Books of the Quarter
What Is the Mission of the Church?
Kevin DeYoung & Greg Gilbert
Crossway, 2011
288 pages
God has saved us, but for what purpose? Is it for global renewal through societal and environmental reform? Should we establish God’s kingdom by championing equality and justice? Or are we simply called only to proclaim the Gospel? As a young believer, I never achieved much clarity with these questions. People had different takes on accomplishing “God’s mission” (and they all sounded good!). They also blurted out terms like “kingdom,” “shalom,” and “social justice,” but never defined them the same way. Gilbert and DeYoung’s book is a wonderfully balanced, yet thoroughly biblical attempt at clearing up some of the muddiness of “mission”. Not only did it address my questions, but it also lit in me a fire of optimism for the task at hand. I highly commend it to anyone who seeks to be in sync with God’s mission for the Church.
- Tim Chang