Can evil be curbed and its fallout overcome? Can love prevail between peoples? Can integrity and compassion be combined in commerce? Unlikely…except where people embrace the message Jesus came to bring.

Jesus Christ came to deal decisively with the root problem of the human race. Before returning to heaven he passed on to his followers the task of spreading Good News about divine solutions. That task is enshrined in the missionary mandate

A Practical Theology of Missions roots the work of missions solidly in the biblical text while giving modern, real life examples of how missionary principles can be applied practically. The book seeks to reverse the drift away from a commitment to what God has revealed about the task into an emphasis on human methodology. And yet the book does not overlook the importance of practical approaches to outreach in a post-modern world.

A Practical Theology of Missions is divided into eight sections:

1. The biblical basis of missions
2. The missionary task
3. The missionary message
4. The missionary as a called person
5. Missions and culture
6. Missionary teamwork
7. Missionary strategy
8. Missionary work proper

Each section includes many practical examples and concludes with a vignette describing an actual mission situation. These vignettes help to make the text both interesting and realistic. 

Eric E. Wright and his wife Mary Helen spent 16 years as missionaries in Pakistan. During that time Eric became the co-founder of the Open Theological Seminary, for which he wrote six self-teaching textbooks. The OTS now serves over 2,500 students across Pakistan.

After returning to Canada, Eric pastored a church in Toronto for nine years. Subsequently, he served as interim pastor in six other churches. He taught both the history and theology of missions at Toronto Baptist Seminary.

Out of that wealth of experience has come this book which weaves together the biblical roots of the church’s missionary mandate with practical up-to-date examples of missionary practices 

Endorsements:

· A good understanding of Biblical Theology provides the basis for effective cross-cultural missionary work in A Practical Theology of Missions. True missionary stories from several continents reflect the author’s global perspective that has been nurtured by his development of theological education by extension in Pakistan followed by his teaching of missions at The Toronto Baptist Seminary where he was my colleague for 12 years. I highly recommend his book.  

· This book is the climax of Eric Wright’s full life as missionary, pastor and author. It is on a theme he is most qualified to expound, the theology of missions. It distils decades of missionary experience and research, reflection and devotion. The book is thorough and balanced and yet it is an inspiring book to read. 

· This book is pragmatic, discussing not only theory but also practice. Among other things, it looks at the missionary call, how missionaries adjust to culture and how they should relate to one another and to their sending churches. But the main goal of this book is to suggest ways to strengthen the theological roots of missionary effort. This goal is rooted in the belief that the most pragmatic thing we can do in the long run is to teach what God has revealed, trust his revealed methods and try to apply them in dependence on the Holy Spirit. Therefore this book is about roots: the out-of-sight sources of vibrant life that are needed to sustain real missionary success for generations to come. The beliefs and practices discussed rest upon the assumption that nothing can be more important than to reflect the principles of Scripture in a clearly understood theology, because theology brings us face to face with the principles, parameters and priorities that God has revealed.  

   
Selected Chapter Titles:

Missions in Paraguay
Missions and the nature of God
Key missionary questions
Pioneering in Niger: Trekking with Malam Langa Langa
A brief historical overivew of missionary practice
The central missionary task
Pioneering in Senegal
Bandwagon or balance?
Absentee landlord or reigning King?
Searching for the elusive missionary
Mullins’ strange calling
Missions and the sending church
Cabbages and kids: The family factor in Burkina Faso
The missionary and culture
Sudan’s suffering church
Birds of a feather: bane or blessing?
Climbing the discipleship ladder in Pakistan
Missions: worship before work
Missions and the national church