“The International Mission Board is the largest missionary-sending agency in the world. Each year as many as a thousand new missionaries will be processed and approved for service overseas. Up to three thousand candidates will be in contact with our board at any given time regarding their missionary call. Qualifications for approval and assignment are extensive, but the foundational requirement is a personal conviction of God’s call. The expression of such a call is as diverse as the number of missionary candidates. The Missionary Call by Dr. David Sills is a valuable, objective and comprehensive review of this subject. Distorted perceptions and misunderstandings regarding who is called and what consists of a call to missions abound, but Dr. Sills deals with every perspective from a biblical and practical consideration. This book will be a valuable contribution to the church mobilizing God’s people to be obedient to our Great Commission task.”
-Jerry Rankin
President, International Mission Board
"Dr. Sills leads his readers through a methodical evaluation of the complexities of a missionary calling without being formulaic or unnecessarily mysterious. This book should be in the toolkit of anyone exploring a calling to cross-cultural ministry. I will recommend it to all of Wycliffe's candidates”
-Bob Creson
President, Wycliffe Bible Translators
“Dr. Sills had done an excellent work in removing the mystery of God’s call on our lives. David lays out the practical Biblical answers to the questions “How do I know if God is calling me?” “Do I have an option to obey that call?” Many other issues relating to God’s call for you are included in this challenging book. If you’re serious about investing your life in what is important to God then this is a must read to ground you in the over arching purpose of God and how He planned on you fitting into that! Oh, and if you’re not serious then this is definitely the book for you!"
-Larry Brown
Chairman/CEO, New Tribes Mission
“There is a crying need today for men and women who are willing to give their lives to the great cause of proclaiming the Gospel to the nations. Dr. David Sills offers practical help in thinking through the call to missions-from discerning whether God has called you to missions, to determining how and where you should serve. A scholarly missiologist with hands-on missionary experience, Dr. Sills provides sound pastoral advice to Christians wondering if God might be calling them to spend their lives as missionaries in the service of the Gospel. I am absolutely confident that this book will make a big difference in many lives.”
-R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
“The Missionary Call is a superb work that is certain to become a valuable tool for all Great Commission Christians. It is filled with biblical and practical wisdom. I was amazed that David covered so much and did it so well in so few pages. This a fine gift to the body of Christ. I know the students at our Seminary and College will be reading it!”
-Danny Akin
President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
“David Sills has addressed the single, burning issue in this, the greatest era of mission expansion in the history of the Christian Church. The Missionary Call presents a powerful, scripturally sound and convincing response for anyone considering a vocation in missions. I would urge every pastor and church missions leader to keep multiple copies of this book on hand as a reliable resource for anyone considering the call to missions."
-Tom Elliff
Senior Vice President for Spiritual Nurture & Church Relations, International Mission Board
"The question of the 'missionary call' has been debated, dissected, analyzed and written about for generations . Dr. Sills has produced refreshingly new insights into an old topic. His breadth of scholarship covers the biblical, historical, spiritual, contemporary and pragmatic aspects of this vital topic in delightfully readable fashion. This is the finest single book on this fascinating topic that I have ever read. I heartily recommend it for students, pastors, professors, missionaries and every follower of Jesus Christ."
-David M. Howard
Former President, Latin America Mission
Former International Director of the World Evangelical Fellowship
Former Missions Director of IVCF and Director of URBANA 73 and 76
"If you are wondering about the missionary call this book will be a life saver for you. David Sills thoroughly explores the subject and gives information that the ordinary person feeling called would not know. His is not a cut and dried answer and he leaves the final answer to the leading to the mysterious working of God’s Spirit. This will become a classic book dealing with the missionary call."
-Avery Willis
Director, International Orality Network
“Dr. Sills provides a solid and well-grounded exploration of the
missionary call. He offers significant help in clarifying the issues
for those who struggle with whether God is calling them into
missionary service and a great resource for those who teach about the
call as it relates to missionary life.”
-Scott Moreau
Professor- Missions & Intercultural Studies, Wheaton College
Editor, Evangelical Missions Quarterly
“No aspect of missions is more bogged down with extra-biblical baggage than “the missionary call.” Is not the clear command of Christ “to go” enough to set you on your way to unreached regions? You can’t go wrong by trying to go. Be aggressive to go. The Lord will direct your moving feet. Dr. Sills presents this and other popular views on how a person may be called into mission. I strongly recommend this practical book that cuts through much of the confusion of the missionary call.”
-David Sitton
President, To Every Tribe Ministries
“At last! Here is a book on a fundamental issue of missions that is at once truly readable, theologically balanced, biblically grounded, and practically oriented. David Sills draws upon his own experience on the field and in the classroom, the salient research of other scholars, and the wise reflection of a heart given over to the purpose for which his Lord left the palaces of heaven to dwell among a lost humanity. Engagingly written and immensely practical, Sills’ book addresses with winsomeness and clarity the often bewildering questions that each of us who would follow Jesus today must face regarding our place in the missionary task. This book is a “must read” for introductory courses on missions, for missionaries already on the field and those considering missionary service, for mission agency staff, and for pastors, missions committees, and church members alike. Highly recommended!”
-Samuel Larsen
Samuel Patterson Professor of Missions and Evangelism, Reformed Theological Seminary
“Can a book be brief and thorough? Clear and scholarly? Simple and profound? Practical and heart-warming? This one is. It will be a great help to many.”
-Joe Martin
Chair of the Biblical Studies and Ministries Department, Belhaven College
“It was refreshing to read through The Missionary Call. This book reflects both the theoretical knowledge of the writer as well his practical and experiential insights. David’s cross-cultural ministry, balanced with his biblical understanding and applications to the field of missiology, makes this book worth reading. Every Christian reader will surely benefit from such insights.”
-Elias Medeiros
Professor of Missions and Evangelism, Missions Department Chairman, Reformed Theological Seminary
"The Missionary Call is extremely readable, “user friendly”. I found it difficult to put down after I had begun reading. It cuts to the chase, getting to the points that are involved in the missionary call. Dr. Sills deals with the excitements and difficulties with fresh insights. He encourages us, and rightly so, to be excited about God’s call to be His witnesses in other cultures or as we remain in our culture. I’ve been involved in “missions in other countries” for over forty years and Dr. Sills, in The Missionary Call, gives me increased excitement concerning how this generation will respond to the missionary call placed on their lives. I would like for every Christian to read this book. God does call all of us to be missionaries, some to go and some to stay. Dr. Sills has given us an exciting and excellent tool to use, along with His Word, to determine which it is that the Lord is commanding us to do. Nothing is more exciting than being faithful to the call that He places on your life!"
-Sammy Simpson
President, Global Outreach
For more information about Dr. Sills' ministry, visit his ministry website,
Reaching and Teaching. |
