EMQ articles
Evangelical Missions Quarterly, from 1964 to the current issue. Page 3 of 160 · 3,835 in all.
Members onlyMember-Care During Cultural Adjustment
By Bruce T. Sidebotham | This article helps member-care personnel facilitate personal resiliency, team effectiveness, and good ministry results by assessing culture-stress conditions and coaching workers through the stages of adjustment.
10/40 Window: People or location?
By José Cruz Parada | The 10/40 Window highlights regions where people have least access to Christianity. It encourages Christians to focus missionary efforts on those areas. However, it has led to neglect of diaspora populations, such as Muslims living in the US, who also need outreach. Parada argues that mission…
Members onlyFriendship Evangelism in the Workplace
By Glenn Deckert | This article narrates the journeys of three adults in diverse cultural settings that took them from unbelief to salvation. These were a Chinese medical doctor in America, a female poet in Hong Kong, and a traveling Iranian businessman. Two were confronted with the gospel in workplace settings, and…
Mission Among Diaspora Communities
By Evelyn Hibbert | Christians are called to welcome strangers, build relationships, and share Christ’s love across cultures. Cultural diversity is increasing in many neighborhoods across the world. New ways of connecting are affecting how people do church. Mission among diaspora communities requires flexible…
The Art of Goodbye: How TCKs Navigate Friendship and Loss in an Ever-Changing World
By Corinne Kelley and Anthony Casey | This article presents the findings of research focused on the processes and emotions utilized to cope with goodbyes for Third Culture Kids. TCKs move an average of 4.3 times during their formative years. The article presents a brief overview of the research method, then outlines…
Spiritual Resilience
By Evelyn Hibbert | Spiritual resilience is a fruit of vibrant spiritual life. Resilience enables missionaries to persevere through hardship, learning to find joy in its midst. It enables them to navigate the unfamiliar, overcome spiritual blocks, and learn together with friends. Its essence is willingness to give up…
How Eschatology Affects Missions: Reviewing Pierson’s Impact
By Jake Hines | Eschatology has influenced the way that Christians understand the mission of the church and the trajectory of the world. Within the Student Volunteer Movement, assumptions of Christ’s return urged thousands to pursue “the evangelization of the world in this generation.” A. T. Pierson, an early SVM…
The Expulsive Power of a New Narrative: Why the Biblical Story Must Displace Competing Alternatives
By C. S. Barefoot | No one lives without a narrative. Rather, everyone lives in accordance with some story that forms and shapes their worldview. Christian ministers and missionaries – – particularly those laboring to make disciples among all peoples – – must account for this reality. True transformation requires the…
Rethinking Generosity
By Jim Harries | Sometimes, as missionaries, we are not aware of the ways our generosity unintentionally causes problems. Often, providing material resources is associated with power. This disrupts local relationships, even when nothing is said. Sacred power is an alternative to the power associated with material…
Developing Spiritual Resilience for Workers Among Nomads
By Evelyn Hibbert, Lance Williamson, and Barbara Williamson | Spiritual resilience enables missionaries to persevere in the face of difficulties. It is developed through nurturing spiritual disciplines and relationship with God and others. It increases with experience of hardship. This article reports the views of…
Using a Meeting with Jesus to Overcome Discipleship Blocks
By Neil Miller | Blocks in spiritual growth can be due to traumatic experiences, disappointments and challenging life events. This article describes a way of praying and reflecting that helps to identify the source of the block, deal with it and move on. This can apply equally to ourselves as well as those we disciple.
Discerning God’s Will: Learning from Hudson Taylor and Ignatius of Loyola
By Jasmine Lee | Hudson Taylor and Ignatius of Loyola both emphasized the role of emotions and a strong relationship with God in discerning God’s will. Taylor relied on prayer and waiting for God’s guidance, while Ignatius developed the structured approach taught through his Spiritual Exercises. Their methods, which…
Overcoming Fear of Sorcery: Discipling in Unfamiliar Areas
By Tom Gerick | Mahmud and his family faced a suanggi (shapeshifting sorcerer) terrorizing their community. We conversed deeply about culture and the specifics of suanggi. We studied how to understand spiritual beings from a biblical perspective, and how to overcome fear, examining scriptures to learn how to act…
Finding Joy in Hardship
By Ed Grudier | Rejoice always, even in the midst of hardship. We can learn from Paul through the letter he wrote to the church in Philippi during his time of suffering. Paul instructs us to find joy in ministry – in the partners he provides for us, the proclamation of the gospel, the unity we possess with believers…
From Our Knees to the Nations
By Chris McMillan | Prayer is central to the life and mission of the church. As Christians increasingly pray, they become convicted about sin in their midst, and the need for conversion of sinners at home and beyond. This creates a sense of urgency that propels people into missions. If prayer is central to church…
Mission as Accompaniment: A Path to a Post-Colonial, Alternative Missionary Practice
By Frank Paul | Frank Paul discusses the transformation of Mennonite missionary practices from imposition to a more respectful, non-paternalistic approach. It highlights the importance of listening, empowering indigenous people, and fostering mutual respect. The shift towards intercultural dialogue and fraternal…
Called Again: Veteran Missionaries and the Unfinished Task
By David Smith | Claude Hickman of The Traveling Team is quoted as saying, “Reaching the world with the gospel is not a resource problem, it is a mobilization problem.” In this article, I challenge my colleagues to consider leaving their established work in countries with gospel presence and moving to the…
Who Can Start a Movement? Three Possible Says of Being Involved in Starting Movements
By Emanuel Prinz | Movement catalysts possess distinct qualities in three areas: personality, spiritual, and social influence. They exhibit radical learning, innovation, drive to achieve, conscientiousness, assertiveness, and persistence. Spiritually, they have a hunger for God, deep prayer, listening to God…
To the Ends of the Earth: How to Translate the Gospel Into Maps
By David Onnekink | Take any website of a missionary society and there is bound to be a map. Maps are visually attractive and picture comprehensively the geographical focus of mission. However, as Brad Gil wrote, essentially “All maps are wrong”.
Evangelism as Brokerage: A Biblical Study of 1 Corinthians 10:23–11:1 in a Chadian Context
By David Kimiti | This article explores how missionaries working in patronage societies, might be informed by 1 Corinthians 10:23–11:1 in taking on the role of a broker as a way of viewing their evangelism. The missionary broker avoids the potential compromises in the roles of patron and client and takes a temporary…
The Function of Emotions and the Arts and Missions
By David R. Dunaetz | “Letters to the Editor” is a forum for readers to share further thoughts about previously published articles, agreeing, disagreeing, extending or taking the conversation in new directions. “Letters” can also raise new issues.
A Missiological Reflection on the Fall of Saigon
By Truong Tran | This article explores the unintended consequences of missionary-led evacuations of Vietnamese pastors on April 30, 1975. It argues that these actions weakened local churches and highlights the missiological imperative to build churches with lasting hope in Christ and indigenous leadership.
What Missionaries Want You to Know
By Amy Young, Stacey Covell, and Christine Rollings | This article reports on the results of a survey of fieldworkers. The research revealed a gap of communication between goers and senders. This can be exacerbated when missionaries feel that they have to be superhuman. Many challenges that missionaries face are…
The Centrifugal Gospel: Recovering the Outward Movement of God’s Mission
By Chris McMillan | The gospel is dynamic and outward-moving. This centrifugal nature of the gospel contrasts with the centripetal approach prevalent in the West. Chris McMillan urges a return to the biblical mandate of “Go and Tell.” He calls for a revival of missionary vigor to counter institutionalization of the…