EMQ » July–September 2021 » Volume 57 Issue 3
By Marvin J. Newell
In 1987 Ruth Tucker was professor of missions and church history at Calvin Theological Seminary (Grand Rapids, Michigan) when she authored the book Daughters of the Church. In that seminal work Ruth documented the contributions women – many of them missionaries – had made to the church from Pentecost till the time of the writing of the book. A reading of that book causes one to wonder where the Church would be today if it were not for the selfless service of women.
Women have always been on the cutting edge of the Church’s advance. It is calculated that two-thirds of the modern mission force are women. This has been the case since the modern era of Protestant missions began with the Moravians. Again, one wonders where missions would be today if it were not for the selfless service of women.
This edition of EMQ salutes women in missions. Whether they are singles, wives, widows, mothers, or grandmothers, this issue honors them by giving us the opportunity to hear what some of them have to say about current mission issues.
Thus, all the articles in this issue are written by women. They have discussed various topics such as cross-cultural leadership, church planting in hard places, the values of trust and humility, being locked out of fields, ministry among Muslim women, mobilization, member care, and basic missiology. There is a wealth of information to be gained from these well-thought-out contributions.
Special recognition is due to the Angelina Noble Centre, a women-directed missions resource center in Australia, that promotes mission research. Half of the articles in this edition were written by women associated with that Centre. We have enjoyed partnering with them as they provided content for this edition.
Marvin J. Newell, D.Miss
Editorial Director
