A Vision For Missions: A Book Review

This review will be based on Tom Well's A Vision for Missions. You can find this book here on amazon.

I checked this book out of my church library at the advice of my pastors, Bill Glenn and Jerry Dill. I was surprised to see how small a book it was (only 157pp).

The book is based around three things:
1) Tom's first thesis: "God is worthy to be known and proclaimed for who He is, and that fact is an important part of the missionary motive and message." (p 9)

2) Tom's second thesis: "Those who know the most about God are the most responsible and best equipped to tell of Him." (p 9)

3) A quote from Williams Carey: "It's taken from a talk Carey had with a Brahman in 1797. At that time Carey had not yet baptized his first convert. The Brahman was defending the worship of idols. Carey cited Acts 14:16 and 17:30.
       God formerly 'suffered all nations to walk in their own ways,' said Carey, 'but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.'
       'Indeed,' said the [Brahman], 'I think God ought to repent for not sending the gospel sooner to us... If what you say is true, why  have I not heard of it before?'
     In brief, Carey says two things: 1) At one time it pleased God to keep back gospel from India. 2) God has His reasons for doing so." (p 12-13) 

After laying these three things before the reader, Tom goes on to explore the character of God in the two-thirds of the book. This was probably the most beneficial and wonderful part of the book for me. Some of the characteristics he talks about are The Graciousness of God (ch 7), God, Self-sufficient (ch 3), and God's Sovereign Power (ch 4). Tom makes it clear that God is God. We do not have to apologize for who our God is. All of these things are tied into God's heart for His created peoples. I had never thought about God being a missional God and what that truly and practically meant.

The last third of the book is about how William Carey, David Brainerd, and Henry Martyn specifically were influenced by the character of God in their missions and their attitudes about God.

I highly encourage you to read this book. Tom is to the point and blunt. His message is clear, strong, and he backs everything up with Scripture. I found it particularly encouraging and refreshing. If you want to understand the heart of God and learn more about His heart for the nations, this book is for you.