In a world where conversations about diversity are often met with both hope and skepticism, it can be difficult to know how to lead a church in cross-cultural practices that faithfully reflect the kingdom of God in its multiethnicity.

From leadership structures to music and preaching styles, cross-cultural ministry postures vary widely and do not always reflect local demographics. In this book, Kenneth Nehrbass and Eunice Hong explore different ministry approaches for crossing cultural and ethnic boundaries. Their research identifies five key dimensions of multicultural churches and introduces the Cross-Cultural Posture Assessment Tool to help congregations discern their current approach. Congregations tend to embody one of seven cross-cultural postures--some blending multiple cultures into shared worship and others centering on one dominant culture, with several variations in between. The authors state that no single cross-cultural posture is inherently better than another; the approach should fit the church's calling, context, and constituency.

Each chapter includes reflection questions, recommended reading, and practical tools, along with callout boxes, charts, and images. With a foreword by Derwin L. Gray, this book translates insights from leaders and church members into "best practices" for those who engage in--or want to engage in--multicultural ministry
“Multicultural churches are a gift from God, yet they can be complex and even feel overwhelming at times. How can life together be done in such contexts? This book helps to answer this question. Nehrbass and Hong brilliantly focus on postures: ways of being that allow for healthy, vibrant, diverse congregations. Because every church’s circumstances are different, no single posture is appropriate for all; thus, we learn of a variety of postures that can be employed. This book is a gift for churches, church leaders, and denominations.”
--Michael O. Emerson, Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University
 
“This book does not settle for a superficial multiethnicity; it advocates for a much deeper and meaningful multiculturalism. This goes beyond something ‘nice’ to something absolutely necessary and core to the gospel itself and ever more imperative in this day and age of political battles over the meaning and value of diversity. Multiculturalism is hard work, but these two gentle guides shepherd us with practical tools and theological heft, nuancing the varieties of multiculturalism and parsing which are most practical for a church’s particular circumstances.”
--Allen Yeh, International Theological Seminary
 
“A timely and hope-filled resource for churches seeking to discern life together in an increasingly interconnected world. Rather than presenting a single idealized model, Nehrbass and Hong introduce readers to a wide range of postures and practices, expanding the imagination of what faithful presence might look like across differing contexts. Particularly compelling is the book’s attentiveness to the voices of ordinary people, grounding the conversation not merely in theory but in the lived realities, tensions, surprises, and joys of multicultural church life.”
--Paul Kyu-Jin Choi, lead pastor, Village Church
Mission is not an activity of the church. Mission defines it.
Over time, many churches drift toward institutional stability and away from their mission calling in a rapidly changing world. Ecclesiology and Mission confronts this tension. Mission defines the church; the church embodies the gospel. Christians need to live out biblical concepts that will create diverse, reproducing church expressions worldwide.
In this book, scholars and frontline practitioners stress the need to reintegrate mission with church life. Case studies from Azerbaijan, India, Thailand, and Canada show how mission thrives through relationships, family networks, hospitality, and adaptive faith, even under persecution. The authors in this volume highlight a trend toward simpler, networked, relational churches that can flexibly navigate modern complexities. They provide insights into how to think about church and mission, and how churches can do mission today.

Ecclesiology and Mission equips readers to reimagine the church as a dynamic, multiplying community—faithful to Scripture and adaptable to diverse cultural contexts—so that mission once again becomes the heartbeat of the church.
This book reconnects the church to its enduring missionary vocation and reimagines the means of its effective expression own twenty-first century contexts. It serves as an indispensable guide for a church seeking to remain faithful to its core purpose.  
- Michel Kenmogne SIL Global Executive director 
Winner of Christianity Today's "Award of Merit" in the Church Growth Category
Advanced Missiology draws the connections between the theory and practice of missions. Using the metaphor of a river, the book shows how theories "upstream" such as theology, education, anthropology, community development, and history have exerted an influence on missiology (and missiology, in turn, has gone back upstream to influence those disciplines). What causes these disciplines to converge in missiology is the goal of making disciples across cultures.

Whereas missiologists are not always explicit about how their abstract theories actually relate to the task of making disciples across cultures, each chapter in Advanced Missiology shows how numerous theories, sub-fields, models, and strategies of missiology ultimately facilitate the Great Commission. The book argues that by using interdisciplinarity for this fundamental purpose, missiological studies will be more credible and useful. With contributions from: Rebecca Burnett Leanne Dzubinski Julie Martinez
"This is the best available examination of ideas and practices that currently drive the discipline of evangelical missiology. . . . This is a perfect book for those who want an overarching view of contemporary missiology from an evangelical vantage."
--Scott Moreau, Academic Dean, Wheaton College Graduate School

"Nehrbass has succeeded in writing a thorough and comprehensive volume that addresses key issues facing missiology, both historically and in the present era of change. . . . This book will be useful to all those who are learning about, or are currently engaged in, the missions enterprise."
--Stephen A. Clark, Professor of Intercultural Studies, Moody Bible Institute

"Having been frustrated by the scarcity of textbooks in missiological research methodology during my past twenty-four years of teaching at the doctoral level, I am glad that this book can fill that void. It is an outstanding text due to its comprehensive coverage, including both historical heritage and contemporary development."
--Enoch Wan, Director of Doctor of Missiology and EdD Programs, Western Seminary
Globalization has raised numerous questions about theology and culture for Christians. How should we respond to outsourcing and immigration? How does anti-Western sentiment affect the proclamation of the gospel? What is the role of the church in society? This book argues that Christians will be most fulfilled and most effective if they embrace their cultural activity rather than feel ambivalent about it. The central question of this book is, how does bearing God's image relate to cultural activity? Nehrbass explains that "spheres of culture," such as political, technological, and social structures, are systems that God has instilled in humans as his image bearers, so that they can glorify and enjoy him forever. Therefore, a theology of culture involves recognizing that the kingdom of God encompasses heaven and Earth, rather than pitting heaven against Earth. The text surveys anthropological explanations for humanity's dependence on culture, and shows that each explanation provides only partial explanatory scope. The most satisfying explanation is that a major functional aspect of bearing God's image is engaging in culture, since the Trinity has been eternally engaged in cultural functions like ruling, communicating, and creating. Each chapter contains a summary and questions about what it means to be a world-changer in the twenty-first century.
""God's Image and Global Cultures is a well-written and insightful exploration of the multiplicity of issues related to changing cultures in the globalized world. . . . [E]ssential reading for students of missiology, and for other Christian practitioners."
--Eloise Meneses, Professor of Anthropology, Eastern University

"Nehrbass's book is a timely and needed work as it aims to assist the evangelical Christian in appropriately relating to global cultures while in the work of mission."
--Edward L. Smither, Associate Professor of Intercultural Studies, Columbia International University

"I starting reading (couldn't stop) and quickly realized that Nehrbass has written a book we need. [This book] is well written, well researched, and is a very readable introduction to a missiological theology for understanding the meaning of culture."
--Marcus Dean, Associate Professor, Intercultural Studies & Missions, Houghton College

"[This book] will take you down roads all have traveled, but few have sufficiently thought through the specifics. What is your theology of culture? How extensive and pervasive is it? Nehrbass will guide you through this foundational life-maze with clarity and comprehensiveness."
--Tom Steffen, Emeritus Professor of Intercultural Studies, Cook School of Intercultural Studies, Biola University "
Being a witness for Jesus in Muslim contexts is often difficult, complicated, and even discouraging. Over the past forty years, Phil Parshall, a leading authority on Muslim outreach, has demonstrated that making friends with Muslims—whether in the West or abroad—is where our witness usually begins. "Brother Phil" and his wife, Julie, were missionaries in Bangladesh for more than twenty years and later worked among Muslims in the Philippines. During his tenure as a missionary leader, Parshall authored a dozen books that helped shape current missiological perspectives about Muslim outreach. In this volume, the only edited work dedicated to exploring Phil Parshall’s legacy, seven respected missiologists interact with those ideas.

While all the contributors to this book have been inspired by Parshall's life and work, some of them believe that Parshall’s methods of contextualization could have been taken even further. They ponder: How can we further remove obstacles to following Jesus? How do we navigate the fine lines between Muslim cultures and Muslim religious ideas? What cultural and social aspects of Muslim life could cross-cultural workers adopt when living among Muslims? Here they share some of their victories and challenges, encouraging Christian workers to press ahead on paths of outreach to Muslims that are fitting for the twenty-first century context.
"The topic of Muslim followers of Jesus is hotly debated in missiology today. Phil Parshall, through his humble and gentle spirit and forty years as an effective cross-cultural witness among Muslims, has been an innovative pioneer in Muslim evangelism, opening the door for new ways of thinking, relating to, and living among Muslims. Others have built on his foundational principles and at times taken his contextualization ideas beyond his theological comfort zone. Now seven missiologists, have written captivating, helpful, and practical essays to honor Phil Parshall. What a great gift they have given to missiologists and mission practitioners today."
--Darrell Whiteman, Global Development, Inc.

"This book reflects and builds on the insights of a contemporary leader in Christian mission among Muslims with whom I have had the privilege of working in the classroom and the mission field for many years. Likewise the contributors bring a similar blend of the academy, experience and creative insight. This book should be on the short list of any missionaries to Muslims wishing to enrich their call with the insights of those in whose footsteps they are privileged to walk."
--J. Dudley Woodberry Dean emeritus and senior professor of Islamic Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary
Weighing Approaches to Finish the Task
Christians have been reflecting on best practices for as long as they have been engaging in missions. Practitioners have developed diverse strategies to promote the spread of the Gospel—such as indigenous church planting, disciple-making movements, community development, dynamically equivalent Bible translations, and chronological Bible storytelling. These models began as creative analyses of the mission endeavor, in light of the current cultural context. As that context shifts, it is also important to critically re-examine these models.
Advancing Models of Mission reflects on the missionaries and models of the past and reconsiders current models, all with the aim of looking toward the future of evangelical mission. This compendium of thirteen essays tackles such timely and difficult questions as:
· How does globalization challenge the 10/40 window model?
· How does hybridity and diaspora change the way we think about people groups and identity formation?
· How does the colonial history in Africa affect believers' connection with global evangelism?
Readers can learn about the contexts of the past that shaped our current missiological models while listening to diverse voices describe how those models are experienced considering our changing realities. Through honest analysis of the past few centuries of missionary movement, Advancing Models of Mission provides hope for the future.
The goal of historical study is to gain an accurate view of the past. And when we tell the truth about the past, we are forced to rejoice and lament. Ultimately, doing history teaches us to be wise. In this volume, the authors present the people, places, and practices of historic Christian mission, inviting the church to greater humility, wisdom, and skill as we strive to be faithful servants in God’s mission. 
--Edward L. Smither, PhD , Columbia International University 
In this book, Kenneth Nehrbass examines the interaction between traditional or animistic religion (called kastom) and Christianity in Vanuatu. First, he briefly outlines major anthropological theories of animism, then he examines eight aspects of animism on Tanna Island and shows how they present a challenge to Christianity. He traces the history of Christianity on Tanna from 1839 to the present, showing which missiological theories the various missionaries were implementing. Nehrbass wanted to find out what experiences in the lives of the islanders distinguished those who left traditional religion behind from those who held on to it. In the end, he contends that there are twenty factors of gospel response and cultural integration that determine whether an animistic background believer will be a mixer, separator, transplanter, or contextualizer.
Ever since Allan Tippett's "Solomon Island's Christianity", modern missiological inquiry has richly benefited from case studies addressing the spread of Christianity into the South Pacific. "Christianity and Animism in Melanesia" continues that rich tradition by examining a variety of missiological practices and their outcomes in forming Christian communities in Vanuatu that has implications for missions around the globe.
--Doug Hayward, PH.D. Professor Emeritus at Biola University