Recommended Reads

For missionary biographies, see my biographies page, with links to books and published life stories of missionaries. Some links below use Amazon Affiliate links, and your purchases provide me a small percentage that helps me buy more books.

Introductory Texts

Introducing World Missions. Moreau et al.

Vision

The Great Omission: a biblical basis for world evangelism. McQuilkin, Robertson.

Reference

World Christian Encyclopedia, 3rd ed. 2020.
World Christian Trends. Barrett & Johnson. 2000. Methodology & more from 2nd ed. WCE.
Atlas of Global Christianity. Johnson & Ross. 2009.
Operation World. Mandryk. 2010.

CPM/DMM Case Studies/Methodologies

Motus Dei. More academic articles about movements.
Bhojpuri Breakthrough. Victor John. Case study of India CPM.
Church Planting Movements. Garrison, David.
A Wind in the House of Islam. Mostly case studies. Garrison, David.
T4T: A Discipleship Re-Revolution. Both case study and methodology. Smith, Steve.
Spirit Walk: The extraordinary power of Acts for ordinary people. Smith, Steve.
Spent Matches: igniting the signal fire for the spiritually dissatisfied. Moran, Roy.
The Father Glorified: True stories of God’s power through ordinary people. Robertson, Pat & David Watson.
Miraculous Movements: Mostly case studies from North Africa. Trousdale, Jerry.
Contagious Disciple Making. Mostly methodology. Watson, Paul & David Watson.
Movements that change the world. Steve Addison.
The rise & fall of movements: a roadmap for leaders. Addison.

History of Missions and Church Growth

A History of Christianity in Asia: 1500-1900 – Samuel Moffett, 2014.
The World Missionary Conference, Edinburgh 1910. Stanley, Brian. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009.
Twentieth-century Global Christianity. Bednarowski, Mary Farrell, ed. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2008.
A Short World History of Christianity. Mullin, Robert Bruce. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008.
To the Ends of the Earth: The Globalization of Christianity. Hylson-Smith, Kenneth. Paternoster, 2007.
A History of Christianity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, 1450-1990. Koschorke, Klaus, & all. Eerdmans, 2007.
The Christian World: A Global History. Marty, Martin. The Random House Publishing Group, 2007.
The Cambridge History of Christianity: World Christianities c. 1914–c. 2000. McLeod, Hugh, ed. 2006.
Introduction to the History of Christianity. Herring, George. New York University Press, 2006.
The Expansion of Christianity. Yates, Timothy. Lion Publishing, 2004.
A History of Christianity in India: Beginnings to AD 1707 – Stephen Neill, 2004.
A History of Christianity in India: 1707-1858 – Stephen Neill, 2002.
The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity. Jenkins, Philip. Oxford University Press, 2002.
History of the World Christian Movement. Vol. 1: to 1453. Irvin, Dale & Scott Sunquist. Orbis Books, 2001.
Two Thousand Years, The Second Millennium: From Medieval Christendom to Global Christianity. Partner, Peter& Bragg. Granada Media, 1999.
A World History of Christianity. Hastings, Adrian, ed. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999.
A History of Christianity in Asia: Beginnings to 1500 – Samuel Moffett, 1998.
Introduction to the History of Christianity. Dowley, Tim, ed. Fortress Press, 1995.
Two Kingdoms: The Church and Culture through the Ages. Clouse, Robert G. & more. Moody, 1993.
Christianity Through the Ages. Latourette, Kenneth S. Harper and Row, 1965.
Christianity in a Revolutionary Age: A History of Christianity in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Latourette, Kenneth S. Harper, 1963.
A History of Christian Missions: The Pelican History of the Church. Vol. 6. Neill, Stephen C. Penguin Books, 1964.
A History of Christianity: Vol 1, Vol 2. Latourette, Kenneth S. Harper and Row, 1953.
How the Irish saved civilization. The Celtic missionary movement in the 400s.

Church Growth Methodology

Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours? Allen, Roland.
The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church. Allen, Roland.

Culture, Cultural Anthropology

The 3D Gospel: ministry in guilt, shame and fear cultures. Georges, Jayson.
Models of Contextual Theology (Faith and Cultures Series). Bevans, Stephen B. Orbis Books.
Transforming Mission – Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission. Bosch, David. Orbis Books, 1991.
The Religion of Java. Geertz, Clifford. 1980.
Worlds Apart: A handbook on worldviews. Geisler, Norman & William Watkins. Baker Book House, 1989.
Beyond Culture. Hall, Edward. Anchor Books, 1981.
The Silent Language. Hall, Edward. Anchor Books, 1973.
A Beginner’s Guide to Crossing Cultures: Making friends in a multicultural world. Hall, Patty. IVP Books, 2002.
Dictionary of Paul and His Letters. Hawthorne, Gerald, Ralph Martin, Daniel Reid. IVP Academic, 1993.
Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally. Hesselgrave, David J. Zondervan, 1991.
Anthropological Insights for Missionaries. Hiebert, Paul G. Baker Academic, 2008.
Anthropological Reflections on Missiological Issues. Hiebert, Paul G. Baker Academic, 1994.
Cultural Anthropology. Hiebert, Paul G. Baker Book House, 1983.
The Gospel in Human Contexts: Anthropological Explorations for Contemporary Missions. Hiebert, Paul G. 2009.
Transforming Worldviews: An Anthropological Understanding of How People Change. Hiebert, Paul G. 2008.
Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. Hofstede, Geert. McGraw-Hill Education, 1994.
Kingdom Invasion: Invading the Earth with the Kingdom of God-Planting Churches Among Rural Peoples. Hyde, Steve. Words of Life Ministries, Cambodia. 2013. NADA
World View. Kearney, Michael. Chandler & Sharp Publishers, 1984.
Center Church. (See his section on “city” but understand it as applying to all cultures.) Keller, Timothy.
Anthropology for Christian Witness. Kraft, Charles H. Orbis Books, 1997
Christianity in Culture: A Study in Dynamic Biblical Theologizing in Cross-Cultural Perspective. Kraft, Charles H. 2005.
Communication Theory for Christian Witness. Kraft, Charles H. Orbis Books, 1991.
Ministering Cross-Culturally: An Incarnational Model for Personal Relationships. Lingenfelter, Sherwood. 2003.
Transforming Culture: A Challenge for Christian Mission. Lingenfelter, Sherwood. Baker Books, 1998.
Global Church Planting: Biblical Principles and Best Practices for Multiplication. Ott and Wilson. Baker Books.
The Church and Cultures—New Perspectives in Missiological Anthropology. Luzbetak, Louis J. Orbis Books, 2002.
Understanding Church Growth. McGavern, Donald. Eerdmans, 1970.
Effective Intercultural Communication. Moreau, A. Scott, Evvy Hay Campbell, & Susan Greener. 2014.
Worldview: The History of a Concept. Naugle, David. Eerdmans, 2002.
Christ and Culture. Niebuhr, H. Richard. HarperCollins, 2001.
Biblical Christianity in Modern Africa. O’Donovan, Wilbur. Authentic Media, 2012.
The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog. Sire, James W. InterVarsity Press, 2009.
Transforming Conversion: Rethinking the Language and Contours of Christian Initiation. Smith, Gordon T. 2010.
Global Missiology for the 21st Century: The Iguassu Dialogue. Taylor, William D., ed. Baker Academic, 2000.
Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the Twenty-First Century. Tennent, Timothy. 2010.
Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business. Trompenaars, Fons & Hampton, Turner. 1998. (Similar to Hofstede’s research—also a secular source.)

Diaspora, Migrant Peoples, Refugees

Serving God in a Migrant Crisis. Johnstone & Merrill. GMI, 2016.
Strangers Next Door: Immigration, Migration and Mission. Payne, J. D. 2012.
Crossroads of the Nations: Diaspora, Globalization and Evangelism, vol. 1. Looney, Jared. 2015.
Scattered to Gather. Tira, Joy. PDF.
Diaspora Missiology: Theory, Methodology, and Practice. Wan, Enoch. Compendium. 2012.
Diaspora Missiology (EMS 23): Reflections on Reaching the Scattered Peoples of the World. Wan, Enoch. 2015.

Futuristics of the Church

The Future of the Global Church: History, trends and possibilities. Johnstone, Patrick. 2014.

World Christianity

Introducing Christianity. Adair, James R. Routledge, 2008.
Biographical Dictionary of Christian Mission. Anderson, Gerald H., ed. Eerdmans, 1998.
Encyclopedia of Missions and Missionaries. Bonk, Jonathan, ed. Routledge, 2007.
Encyclopedia of Christianity. Bowden, John, ed. Oxford University Press, 2005.
A Chronology of World Christianity. Bowden, John, Margaret Lydamore and Hugh Bowden. Continuum, 2007.
Atlas of World Christianity. Brierley, Peter and Heather Wraight, eds. Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1998.
The Coming of the Third Church: An Analysis of the Present and Future of the Church. Buhlmann, Walbert. 1977.
Christianity in World Perspective. Cragg, Kenneth. Oxford University Press, 1968.
The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Cross, F. L. and E. A. Livingstone, eds. Oxford University Press, 1997.
World Christianity in the 20th Century. Davies, Noel A. and Martin Conway, eds. SCM Press, 2008.
The Encyclopedia of Christianity. 5 vols. Fahlbusch, Erwin, Jan Milic Lochman, John Mbiti, Jaroslav Pelikan and Lukas Vischer, eds. Eerdmans, 1999.
Landmark Essays in Mission and World Christianity. Gallagher, Robert L. and Paul Hertig, eds. Orbis Books, 2009.
The Cambridge History of Christianity: World Christianities c.1815–c.1914. Gilley, Sheridan and Brian Stanley, eds. Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Beyond Christendom: Globalization, African Migration, and the Transformation of the West. Hanciles, Jehu J. 2008.
The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South. Jenkins, Philip. Oxford University Press, 2006.
World Christian Database. Johnson, Todd M., ed. Brill, 2007.
Missiologie. 2 vols. Jongeneel, Jan A. B. Uitgeverij Boekencentrum B. V., 1991.
Philosophy, Science, and Theology of Mission in the 19th and 20th Centuries: A Missiological Encyclopedia. Jongeneel, Jan A. B. Peter Lang Publishing Group, 2002.
Global Religions: An Introduction. Juergensmeyer, Mark, ed. Oxford University Press, 2003.
Interpreting Contemporary Christianity: Global Processes and Local Identities. Kalu, Obgu U. and Alaine Low, eds. Eerdmans, 2008.
Christianity as a World Religion. Kim, Sebastian and Kirsteen Kim. Continuum, 2008.
Dictionary of Mission. Muller, Karl, Theo Sundermeier, Stephen B. Bevans and Richard H. Bliese, eds. 1997.
The New Shape of World Christianity. Noll, Mark A. IVP Academic, 2009.
Globalizing Theology: Belief and Practice in an Era of World Christianity. Ott, Craig and Harold A. Netland (eds). 2006.
The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. 5 vols. Pelikan, Jaroslav. 1989.
Christianity Worldwide. Pirouet, Louise. SPCK Publishing, 1989.
Christian Mission: How Christianity Became a World Religion. Robert, Dana. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
Whose Religion is Christianity? The Gospel Beyond the West. Sanneh, Lamin. Eerdmans, 2003.
Disciples of All Nations: Pillars of World Christianity. Sanneh, Lamin. Oxford University Press, 2008.
The Changing Face of Christianity: Africa, the West, and the World. Sanneh, Lamin and Joel A. Carpenter, eds. 2005.
Mission after Christendom. Smith, David. Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd, 2003.
Acts of Faith: Explaining the Human Side of Religion. Stark, Rodney and Roger Finke. 2000.
Theology in the Context of World Christianity. Tennent, Timothy C. Zondervan, 2007.
Classic Texts in Mission and World Christianity. Thomas, Norman E. Orbis Books, 1995.
A Handbook of Churches and Councils. Van Beek, Huibert. World Council of Churches, 2006.
World Christianity: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow. Van Dusen, Henry P. Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1947.
Missiology: An Ecumenical Introduction: Texts and Contexts of Global Christianity. Verstraelen, F. J., A. Camps, L. A. Hoedemaker and M. R. Spindler, eds. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995.
The Missionary Movement in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission of the Faith. Walls, Andrew F. 1996.
The Cross-Cultural Process in Christian History. Walls, Andrew F. Orbis Books, 2002.
Global Christianity: Contested Claims. Wijsen, Frans and Robert Schreiter, eds. Rodopi, 2007.
Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Winter, Ralph D. and Steven C. Hawthorne, eds. 2013.
An Introduction to Christianity. Woodhead, Linda. Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Christian Mission in the Twentieth Century. Yates, Timothy. Cambridge University Press, 1994.