Includes bibliographical reference (pages 585-626) and indexes.

Section 1: Introduction to the study of missions. An overview of missiology ; The purpose of missions ; Missiological method -- Section 2: The biblical basis of missions. Mission in the Old Testament ; Mission in the Gopsles ; Missions in the Apostolic church -- Section 3: The theology of missions. The missionary mandate of God's nature ; The missional church ; The missionary motivation of God's salvation ; The state of the unevangelized and its missionary implications -- Section 4: The history of missions. The history of missions in the early church ; Medieval and Renaissance missions (500-1792) ; The great century and beyond (1792-1910) ; The history of missions in North America ; Missions in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries -- Section 5: Applied missiology. Culture: the milieu of missions ' Cross-cultural communication ; Indigenous missions ; Contextualization and the missionary endeavor ; Missionary call and service ; Traditional religions: primal religiosity and mission dynamics ; Eastern religions ; Understanding Islam ; Contemporary cults ; Christian theology of religions ; Introduction to the strategy and methods of missions ; Missions in North America ; Strategies for starting churches ; Women in missions ; Ecclesiology and missions ; Human needs ministries ; Leadership development in missions settings ; Urban missions ; Business as mission ; Strategies for ethnic ministries ; Spiritual formation and missions ; Christianity in China ; The missionary family ; Spiritual warfare and missions ; Missions in the local church ; World Christianity ; Finishing the task: a balanced approach.