Saint Boniface, the 8th-century English bishop, missionary to Germany, and martyr, was a master of discretion. Guided by the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit, he knew the importance of choosing the right action at the right time. Boniface knew when to take up the axe, and he knew when to put it down. The Discretion…
30 Years on Mission: The NAMS Story (So Far)
NAMS was born in 1993 as the North American Missionary Society. However, it was conceived in 1973. I was walking the dog and playing with my two young sons in the park in Durham, England. While enjoying a Saturday break from my Ph.D. research, I seemed to “hear” a voice. It impressed these words into…
Allen Gardiner: Charting the Course for the Global Mission of SAMS
“Grant O Lord, that we may be instrumental in commencing this great and blessed work; but should Thou see fit in Thy providence to hedge up our way, and that we should even languish and die here, I beseech Thee to raise up others and to send forth labourers into this harvest. Let it be…
10 Reasons for Anglican Optimism
When we observe the world—the sin and disbelief and conflict surrounding the church, together with the sin and disbelief and conflict within the church—it is easy to grow weary of the “changes and chances of this life” (BCP, 60). But take heart: our Lord Jesus Christ is on his throne, his Kingdom is at hand,…
An Anglican Mission in Cambodia
We are the Pellonis, a young family with four daughters, living and serving in Cambodia since 2015. Entirely unexpectedly, by God’s providence, we are now worshiping in an Anglican Church, learning all about the church through Anglican Compass, and preparing to serve as Anglican missionaries through SAMS. Finding the Anglican Church in Cambodia When we…
New Wineskins: One Mission
Be the one. Making Jesus known through our word and deed is a mark of what it means to follow Jesus. Anglicans have always been on mission, but we are not known for this in the modern day. Instead, we are known by our vestments, our Table, and our rich liturgy. But to think that…
Winfield Bevins on “Liturgical Mission”
The following is excerpted from “Liturgical Mission” by Winfield Bevins, published by IVP. Winfield is also the author of “Simply Anglican,” published by Anglican Compass. The word mission comes from the Latin word missio, and simply means “sending” or “being sent.” If we are sent, then there must be a sender. From a Christian perspective,…
The Surprising Contextualizability of Anglicanism—Yes, Anglicanism—to Frontier Mission Fields
I remember it as clear as yesterday. Ahmet had left Islam and decided to follow Jesus. In the Middle Eastern country where I served, this was not illegal, but it also wasn’t easy. After a few months of walking with Jesus, Ahmet approached me and said, “Chris, now that I’ve become a Christian, tell me…
Baptizing a Convert from Islam with an Anglican Liturgy
I didn’t even remember the phone call. One evening when I was loafing around the house an Arabophone brother called me from a foreign country and had some questions about our small Arabophone fellowship, Kanisa. What did we believe? I answered: we had an evangelical orientation and confessed the Apostles’ and Nicene creeds. Did we…
Do Anglicans Care as much about Mission(s) as Evangelicals?
It was a sunny day in Glasgow and the preacher was speaking to thousands of people in one of the large parks of the city. I had attended with a number of friends from a Christian campus ministry in Edinburgh where I was working on my PhD in Divinity (focus, World Christianity. Shameless plug: buy…
