Another great edition to the 9 Marks catalogue, in line with recent releases in this series, lean, compact but full of practical, scriptural truth. Great for reading as a church or eldership, focussing on in a study group with a view to instilling a biblical missiology within the body.

We love and honor him not merely by working toward the final he's given-worshipers from every language, tribe, people, and nation, but also by using the means he has decreed. And he has told us that his global mission will advance through holy lives, faithful prayer, gospel proclamation, and healthy reproducing churches.

The series of the Nine Marks of healthy church is one of missions. What is the leadership like? How is missions used in the church? What role does short-term missions play? What type support should you give your people who proclaim the gospel. The following 7 chapters give a clear indication of what mission is build on.

A Biblical Foundation for Missions
First Things First
Sending and Supporting Well
Getting the House In order
Healthy Missions Partnerships
Reforming Short-Term Missions
Engaging the Nations by Other means

My favorite chapter was reforming short term missions. The damage it can do if not properly addressed to both parties. The one receiving and the one giving. Missions should be well thought out with the gospel in mind as results may vary at any given time. This read is not only for leadership but also for members to know what healthy missions look like. Knowing what healthy missions look, we can be good stewards of any support we give to missions. Missions are a great way to proclaim who God is to unbelievers and believers alike. I highly recommend.

A Special Thank You to Crossway Books and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

Premise/plot: The foundational premises of this book on missions are: the mission of missions is primarily spiritual; the mission belongs to God, for His Glory, on His terms; global missions is primarily through the local church; and the Bible has a lot to say about how to approach missions.

My thoughts: This book has many strengths. I'll start with naming two: it is concise; it is biblical. There are just seven chapters--nine if you count the introduction and conclusion as chapters. Each chapter is doctrinal and has practical applications. The audience for this one is primarily pastors, elders, leaders of the local church. Each chapter has tips on how to do missions better.

Introduction: Missions at a Crossroad
A Biblical Foundation for Missions
First Things First
Sending and Supporting Well
Getting the House in Order
Healthy Missions Partnerships
Reforming Short-Term Missions
Engaging the Nations by Other Means
Conclusion: Stepping Toward the Nations

I thought the book was insightful. Here is my favorite quote:
The heart for God-glorifying missions starts with joy in the gospel. Our churches must first cherish the God who sent his own Son to save sinners like us. The right fuel matters. Do not try to get your church excited about missions until they love and value (really, deeply value) what Christ has done for them in the gospel. Churches won’t extend themselves to commend the gospel until they deeply cherish the gospel. The glory of the gospel—not the neediness of mankind—is the selfsustaining fuel for global missions.

Andy Johnson writes a great book on the importance of missions in the local church. His approach is practical, biblical, and straightforward. Rather than just hypotheticals and what-ifs, Johnson presents his reader with biblical ideas to consider when approaching various types of missions. Whether your church is considering missionaries to sponsor, ministries to support, or long-term/short-term trips to participate in, Johnson does not shy away from truth. This book is a great read for pastors, mission leaders, and those in the body seeking how to follow Jesus’ call to go to the nations. Andy draws on his experience leading the missions at his church to help present the reader with in some cases the hard truth to do missions well. Practically, purposefully, and powerfully Andy approaches the call on each church to go make disciples.

Without using hyperbole, this is an incredible book! It's hard to find a book about missions that combines a passion for reaching the lost with a clarity of purpose that is overwhelmingly practical in its application. Andy Johnson manages to achieve these things in this short work. Missions: How the Local Church Goes Global is quite literally about the how of missions and not primarily the why. Johnson starts with an explanation of the centrality of missions to the work of the church. He writes, "Missions is a core part of the ministry of the church, not one among many optional ministries on the periphery, for certain people who are 'interested in that sort of thing'." From there, the book describes how to be a good sending church, how to be a good supporting church, how to take effective short-term missions trips, how to keep missions and missionaries in the minds of the people of your church, how to encourage members of your church to serve in missions, and a host of other helpful topics. The clarity of thought in this book is refreshing and helpful. I would recommend this to any church member, but especially to pastors or church staff members.

I received a digital copy of this book for free from the publisher and was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I express in this review are entirely my own.

This book by Andy Johnson is part of the 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches series. All of the books in the series have one goal in mind: helping you to grown in loving your church as Jesus loves your church. The text of this book (and the others in the series) comes directly from scripture. These are the things we are commanded to do through God's Word.

After an excellent intro by David Platt, Andy Johnson dives right in with a scenario that many church members might be familiar with: a church missions committee is struggling to define their mission emphasis and the best way to put it onto action. In a healthy, mission-minded church, members see missions as a core ministry of the church, not an occasional short-term project. Likewise, the church budget should reflect funding for missions as well. This short, powerful book will help church members and leaders to develop a Biblical mission plan and live out the Great Commission. It provides practical steps to evaluate and develop a mission strategy for your church.

I would recommend this book to all Christians, especially pastors and church leaders. It is important to see beyond the walls of our church and into to the community we live in. Not to mention the bigger picture of being involved in a national and international mission opportunity. I received this as a free ARC from Crossway on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.