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Author Forde-Atikossie has devoted much of her life to Christian mission work and here sets out necessary guidelines and spiritual suggestions for anyone contemplating that endeavor. The wish to be a missionary springs from within but also requires much careful planning. Potential missionaries must learn to use language—their own and that of those they meet—in a dignified manner. Dress style should be modest, with an emphasis on modesty and practicality. Plans for mission startup will include a committee and entail a general business/corporate structure and terminology. Duties for missionaries may involve serving food, assisting with childcare, outreach among significant local leaders, and for some, preaching to congregations and other gatherings. The options are many. Along with a strong sense of inner Christian calling, the work might take place on a city street at home, in foreign climes to initiate a new mission facility or serve an established one for a week or two, or for years of perseverance within a community locally or abroad.
The author writes from experience, having shouldered the responsibilities she describes. She organizes her practical advice carefully. Each section of her fact-filled manual concludes with questions and some useful writing space for readers’ self-study. The author offers a candid portrait of her life’s journey toward devotion to Jesus, whom she asserts was himself a missionary, bringing God’s word to multitudes. Skeptical as a child, though raised in a strongly Christian family, she served in the US military, eventually discovering a deep dedication to God. She traveled to various locales as a missionary before settling down in Philadelphia, where she is the founder and leader of the Sharing of Bread Outreach Mission. Forde-Atikosse's informative work will undoubtedly encourage those considering a stint, or a lifetime, of religious ministry at home or overseas.