Includes bibliographical references and index.

pt. 1. Suffering and glory in history: The mission movement -- 1. Ancient and medieval mission -- 2. Colonial missions, Part 1: globalization of Roman Catholicism -- 3. Colonial missions, Part 2: orthodoxy, the Americas, and modernity -- 4. Western missions: Christianization, civilization, and commerce (1842 to 1948) -- 5. The waning and reconception of Christian mission: Postcolonial missiologies (1948 to present) -- pt. 2. The suffering and glory of the Triune God : Trinitarian mission in scripture -- 6. The Creator God as the Sending Father: missional scripture, Missional God -- 7. Jesus, sent as the suffering and sacrificing Son: the centerpiece of Christian mission -- 8. Holy Spirit in mission: presence, participation, and power -- pt. 3. The suffering and glory of the Church: the church in mission today -- 9. Church: the community of worship and witness -- 10. Witnessing community: evangelism and Christian mission -- 11. Urban community: mission and the city -- 12. Global community: partnership in mission -- 13. Spirituality and mission: suffering and glory -- Appendix: Twentieth-Century Ecumenical Councils.

This comprehensive introduction helps students, pastors, and mission committees understand contemporary Christian mission historically, biblically, and theologically. Scott Sunquist, a respected scholar and teacher of world Christianity, recovers missiological thinking from the early church for the twenty-first century. He traces the mission of the church throughout history in order to address the global church and offers a constructive theology and practice for missionary work today. Sunquist views spirituality as the foundation for all mission involvement, for mission practice springs from spiritual formation. He highlights the Holy Spirit in the work of mission and emphasizes its trinitarian nature. Sunquist explores mission from a primarily theological--rather than sociological--perspective, showing that the whole of Christian theology depends on and feeds into mission. Throughout the book, he presents Christian mission as our participation in the suffering and glory of Jesus Christ for the redemption of the nations.