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Some time ago I read in the pages of a mission magazine that came to my desk an amazing statement. The writer was emphasizing his “conviction that the church, not the mission board, is the sending agency.”

The dreadful events of recent weeks in Cambodia and Vietnam hang heavy on our hearts as we prepare this issue. Somehow, the academic debates of missionary work pale into insignificance when we are faced with the stark reality of oppression, persecution and martyrdom on massive scales.

I hope that the following information will at least serve to stimulate those who intend to begin church-planting work first of all to investigate more thoroughly the situation in the respective countries.

In terms of policy development, there are certain areas that are more conspicuous by their absence than anything else.

An estimated 160 million people in Europe make no profession of religion. Among those who still claim allegiance to Christianity there are few who take their religion seriously.

Contemporary missiologists are transforming long-felt concerns for church growth and leadership training into systematic plans for action.

In Colombia we are preaching the gospel in an atmosphere of change. In order to speak with effect to our hearers, it is necessary to understand what is happening to them and to adapt ourselves to present realities.

One of the unexpected turnarounds in foreign missions in recent years has been the striking renewal of missionary interest among young people. Five or six years ago students were being written off as far as missions were concerned.

It is not surprising that the term “messianic Judaism” is frequently heard these days. Almost half the Jews in the world live in the United States, and even rabbis admit that large numbers of American Jews are turning to Jesus now.

One of the virtually unquestioned axioms of missionary orientation through the years has been that an effective missionary must constantly strive to “identify with the nationals.”