Revolution: In World Missions

After going on a short term mission trip, I was completely disillusioned. It was rather horrible - no real work was done in the name of the Lord. There was a lot of playing with kids, and giving away candy, but to call it a mission trip I strongly felt was completely unfair to true missionaries. About a week after I got back, someone recommended this book. When I read this book, my heart lept for joy. It completely defined and explained everything that I saw, and was burdened with in my heart. The book is a call for the church to be the church - burdened for the lost, and using all of its resources in the most effective way possible to reach them. KP Yohanan presents a beautiful way that God is working in these last days. The only thing is, you have to be prepared to not get any glory, unlike telling people you're taking a 2 week mission trip to [insert country here]. He proves how ineffective these trips are, how ineffecient, and how the same resources could be used to help the church around the world send out its own missionaries, who are far stronger than the average American. It is also a radical call to true Christian living - sacrifice. This is a must read. The only thing I would caution - KP is pretty dogmatic that foreigners should let people handle their own lands, because they can do it better. This does prey to the American "just drop some change in the bucket" church mentality. Although I believe this is the best option for most, God will sovereignly call some people to go to the mission field, and I would hate for them to doubt that call and think they can be of no use.

In the U.S., we have so many distractions and demands on our time. It is critical to focus on the things what really matter for eternity. I have supported Gospel For Asia for 15 years. I have gotten to know several of the staff members and can say I am truly impressed with their integrity. This organization is exceptionally ethical. I feel privileged to be able to read their newsletter and pray for their projects and support a missionary financially. I am a skeptic by nature. I think this group has done admirable work and KP (the founder) has his hand on the pulse of God's desire! God Bless them. By reading this book you will be challenged and blessed! Remember "you are blessed to be a blessing".

K.P. Yohannan does a great job in this book in telling people about the problems of a lot of world missions.One particular point I found eye-opening is in the chapter "A bowl of rice is no substitute for the Holy Spirit." In this chapter K.P. talks about how some Christian ministries often ask for money so that they can feed the poor and that would be a good representation of Christ. But as K.P. points out, feeding people for a period of time is useless unless they hear the Gospel and receive Christ through the Holy Spirit. He points out that often people make the mistake in assuming their money is going to help people come to Christ, but often it only makes them "convert" for a little while, until a group of Muslims come in with some rice -- then they become Muslims!I also appreciated the chapter about native missionaries, called "Our policy is the natives." K.P. makes a strong case as to why natives are far better missionaries than foriegners. He explains that there is strong anti-western sentiment around the world, and are less-likely to hear westerners. He also potently makes the case that western missionaries just perpetuate the myth that Christianity is a WESTERN religion. I think this chapter of the book was really an eye-opener. Note, however, that he doesn't say that westerners should NEVER do world missionary work, but just that we should be conscious of the fact that the natives can relate and connect far better to their own people than can foreigners.There are many more good aspects to this book which I think you should read for yourself. Many parts of the book may be contrary to your presuppositions about world-missions, but don't let that turn you off. If you have an open mind you will probably see the wisdom of his words.I encourage you to pick up this book -- I can assure you that you will learn something.

Not for the faint-hearted, this book is written for Christians here in America who are not afraid to be challenged and rebuked by this man of faith.Personally, I was deeply challenged by this concept of the native missionary movement. It was difficult to read this book and not finish with a radically different perspective of how we should spend our money and how we should view the crucial work of 21st Century missions. I was not turned off by K.P.'s blatant pushing / selling of the work of his missions agency - given his background and passion, how can he not?Read this book, then pass it along to a friend. Even if you don't have time to read the whole book, the first five chapters give you the gist of the story. And even if you don't agree with everything he says (I'm still digesting certain chapters), K.P. is someone whose story is worth knowing.

[Revolution in World Missions, 2001] Yohannan truly forces us to look at our priorities as Christians. Should we contribute [money] to who-knows-what-in-corporate-America, or could we let God use it in amazing ways for the enormous "10/40 window" of lost and hurting people in this world. I agree with the other reviews about the impact of this book; while I remember some of the miracles Yohannan witnessed, I don't ever recall him claiming any "divine revelations", but simply recalling some of his powerful prayers with the Holy Spirit. God bless GFA (...) and native missionaries!