Awake, O Church!

People are often content with what they have until they see something better. Is that what North American missionaries are doing on the mission field—thoughtlessly displaying our money and possessions, making the poor want what we have? If so, should we be there?

Drawing from his observations and experiences as a missionary in Haiti, the author emphasizes that mankind’s greatest need is not humanitarian help, but Jesus. Humanitarian aid has a place in Christian outreach, but not at the expense of Jesus.

The purpose of the book is to wake us up, to help us realize how missions can inadvertently harm rather than help, and to stir us to follow Jesus more faithfully. Awake, O Church! provides an opportunity to learn from others’ experiences and reevaluate the way we do missions.

Prayerfully reading and reflecting on this book’s message can help us set priorities that will make our mission efforts, whether across the street or across the ocean, more effective in meeting spiritual needs.