, Christ Covenant Church, Matthews, North Carolina; Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte
--Conrad Mbewe, Pastor, Kabwata Baptist Church, Lusaka, Zambia; Founding Chancellor, African Christian University
--Iain M. Duguid, Professor of Old Testament, Westminster Theological Seminary
--Michael A. G. Haykin, Professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
--Michael Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California
Additional Information:
| Cover: | Softcover |
| Number of Pages: | 292 |
| Publisher: | Crossway |
| Publication Date: | 2024 |