You Will Be My Witnesses: Theology for God's Church Serving in God's Mission

Mission is God’s work. God spoke the first promise of gospel hope, sent his Son into this fallen world, and commissioned his Spirit to empower his church for witness. Until the day Christ returns, God has called his people to participate in his mission through evangelism, apologetics, church planting, cultural engagement, gospel suffering, and many other activities that faithfully communicate gospel hope in Christ. This practical introduction provides a biblical framework for understanding the church’s role in God’s mission. It reviews the biblical story of God’s mission, draws insights from the church’s witness since Pentecost, and studies aspects of contemporary Christian witness. Each chapter ends with study questions to encourage further reflection and discussion by church members and ministry leaders. Readers will gain refreshing insights into how they can participate in faithfully bearing witness to Christ through the church’s work in the world today.

Publisher: Crossway
Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9781433591389

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Brian A. DeVries (PhD, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the president of Mukhanyo Theological College in South Africa and adjunct professor of missiology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. DeVries has led three multiethnic church-planting teams in South Africa and currently serves as the pastor of Grace Reformed Church in Pretoria. He and his wife, Lanae, are blessed with five children.

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“By arguing convincingly that ‘bearing witness’ is both the central aspect of the church’s mission and the identity of God’s people, DeVries helps correct a number of mistaken notions about mission and opens up new avenues for embracing our own calling as witnesses. This book is a tremendous resource: careful, clear, confessional, biblical, hopeful, inspiring, and practical. This will be one of the first books—if not the first book—on missions that I recommend to pastors, students, and church members.” Kevin DeYoung, Senior Pastor, Christ Covenant Church, Matthews, North Carolina; Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte