EMQ » July–September 2020 » Volume 56 Issue 3
By David P. King
University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019
360 pages
USD $39.95
Reviewed by Nathaniel (Than) Veltman, who currently serves as Mission Scholar in theology and community development with United World Mission’s Theological Education Initiative at the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Missionaries and missionary practice deeply influenced shifting debates during the growth and transformation of evangelicalism following World War II. Through an examination of the history of World Vision and its missionary founder, Bob Pierce, in God’s Internationalists David King argues, “Even as the United States was becoming a global superpower, so was American evangelicalism.… [The] same global engagement that forced evangelicals to reframe their work abroad also forced them to reframe their own identities at home as they reflected upon what it meant to be American and evangelical in an increasingly global world” (9). World Vision, at first a missionary agency, served as an intermediary between American evangelicals and encounters with global poverty that stimulated a shift in reinterpretation of evangelical identity in light of global engagement, particularly in terms of missionary practice and humanitarianism.
King examines this transformation through the lens of religious history, philanthropy, and professionalization. He narrates World Vision’s navigation of growing tension within evangelicalism between evangelism and social action, highlighting World Vision’s commitment to evangelism while demanding more. In the words of Bob Pierce, “We must meet people’s physical needs so that we can meet their real (spiritual) needs” (54). Similarly, in the realm of philanthropy, World Vision transformed evangelical giving and fundraising, particularly with regards to direct appeals and child sponsorship. And within the shift from humanitarianism to development, World Vision straddled the divide between piety and professionalism. The growth of World Vision embodied engagement with both sides within historical evangelical debates: evangelism vs. social action, charitable giving to social issues at home vs. abroad, and piety vs. professional.
God’s Internationalists presents an important contribution to considering the impact of missionaries and “third-sector” organizations like World Vision on American evangelicalism, an area generally ignored by religious historians. King’s contribution could be enhanced by considerations of World Vision’s current engagement with contemporary conversations within evangelicalism today such as racial justice, gender equality, and same-sex marriage. King alludes to World Vision’s 2014 decision to employ Christians in same-sex marriages but does not engage with the aftermath beyond the policy reversal two days later. This absence makes one wonder whether missionary practice and organizations like World Vision continue to influence evangelical identity formation today.
Nonetheless, God’s Internationalists is an insightful read for historians, philanthropists, and development professionals. Written in non-academic and accessible language, this book will appeal to those seeking a deeper understanding of the growth and transformation of evangelicalism after World Word II and how an organization like World Vision managed to navigate divisive social issues that emerged as American evangelicalism confronted global poverty. Perhaps Christian missionaries, humanitarian workers, and development professionals might glean additional insights into bridging current social divides between evangelicalism and today’s rapidly changing world.
For Further Reading
Carpenter, Joel A., and Wilbert R. Shenk, eds. Earthen Vessels: American Evangelicals and Foreign Missions, 1880–1980. Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2012.
Noll, Mark A. The New Shape of World Christianity: How American Experience Reflects Global Faith. IVP Academic, 2013.
