Mission of God's People
Christopher Wright's comprehensive theological work emerges from decades of missionary experience and biblical scholarship, addressing the fragmentation between evangelism and social action that has long troubled evangelical missions. Writing as Principal of All Nations Christian College and a former missionary in India, Wright sought to provide a unified biblical foundation for understanding the church's total mission in the world.
The book constructs its argument through careful biblical theology, tracing God's mission from creation through the Hebrew Scriptures to the New Testament church. Wright demonstrates that mission flows from the character and purposes of God himself, making the case that the church's calling encompasses both proclamation of the gospel and engagement with issues of justice, creation care, and human flourishing. He argues that these dimensions are not competing priorities but integrated aspects of God's redemptive work in the world. The work systematically examines how Israel's calling as a priestly nation prefigures the church's missional identity, and how Jesus' ministry models holistic mission that addresses spiritual, social, and physical needs simultaneously.
The book has become a standard text in evangelical missiology, offering theological grounding for churches seeking to move beyond the artificial separation of evangelism and social responsibility. Wright's careful exegesis and missiological experience provide a framework that has influenced mission agencies, seminary curricula, and local church practice across denominational lines.
Who should read this: Pastors, missionaries, and church leaders wrestling with questions about the scope and nature of Christian mission will find Wright's biblical theology essential. Those comfortable with either purely evangelistic or purely social justice approaches to ministry may find his integrative vision challenging but necessary.