Paul Borthwick

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." —John 3:16 Paul Borthwick unpacks the Bible's most famous verse to unveil God's intentional, sacrificial mission for the world. He examines every word in John 3:16 to reveal the underlying motivation for mission, the global scope of God's call, and how we are invited to enter into partnership with God. This mission statement highlights the centrality of Jesus and the relational nature of the invitation to follow him—for the world to escape perishing and enter eternal life. God still loves the world, and we can too. Come join him on this mission of love and discover how he brings the world back to life.

Joseph went through some hard times; sold into slavery, falsely accused of rape and imprisoned for many years. Yet Joseph was able to live in forgiveness and hope, and God did great things each step of the way. As we read his story we will find our own place in the journey to seeing God's dreams fulfilled in and through us. Nine studies for individuals and small groups. This revised Lifebuilder Bible Study features additional questions for starting group discussions and for meeting God in personal reflection, together with expanded leader's notes and an extra 'Now or Later' section in each study.

The terrain of church missions is often bewildering. Should we prioritize evangelism or works of service? Local ministries or overseas missions? What's more important: giving our money or giving our time? Crisis relief or building sustainable, long-term ministries? And what about the often debated pros and cons of short-term missions trips? In Mapping Church Missions, Sharon Hoover brings her years of experience in local church missions to bear on these and other thorny questions. Instead of taking a hardline stance on one end of the spectrum or the other, she approaches each question with nuance, adding helpful data, presenting new perspectives, and always pressing gently past surface questions to the heart of the matter. Whether we're fully aware of it or not, our churches come up against these questions whenever we consider how best to use our resources for the mission of God. Written by an experienced guide, this book maps the terrain of church missions in careful detail, helping us plot our church's unique course as we seek to serve Christ's kingdom.

Beginning with Genesis, the Bible is the story of God pursuing his people. In this study guide, you'll explore how God reaches out--through Jesus and through human ambassadors like us. You'll discover that the call to "missions" is not for a select group but is a part of God's call to every Christian. And you'll begin to understand your own part in God's plan. This LifeBuilder Bible Study features questions for starting group discussions and for meeting God in personal reflection. Leader's notes are included with information on study preparation, leading the study and small group components as well as helps for specific Bible passages covered in the study. Presented in a convenient workbook format and featuring the inductive Bible study approach, LifeBuilder Bible Studies are thoroughly field-tested prior to publication; they're proven and popular guides for digging into Scripture on your own or with a small group.

"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings." Philippians 3:10 (ASV) If we follow Jesus, we will experience pain. It comes with the territory. We might face hardship because of our Christian commitment, or we may have challenges just from living in a fallen world. Either way, Christians follow in the footsteps of our suffering Savior and participate in his suffering. But that's not the whole story. Missionary Paul Borthwick and pastor Dave Ripper show how transformation through our personal pain enables us to minister faithfully to a hurting world. They candidly share about their own struggles and how they have seen God's kingdom advance through hardship and suffering. Though we naturally avoid suffering, Christians throughout church history have become powerful witnesses to Christ as a result of their brokenness. Life is painful, but pain need not have dominion over us. Instead, it can propel us in missional solidarity with our suffering world. Come find comfort and renewed purpose in the fellowship of the suffering.

Go and do. Jesus commands it, and the world needs it. Mission mobilizer Paul Borthwick shows how proclamation and demonstration of the gospel go hand in hand, bringing together the Great Commission of Matthew 28 and the Great Compassion of Matthew 25, while offering practical, holistic ways for us to live them out in every sphere of our lives.

Go and do. Jesus commands it, and the world needs it. Word and deed go together. One without the other is not enough. We follow Jesus into all the world, and we follow his example in all we do. Mission mobilizer Paul Borthwick shows how proclamation and demonstration of the gospel go hand in hand. God gives us the Great Commission, Matthew 28's call to go wherever Jesus sends us, making disciples and proclaiming good news to all nations. And we become people of his Great Compassion, Matthew 25's vision for treating others as we would treat Jesus himself, caring for the needy and living justly. Borthwick offers practical ways for us to live out the Great Commission and Great Compassion in every sphere of our lives. Holistic discipleship means learning and looking, praying and giving, welcoming the stranger, simplifying our lives and standing with and for others on God's behalf. Small steps can make a big difference in the mission of God. Will you answer the call?

Short-term mission trips are great ways to impact the kingdom. Yet they can lack effectiveness because of mistakes or naiveté on the part of participants. In this insightful and timely book, David A. Livermore calls us to serve with our eyes open to global and cultural realities so we can become more effective cross-cultural ministers. Serving with Eyes Wide Open is a must-have book for anyone doing a short-term mission or service project, whether domestic or overseas. Foreword by Paul Borthwick.

Christianity Today Book Award of Merit Winner Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year The world has changed. A century ago, Christianity was still primarily centered in North America and Europe. By the dawn of the twenty-first century, Christianity had become a truly global faith, with Christians in Asia, Africa and Latin America outpacing those in the rest of the world. There are now more Christians in China than in all of Europe, more Pentecostals in Brazil than in the United States, and more Anglicans in Kenya than in Great Britain, Canada and the United States combined. Countries that were once destinations for western missionaries are now sending their own missionaries to North America. Given these changes, some think the day of the Western missionary is over. Some are wary that American mission efforts may perpetuate an imperialistic colonialism. Some say that global outreach is best left to indigenous leaders. Others simply feel that resources should be focused on the home front. Is there an ongoing role for the North American church in global mission? Missions specialist Paul Borthwick brings an urgent report on how the Western church can best continue in global mission. He provides a current analysis of the state of the world and how Majority World leaders perceive North American Christians' place. Borthwick offers concrete advice for how Western Christians can be involved without being paternalistic or creating dependency. Using their human and material resources with wise and strategic stewardship, North Americans can join forces with the Majority World in new, interdependent ways to answer God?s call to global involvement. In this critical age, the global body of Christ needs one another more than ever. Discover how the Western church can contribute to a new era of mission marked by mutuality, reciprocity and humility.

How To Be A World-Class Christian opens the window to global Christianity for any person who desires to be part of what God is doing in the world. Building on the foundations of information, prayer, experience and investigation, How To Be A World-Class Christian shows the reader how to expand in understanding Scripture, increase in global praying and intensify crosscultural outreach—beginning right at home. Using practical tools and observations from everyday life, this book invites every reader to stretch his or her knowledge of the purposes of God in the world and then to take the steps necessary to start responding to the opportunities we face. Patrick Johnstone said, "There is a YOU-shaped hole in God's Kingdom—find it and fill it." Finding and filling the place in the world that God has designed for you is what How to Be a World-Class Christian is designed to do.

Joseph faced hard times--more than once. He was sold into slavery by his brothers. He spent years imprisoned because of a false accusation. And yet Joseph was able to live in forgiveness and hope, and God did great things in his life every step of the way. Paul Borthwick invites you to explore Joseph's story as a way toward discovering how God's dreams might be fulfilled in and through you. These nine session LifeGuide(R) Bible Study features questions for starting group discussions and for meeting God in personal reflection, together with leader's notes and a "Now or Later" section in each study. For over three decades LifeGuide Bible Studies have provided solid biblical content and raised thought-provoking questions--making for a one-of-a-kind Bible study experience for individuals and groups. This series has more than 130 titles on Old and New Testament books, character studies, and topical studies.

Beginning with Genesis, the Bible is the story of God pursuing his people. In this study guide, you'll explore how God reaches out--through Jesus and through human ambassodors like us. You'll discover that the call to "missions" is not for a select group but is a part of God's call to every Christian. And you'll begin to understand your own part in God's plan. This LifeGuide Bible Study features questions for starting group discussions and for meeting God in personal reflection. Leader's notes are included with information on study preparation, leading the study and small group components as well as helps for specific Bible passages covered in the study. Presented in a convenient workbook format and featuring the inductive Bible study approach, LifeGuides are thoroughly field-tested prior to publication; they're proven and popular guides for digging into Scripture on your own or with a small group.

How do you see the world? As lots of great vacation spots? As millions of people with problems too big to imagine? Missionary Paul Borthwick just might expand your view--or even explode it. He asks six dynamite questions that challenge you to look more closely at other countries, other cultures, other ethnic groups and other ways of acting on your faith. Dangerous Question #1: Who Is Jesus? Dangerous Question #2: Do I Believe in Heaven? Dangerous Question #3: Do I Believe in Hell? Dangerous Question #4: Does Christianity Matter? Dangerous Question #5: Do I Believe That God Wants to Use My Life? Dangerous Question #6: Whose Agenda Will I Live By? Don't be fooled. Borthwick's questions may seem obvious. But have you really thought about your answers to them before? Have you thought through how your answers are connected to work, family, money, friends, or education? Don't panic. Answering the questions Borthwick poses won't result in your immediate departure for the jungle or the desert--probably. But answering will very likely cause you to reorder your priorities, refocus your interests and even change your everyday choices: what to read, what to buy, what to do over the weekend. That's why reading this book is dangerous. But, then, Jesus never promised that following him would be risk-free. Only that there would be joy.