Biography

BORDEN OF YALE Author Mrs. Howard Taylor

(The Life and Legacy of William Borden)

Here is one of the most amazing missionary biographies you many ever read. The earlier biography has been updated and illustrated, making it riveting reading. One of the very best biographies ever written.

“William Borden was extraordinary in almost every sense. Born into wealth and privilege, he could have chosen to live a life of luxury and ease. Instead, he surrendered it all for a life of service to Christ. Borden of Yale is the riveting account of a man who exemplified what it means to be fully committed to God.

Raised in Moody Church in Chicago and educated at both Yale and Princeton, Borden first felt the missionary call during a round-the-world journey gifted to him by his parents at the age of sixteen. The following year, he received a distinct call to dedicate his life to serving the Muslims of China, a decision that shaped everything he did from that point forward.

Though a scholar in his own right, Borden’s theological insights were not merely intellectual pursuits, they were living beliefs that propelled him into action. From leading Bible studies in dorms and founding the Yale Hope Mission to serving as a director at the National Bible Institute and spearheading evangelistic efforts that impacted the entire city of Cairo, Borden was unwavering in his commitment to share the gospel of the Lord Jesus.

As promising as his life appeared, Borden passed away in Egypt while en route to serve Muslims in China. Thousands mourned, contemplating what might have been. Yet countless others have been inspired to follow in his footsteps to the mission field.

William Borden was a visionary, a trailblazer, and an inspiration for all who seek to follow Jesus Christ. This is not just a book; it is an invitation to reevaluate what truly matters and to live wholeheartedly for the Lord.”

Make sure you read this book!!!

FORTY YEARS IN LABRADOR Author E. Hayes

“While most medical missionaries in modern history have spent their lives in tropical climates fighting against the ravages of fevers, leprosy, and other tropical scourges, Wilfred Grenfell, one of the most highly acclaimed missionary doctors of all times, carried out his ministry on the North America continent along the frozen coastline of Labrador.

Many awards and honours were bestowed upon Grenfell for his forty years of service in Labrador. He was knighted in 1927, and soon after he was awarded an honourary doctorate from St. Andrews University. But to the impoverished villagers of Labrador, he was no less than a saint – and perhaps more. Said one devoted admirer, ‘If Wilfred Grenfell came through that door now, I would feel that Jesus Christ had entered the room.’ Though he died in 1940, the memory of Wilfred Grenfell lives on today along the rugged coasts of Labrador.”

An incredible story of an amazing missionary – a book you can’t put down.

LIGHT FROM OLD TIMES Author J.C. Ryle

This book is both historical and biographical. It is about facts and men.

The author was an Anglican, the first Bishop of Liverpool, who made no secret of his strong evangelical convictions. His writings are well known and are considered today as classics of the evangelical faith.

Of the eleven chapters in this book, six are biographies of some leading champions of the English Reformation, three trace the lives of great Puritans of the 17th century, and the remaining two deal with the life of John Wycliffe and some events during the reign of James 11.

This book makes enthralling reading. It clearly demonstrates the truth of J.C. Ryle’s own statement:

“Whatever truth there may be in other schools of thought, it is certain that no men can show a greater title to be called ‘Successors of the Reformation’ than members of the Evangelical School.” Its message is timely for our generation!

Read short biographies on:

  • John Wycliffe
  • John Rogers
  • John Hooper
  • Hugh Latimer
  • John Bradford
  • Nicolas Ridley

WOW … sell your bed for this book. It’s magnificent, and I loved reading it more this second time.

THE VICAR OF BAGHDAD Author Andrew White

This book is about the ministry of Andrew White in Iraq following on from the Iraq war, is challenging and very enlightening.

“Andrew White is one of a tiny handful of people trusted by virtually every side in the complex, Middle East. Political and military solutions constantly fail. Andrew offers a different approach, speaking as a man of faith to men of faith. Compassionate and shrewd, gifted in human relationships, he has been deeply involved in the rebuilding of Iraq. His first-hand connections and profound insights make this a fascinating document.”

He has given his life to the rebuilding of Iraq, striving to create peace among the different factions. He also is the pastor of St. Georges’ Anglican Church in Baghdad, which under his leadership has grown to about 2000 people. A truly remarkable ministry.

Lord Carey, an earlier Archbishop of Canterbury wrote:

“Andrew is truly one of the most remarkable men I have ever encountered. I wholeheartedly commend this book to your attention. It is an inspirational read.”

JOHN MacArthur: Servant of the Word and Flock Author Iain Murray
       
When I had been the pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Pietermaritzburg for 25 years, as a gift the church very graciously offered to send me to any conference, anywhere in the world. I chose to visit the Church of John MacArthur in Los Angles. For nearly 50 years he has preached verse by verse and today the Church, the Masters Seminary and the Masters College is THE MODEL.

Here is a moving biography by Iain Murray, including the shaping of his youth, the strength of his family, the refining influence of trials and controversies and the building of this man into a servant of the Word and flock.

For many of you this will be a must read. If you have benefitted from his commentaries now you will be greatly blessed by his biography.

NO ORDINARY VIEW Author Naomi Reed

The Himalayan view from our back porch was normally breathtaking, but that day I sat there and wondered. Ten years of civil war, a deteriorating health system, an economic crisis and a political stalemate. It was a background of hopelessness for the lives of our Nepali friends and the community that we lived in. In such a setting of pain and darkness, how could God reveal His nature? And how could He call me by name?

I wasn’t sure. I didn’t think it was possible.

From the uncertainty of Nepal’s civil war, Naomi continues the story of her family’s desire to train Nepali physiotherapists and share God’s love in word and action. Her honesty and genuine longing to see God’s purpose and sovereignty make this unforgettable reading.

This easy-reading, modern missionary biography makes for great reading. It is the follow-up on “My Seventh Monsoon” and is a marvellous read on missionary work in Nepal today.

 

A SAINT IN GLORY STANDS Author Norman Rohrer

For those interested in theological education this will be a fascinating read. It is the story of AIVA McClain the founder of Grace Theological Seminary. The vision of Dr. McClain resulted in the establishment of Grace Theological Seminary and also Grace College, because he was very concerned with the rise of liberal Theology in many colleges. As Grace looks to the future its foundation on the Word of God is as firmly held as ever and the need to train up pastors and missionaries is just as great.

What a beautiful reminder it was of what God can do through the life of a man fully committed to Christ with a passion to teach the inspired Word of God.

JAMES MONTGOMERY Author Paul Taylor

“It is remarkable that until now no substantial biography has appeared on the life of James Montgomery (1771-1854), the author of the well-known hymn ‘Hail to the Lord’s Anointed!’ 

Born in Scotland and educated by evangelical Moravians in Yorkshire, Montgomery spent many years in Sheffield, making known the gospel of grace and supporting many Christian causes. He was a literary figure of some stature, the editor of a newspaper, and the author of numerous hymns, many of which we still sing today. Thanks to Paul Taylor, readers are now able to acquaint themselves with the life, experience and work of this godly man.”

A short, well researched biography on a forgotten hymn writer.

JOHN WESLEY Author Stanley Ayling

If you are looking for an excellent biography on John Wesley, this is the one.

 

“In his fifty-three years, mission he covered by horse and chaise nearly a quarter of a mission miles. He preached over 40,000 sermons and published some four hundred written works, from popular tracts and educational handbooks to learned polemics and theological treatises. At first, he confronted hostile mobs. He was accused of encouraging hysteria, fanaticism, and superstition. Denied Anglican pulpits, he preached outdoors. Refused the co-operation of clergy, he appointed his own lay preachers, over whom his sway was total, and at last dared to ordain some of them himself. When he died in 1791 the Gentleman’s Magazine declared him to have been ‘one of the few characters who outlived enmity and prejudice … His personal influence was greater perhaps than any private gentleman in the country’.”


An amazing man, passionate to save souls and preaching right up to the last day of his life. The Methodist Church which he founded is a testimony to this incredible man of God. You will love reading this biography on one of the greatest men ever.

MACKAY OF UGANDA written by his sister

When he heard of the death of Alexander Mackay, Henry Morton Stanley wrote:

“To my great grief, I learn that Mr. Mackay, the best missionary since Livingstone had died.”

The C.M.S. committee said this soon after Mackay’s death:

“How deep the loss of Mackay, only those who knew him well and saw his work can understand. He was one of those few who look fearlessly forth and seem to see the face of the living God. He never despaired of any person or anything. Quiet he was, strong, patient, resolute and brave. He endured 14 years in Africa; 14 years of dangers, fever, malaria, 14 years of sorrows and disappointments, but through it all he was unmovable; a true missionary … a devotion and perseverance unsurpassed by any African missionary.”

Called the St. Paul of Uganda, this is a magnificent biography on one of Africa’s finest missionaries – a set book for my students. This was the 3rd time I read this biography and learnt more of Mackay than ever before … truly he was unsurpassed by any African missionary.

HALF A CENTURY IN INDIA (My Indian Jatara) Author Frances Major

Frances Major was born to Waymon P. and Etta F. Major of Route one, Piedmont S.C.  She was the fourth child of eleven. Six of the eleven became full time Christian workers and the other five faithful lay witnesses. What an amazing family!!

Fraces, who spent forty-two years of Christian service in India, has a story to tell and here it is told very well indeed. She was a teacher, foster-mother of orphans, headmistress, evangelist, high school principal, founder of a night school, and treasurer of Methodist women’s work in India. She cares for the whole person. She loves Calcutta while most visitors have seen only its sordid side.

This is what Bishop Mathews wrote on this book:

“Frances clearly love India and her people. She loves Bengal. She loves Calcutta (and wore a badge which said so). As I read this book, I experienced a growing pride in the mission of the Church, in rediscovery of what it is to be a faithful missionary, a fresh summons to be a better missionary myself.”

This book affords an unusual glimpse into the life and work of a missionary. A very enjoyable read!!! Of an amazing woman who poured out her life for others.

WEAPONS OF PEACE Author Peter Anderson

Weapons of Peace” is set in South Africa in the period 1800 – 1852. It is the amazing story of the lives of William and Johanna Anderson. It is a thrilling story of adventure, trials, romance, tragedy and triumph. William, one of the earliest missionaries sent out by the London Missionary Society has been described as a true friends and champion of the indigenous people of South Africa.

Miachael Cassidy wrote:

“Splendidly researched and sensitively scripted. I commend to one and all this tender but telling and triumphant tale of adventure and high achievement for our Lord Jesus Christ”.

For those who are passionate for missions this is a must read – describing the missionary work of 2 of our pioneers who worked at the same time as the Moffatts in Kuruman. A great read on two of our pioneer’s way back in 1800.

LIVINGSTONE Author E. HUXLEY

Having read many biographies on David Livingstone, I wondered how I would enjoy this one. I was pleasantly surprised – it was brilliant.

“David Livingstone’s adventurous journeys in Central Africa put more on the map of the ‘dark continent’ than any other explorer’s. Travelling on foot or riding on oxen and donkeys, he was the first European to cross the Africa continent, covering at least thirty thousand miles and charting about a million square miles of unknown territory. He traced the course of the Zambesi to its source, discovering the Victoria Falls; he mapped the central African river system and discovered Lake Nyasa and the Shirwa Highlands.

Livingstone was not only an explorer and geographer, but an anthropologist, botanist, ethnologist, astronomer and, above all, a medical missionary. As a poor boy from Glasgow, he had taught himself Greek, Latin and mathematics to qualify himself to study medicine and divinity, so that when he arrived at Cape Town in 1840, the 27-year-old missionary doctor had already cultivated a tenacity of purpose that was to see him through feats of unbelievable endurance during the next thirty years.”

This book is old, but if you find a copy, it is definitely worth selling your bed for!

THE CALL OF AFRICA Author M. Swart

Here is an outstanding missionary book giving us the history of the Reformed Church in America’s mission in the Sub-Sahara between 1948-1998. It contains 600 pages of riveting reading of our missionary heroes mainly working in the Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya.

“The Call of Africa stands in the honored tradition of Pioneers in the Arab World by Dorothy Van Ess, Sharifa by Cornelia Dalenberg, and Grace in the Gulf by Jeanette Boersma. All were written by those who have given their lives in missionary service. While none claimed to be professional historians or missiologists, all spent their entire adult careers in the service of Christ in foreign lands.

                                
The Historical Series of the Reformed Church in America is proud to include The Call of Africa in its series, because it, like its predecessors, records the history and experience of missions in the words of those who were there. It is the story of missions through the eyes of those who committed their lives to the spread of the Gospel.

In The Call of Africa, we have the story of missions told through the eyes of a wife and mother who experienced the joys of birth and the tragedy of death in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a compelling, personal account of lives committed to spreading the good news of Christ’s saving power.”

You will not be able to put this book down – not only because of their work but it also gives us an insight into what happened in the Sudan after independence and the volatile situation across Ethiopia.

LEAVES FROM THE AFRICAN JUNGLE (MEMOIRS OF R.C. ALLISON)
Author R.C. Allison and Lois Fleming

Here is the fascinating story, written as an autobiography, of the life and work of a remarkable Scottish couple whom God called and sent to Angola and then to service in other parts of southern Africa, in the years 1935 – 1979. Their travels and toils, dangers and difficulties, are graphically described, as are the culture and customs of the people whose lives they saw changed by the power of God. Crawford and Margaret Allison pioneered in primitive and arduous conditions to bring the light of the gospel to many thousands who had never heard it, resulting in the planting of many hundreds of New Testament Assemblies all over Angola, which have continued to flourish and grow in spite of the tragic war and bloodshed which have gripped that land for so long.

This integration into the African way of life and his absorption of local customs and folklore, enable him, his preaching, and then his prolific writing, to make a tremendous impact in evangelizing and teaching the Shinji and the Chokwe peoples of Angola. In spite of poor health and resulting physical weakness, this was later extended to further the work of the Lord into what is now Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Botswana, before he was called home to his eternal rest and reward.

A fantastic read of early missionary pioneering work in Angola by an amazing man, Crawford Allison.

ANGOLA BELOVED Author T.E. Wilson

This book published way back in 1967 is a marvelous account of how the Gospel came to ANGOLA and then expanded across the country. The first Protestant missionary was David Livingstone in 1854 and then Fred Arnot followed in 1886 to lay the foundation for the future. He came from “the Brethren” movement and this book relates the amazing work from the Brethren who built on Arnot’s foundation, men like Charles Swan, Frederick Lane, William Maitland, Dr Fisher and Cyril Bird, and others. The author himself spent 40 years as a missionary to his “Angola Beloved”, and this is what he wrote in his introduction:

“Here is a simple and factual account of some of the difficulties and heartaches – as well as the joys and blessings – involved in labouring in a pioneer field.”

I loved reading this book, it gave me a real insight into the pioneering missionary work in “Angola Beloved”

PORTRAIT OF INTEGRITY Author M Mitchell
(The Life of Ray Stedman)

Ray Stedman grew up in the rugged cowboy country of Montana. Abandoned by his father when he was a young boy and emotionally cut off from his mother, Ray had a ruggedly independent upbringing. Yet, through faith, he matured into one of the great pastors, expositors, and spiritual leaders of the twentieth century. Today’s church is filled with pastors and leaders – men like David Roper, Charles Swindoll, and Luis Palau – who consider him their mentor and lifelong friend.

Ray was a man’s man, who ended up being the father of four daughters. He and his family lived through the turbulent era of the 1960s and the Jesus Movement, a time of turmoil and heartache for Ray and his wife, Elaine, and a remarkable time of growth and expansion in his own ministry.

Biblical teaching (exposition) was Ray’s calling and his passion, and he motivated people by the power of the preaching of the Word of God. He also inspired and taught many through the written word. With over seventeen books to his credit, from Spiritual Warfare to his insightful commentary Adventuring Through the Bible, Stedman’s published works span the experience of Christian life, including Body Life, a book that had a tremendous impact on the church in the twentieth century.

Ray Stedman’s preeminent goal was to be a faithful steward of the gifts God had given him. By examining the life of this remarkable but very human man, you will find lessons and applications for your own life.

You will love reading this biography on Ray Stedman, one of the giants of the 20th century, a brilliant biography.

AN ADOPTED SON: The Story of My Life by Norman Anderson

At first, I never thought I would enjoy this book, but … as I got into it, I could not put it down. Anderson, recalls his full life as a missionary to the Muslims up in North Africa, a war time liaison officer to Arab guerillas, a leading world scholar on Islam Law, a defender of the faith and a very involved Christian layman in the Church of England, and a professor at London University.

What a life!!! In this book, as an evangelical scholar, he reflects on the themes of holiness, guidance, the example of Jesus’ suffering and social implications of the Gospel. In a very moving chapter, he speaks of the death of his son from cancer at the age of only 21, and then the deaths of his 2 married daughters. His guiding hope lies in being an adopted son whom the Father is bringing to glory through Christ.

This is a “biography” at its peak – doctrinal, emotional and an amazing read on a man I had never read.

FROM NYASSA TO TANGANYIKA (Journal of J. Stewart)
Edited by J. Thompson

“James Stewart, (Civil Engineer, first came to Malawi in 1876, to visit his cousin,
Dr. James Stwart, at that time leader of the Livingstonia Mission. He arrived at a time when the other Scottish mission in the country – the newly arrived Blantyre Mission – was struggling to survive, and extended his stay to help.

Stewart laid out the first ground plan for the Blantyre Mission, built the first permanent houses on the site and began work on the mission gardens. His contribution to the survival and development of Blantyre Mission was considerable.

He remained in Malawi in the service of the Livingstonia Mission. In 1878, together with Dr. Robert Laws and William Koyi, he undertook an important journey of exploration to the north of the country, and, in the following year, with John Moir of the African Lakes Corporation, he explored the area between Lakes Malawi and Tanganyika.

As a result of this latter journey, he returned to Scotland to argue the case for the building of a road linking the two lakes. He spent the last two years of his life beginning the building of this “Stevenson Road”, as it became known. He died from fever in 1883, and is buried at Karonga.”

This is one of my greatest missionary finds!! When published, only 100 copies were made, so to find this book was a miracle, but it did cost me ‘an arm and a leg’. It was a most wonderful read of the early days of mission work in Malawi … now safely treasured in my library

AFLAME FOR GOD Author E. Watt

For years I have been looking for this biography on JOHANNA VEENSTRA, and then I found it … and having found it, I could not put it down.

“The story of Johanna Veenstra who, having little knowledge of, and less interest in, missionary work until she reached her twenties, became one of the most understanding and capable missionaries whom God has used in the Western Sudan. Naturally somewhat timid, she boldly faced danger and risk and difficulty; fully appreciating the refinements and comforts of civilized and cultured life, she endured the discomfort, squalor and hardships of evangelistic itineration among one of the most primitive and cannibal tribes; shrinking from publicity, she thrilled and deeply moved large audiences in America and England. Endowed with the gift of humour, a large share of balance, common sense and sound judgment, and a passionate love for those to whom she was sent – essential qualities in missionary service, she devoted all her powers and abilities to winning her people to the Saviour, that they might become, like herself, aflame for God.”

For those interested in how the Gospel first reached into the SUDAN, this biography is a must-read. Brilliant, of an amazing woman aflame for God. It will stir you, humble you but leave you more passionate for missions than ever before.

ESCAPE FROM NORTH KOREA Author Paul Estabrooks

Pil Soo Kim stood half-naked in the ice-cold Tumen River. Only thirty meters separated him from China. He was shivering, but he had to go on. His family was starving. There, on the other side of the freezing water, he could at least get some food.

Many questions plagued him. ‘Are the border police watching me at this moment through binoculars?’ What if I am caught? Then they will kill me. What will happen to Myung Hee and the children? They will be locked up for two years or three years, maybe even seven. And what if they are unlucky? The firing squad…

At the same time, Pil Soo felt guilty. ‘I am betraying my country. This is not allowed’. Danger was always present in crossing the border illegally. But there was no other way. This was his last resort.

Escape From North Korea is a true story that gives a contemporary glimpse behind the walls of ‘the Hermit Kingdom.’ North Korea annually tops the Open Doors World Watch List of countries that restrict Christians from practising or sharing their faith. From this story, you will understand why so many of North Korea’s twenty million are engaged in the desperate quest for food, love and life.

“A heart-warming, heart-stopping, heart-rending glimpse into the world’s most repressive society and the world’s most persecuted Christian community. After reading this story, you will wake up every morning and thank God you do not live in North Korea, then drop onto your knees and pray for those who do.” Ron Boyd-McMillan, author of Faith That Endures.

CHANCE TO DIE Author E. Elliot

Be inspired by a woman who dared to follow God!

AMY CARMICHAEL UNDERSTOOD TRUE DISCIPLESHIP and lived it out. At a very young age she felt called to the mission field, followed God’s guidance, and eventually went to India, where she would spend fifty-three years without furlough. While there, Amy founded the Dohnavur Fellowship, a refuge for children in moral danger – children who were orphaned or unwanted and sold to the temple. Amy became a mother for these children, and so they called her “Amma”.

Even today, Amy’s life of obedience and courage stands as a model for all Christian everywhere. We resonate with her desire and dreams, her faults and fears, her dedication and service. “She was my first spiritual mother”, writes Elliot, Amy became a role model. “She showed me the shape of Godliness.”

A Chance to Die is the life story of Amy Carmichael. In this reverent biography, Elisabeth Elliot brings “Amma” to life, providing a compelling, unforgettable narrative that will provoke you to examine the depths of your own faith and encourage you to reaffirm your life and commitment to Christ.

MY SEVENTH MONSOON Author Naomi Reed

‘My seventh monsoon was the hardest of them all. I sat on the back porch of our Himalayan home and stared as the rain streamed down all around me. I had never felt so hemmed in – by the constant rain, by the efforts of the civil war and by the demands of home-school. As I sat there and listened to the pounding on our tin roof, I wondered whether I would make it through. I wondered whether I would cope with another 120 days of rain. And in doing so, I began to long for another season …’

From the view point of the seventh monsoon, Naomi Reed takes time to look back on the seasons of her life. As she does so, she shares with us her journey of faith and mission and reveals poignant truths about God and the way he works his purposes in our lives through seasons.

A very easy-to-read biography of NAOMI REED, how she and her husband went to NEPAL as missionaries after graduating as physiotherapists in Australia.

21 SERVANTS OF JOY Author John Piper

Piper wrote:

“It has always felt good to read history. Enjoyable because we all love a good story and the ecstasies and agonies of real life. Edifying because the faithfulness of God in the lives of contrite, courageous, forgiven sinners is strengthening for our own faith. Efficient because, in a good biography, you not only learn about a person’s life but also about theology, psychology, philosophy, ethics, politics, economics, and church history. So, I have long been a lover biography.”

In this fantastic book, Piper gives us 21 messages of some of the greatest men in Church History, from Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Bunyan, Simeon to Hudson Taylor, Adoniram Judson, George Whitefield and others. It is 900 pages of sheer joy and pleasure.

Definitely a book you won’t want to miss reading.

ABANDONED TO GOD Author D. McCasland

Whoever has read “My Utmost for His Highest” must buy and read this book. It is the moving biography of Oswald Chambers. This book will enable you to get to know him, this giant among Christian devotional writers. There is also a section on his wife BIDDY, who was responsible for editing and publishing all of Chambers’ books after he died.

Your tears will flow, your heart will be moved and your life will never be the same again. This is now the 3rd time I have read this biography; it is simply magnificent.

MEMOIR AND REMAINS OF R.M. MC CHEYNE AUTHOR A. BONAR

Few books have been better loved than the Memoir and Remains of R.M. Mc Cheyne. Its circulation underlines this. First published in 1844, within twenty-five years it went through one hundred and sixteen English editions. In 1910 it was estimated that including translations into other languages, not less than half a million copies were in circulation. Today it has sold millions.

Few books have had such a widespread influence on the lives of God’s people.

Testimonies to its usefulness were received from many lands and Christians of differing theological persuasions have testified to the blessing experienced through reading it. ‘This is one of the best and most profitable volumes ever published’, said C.H. Spurgeon. ‘The memoir of such a man ought surely to be in the hands of every Christian, and certainly every preacher of the Gospel’.

Few books contain such variety and wealth of spiritual matter between their covers. As well as the life covering 174 pages, the work contains a good selection of letters (126 pages), sermons (203 pages), other writings (86 pages) and sacred songs (18 pages).

This was my second reading of this book, it rebuked me, taught me and challenged me to live a more devoted life for Jesus. This book is worth selling your house for ….

ALFRED BUXTON (of Abyssinia and Congo) Author Norman Grubb

I have not been as moved as I was after reading this biography of Alfred Buxton. It is soul stirring stuff on a magnificent man. From the time he broke off his medical studies to join C.T. Studd in establishing W.E.C. in the Congo and in Ethiopia, up to the time he died during one of the bombing raids on London during the 2nd world war, he was on fire for His Lord. Grubb put it like this:

“To such is also given the highest reward and honour that it is in the power of God to bestow upon man. As they share Christ’s sufferings, so they share His saving ministry. Side by side with Him they fulfil the deepest principle of the cross, the law of harvest – that only the corn of wheat

Which falls into the ground and dies brings forth much fruit.

Such God must have to carry on His holy war. Men with a heavenly vision. Men with a divine imperative. Men with an insatiable greed of spiritual conquest. Men with an endless compassion. Men who see life’s supreme glory to be in a cross. Men who endure to the end. Men who bid good-bye fully and finally to all earth’s valuations and cry with Paul, “What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.”

Amongst these was Alfred. He broke his alabaster box of precious ointment and with it humbly anointed the feet of his Lord in the villages and hamlets of Africa; and from Congo, Rudolf, Ethiopia rises the sweet savour of redeemed and transfigured lives.”

If you can do one more thing before your death – read this book!!!   It was my 2nd time of reading, which meant I learned even more than the 1st time.

SUCCESSOR TO C.T. STUDD author Norman Grubb

Many of you have read about C.T. Studd, the famous cricketer from Cambridge and England, who gave up his cricket career and a fortune he inherited, to become a missionary to Africa where he founded W.E.C. but who has ever heard of the man who succeeded him?

This moving biography on the life of JACK HARRISON will tell us about that man. For 9 years before Studd’s death, Harrison was at Studd’s side and so there was no doubt who would ever take over. In the years that followed, he proved to the full, the trust his fellow missionaries had placed in him.

This remarkable biography of Jack Harrison, who took over the reigns of W.E.C., at the young age of 31, will stir your heart.

NO SACRIFICE TOO GREAT Author E. Vincent

This is the very moving and challenging story of C.T. Studd and his wife Priscilla, the founder of W.E.C. Originally published under the title of C.T. Studd and Priscilla, this second, revised and corrected edition has been published to bring the challenge of their lives to a new generation of readers. Rob White from British Youth for Christ vide.

“a penetrating and challenging look at two of the church’s great saints. Not to be read by anyone who does not wish their comfort to be disturbed”.

This book is to rebuke to half-hearted Christianity, but be warned this book is not for the faint-hearted. It is the story of two missionaries to China and Africa where no sacrifice was too great. I was stirred deeply by this all-or-nothing, total abandonment to the Lord Jesus Christ, but at times I found it disturbing!!!

BILLY GRAHAM by STANLEY HIGH

Billy Graham is undoubtedly the most successful Christian mass evangelist in history and his converts number millions. He was born on a farm in North Carolina USA in 1918, and was converted in an evangelistic campaign in 1934. He graduated from Wheaton College, Illinois, in 1934 married Ruth Bell, daughter of a veteran missionary to China and became the first evangelist of the Youth for Christ movement in 1947 Graham was named president of Northwestern College, Minneapolis, and two years later rose to national prominence when he led a Los Angeles Crusade.

In 1950 Billy Graham brought together a talented team to form the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and initiated a radio programme. The Hour of Decision. Resigning the college presidency in 1952, he devoted his time to evangelistic rallies in major cities throughout the non-communist world, many of which were televised to widen the impact.

Possessing a warm, winsome personality, Graham uses modern mass communications and organization effectively to put across a simple, Bible-centred gospel message. He emphasizes individual decisions for Christ and careful follow-up to integrate the new believers into Churches. He is one of the most admired men in the world, but some critics argue that his social views are too individualistic and conservative. Although Graham is the friend and counselor of presidents and heads of state, his uncritical relationship with Richard Nixon revealed that he could be surprising naïve about political figures.

Billy Graham has written several best-selling books, including Peace with God (1952), The Secret of Happiness (1955), World Aflame (1965), and Angels (1975). His organization produced a series of Evangelical films and started the magazine Decision in 1960. He played a leading role in founding the periodical Christianity Today in 1956 and in setting up the World Congresses on Evangelism in Berlin (1966) and Lausanne (1974). Went to Jesus in 2022.

This fascinating book on Billy Graham covers the EARLY years of his ministry up to 1960. I loved reading this book on this truly magnificent man of God.

 

FIRE IN MY BONES Author Dick Anderson

Dick Anderson tells how his passionate commitment to Christ drove him to be a missionary doctor among the nomadic Turkana in Kenya and in the end to lead the Africa Inland Mission into pioneering ventures over thirty years in taking the gospel to unreached peoples in Mozambique, Sudan, Chad, Madagascar, the Comoros, and Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean. He hides nothing of the risks, the privations faced, the impact on his wife and family, and the deep personal struggles he went through. This is a ‘must read’ for those who feel called to take the gospel to unreached peoples.

No one reading this biography will remain unchallenged. It is a thrill and gripping account of risks undertaken and dangers faced for the sake of the Gospel. Esteem for Africans and an understanding of their cultures were basic to the work attempted among them and will be instructive to anyone called to cross-cultural communication. Dick and his devoted wife Joan were driven by a passion for the conversion of Africans to Christ and the founding of churches. Underlying their zeal was the conviction that time is short, and that the test of such a work is not in buildings and institutions but in the vitality of the church ten years after all missionaries have departed.

Wow … ‘a can’t put it down’ missionary biography and truly a must read.

CANNIBAL VALLEY Author Russell Hitt

I remember reading this incredible missionary book soon after my conversion. It records the heroic struggle for Christ in savage New Guinea, the most perilous mission frontier in the world, way back in 1970.

“At one mass charm-burning 7,000 tribespeople broke with their spirit worship to embrace the Christian gospel.

In all the wide world of Christian missionary enterprise, there is surely no project more fascinating in its inception or more thrilling in its results than that being carried on in the fabulous interior of Dutch New Guinea where only a short while ago was discovered a completely Stone Age people. Here is a moving account of this Christian Mission”

A book on missionary heroes like Robert Jaffray and others is a massive challenge to us today. Another must-read missionary biography.

PATHFINDERS OF THE WORLD MISSIONARY CRUSADE Author Sherwood Eddy

THESE BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF TYPICAL LEADERS COMBINE TO FORM ONE sweeping story of missions, with the world as its stage. Not confined to those who worked in foreign fields, it presents important nationals and members of the younger churches who led the missionary crusade in their own lands. It is a history crammed with facts, as well as a discerning and critical presentation of the theory and practice of missions, the whole tinged with the mellowness of wisdom and judgement that only a veteran can possess.

THE CONTENTS

MISSIONS AS A CRUSADE: The earliest missionaries – The conversion of Europe – William Carey – Adoniram Judson – Robert Morrison.

THE MODERN STUDENT MISSIONARY MOVEMENT: Samuel J. Mills and the Williams haystack – Robert Wilder and the Student Volunteer Movement – Horace Pitkin and the fist Yale volunteer band – Henry Luce and the educators – Frank Keller and the opening of Hunan – Edward H. Hume and Yale-in-China – Norman Whittemore and the evangelization of Korea – Other Yale missionaries.

PATHFINDERS IN INDIA: Bishop Thoburn and the mass movements – William Miller and the Christian college – L.P. Larsen, the great Dane – Charles Freer Andrews, “Christ’s Faithful Apostle” – Pandita Ramabai and Amy Carmichael – Dr. Ida Scudder – Bishop Azariah of Dornakal – Bishop Abraham of Travancore- K.T. Paul, Indian statesman.

PATHFINDERS IN CHINA: Timothy Richard – Bishop Schereschewsky and Francis Hawks Pott – Hudson Taylor and the China Inland Mission – Fletcher and the students of China – Karl Reichelt Po-ling-Wu Yi-fang -James Y.C. Yen.

PATHFINDERS IN AFRICA AND THE MOSLEM WORLD: Samuel Zwemer – W. Temple Gairdner – Albert Schweitzer.

WORLD STATESMEN AND EVANGELISTS: Robert E. Speer – E. Stanley Jones – J.H. Oldham – William Paton R. Mott.

Wow … what a book for anyone passionate for missions by wanting to know more of our heroes … it was a wonderful read.

JOHN R. MOTT Author Howard Hopkins

This is a tribute to a great man with a world view – John R. Mott, the man who, more than any other, helped to bring into being the World Council of Churches. In the forefront of the ecumenical movement ever since the 1910 World Missionary Conference at Edinburgh, of which he was architect and chairman, he continued to devote himself to his earlier interests, the World Student Christian Federation, which he founded in 1895, and the International Y.M.C.A. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1946. He was elected Honorary President of the World Council of Churches at its foundation in 1948.

“No one since the days of St. Paul has done as much to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ as Dr. Mott.”     – Professor K.S. Latourette

This magnificent 800-page biography took Hopkins 15 years to write. It is very detailed, very personal biography on this evangelical giant.

Gerald Anderson wrote:

“Hopkins’ study of Mott is a thrilling and definitive biography of the greatest missionary statesman and ecumenical architect in modern times.”

BEHIND THE RANGES Author Mrs. H. Taylor

I have just finished reading this phenomenal biography on the life of J.O. Fraser, the missionary to the LISU people in China, for the 3rd time. As a missionary he was a model. The churches he founded were from the outset self-governing, self-supporting and he strenuously resisted the temptation to allow them to become dependant on him or his funding. No large buildings were erected and all the work was kept on the simplest lines possible. A marvelous model for me at KMBC.

On hearing of his death, Isobel Kuhn wrote these touching words:

“After the first shock, there was a desolate feeling, as regards human fellowship, that there was no one now to work for. ‘How Mr. Fraser will enjoy hearing about this,’ was always a first reaction to any joy or blessing … There was no one else on earth who had such a complete knowledge of the details of our problems, no one who could share so perfectly in our joys and sorrows.

And he never disappointed us in the sharing. He was more than Superintendent to us, he was our missionary ideal, a continual rebuke, challenge, and stimulus to maintain at any cost the apostolic methods of missionary work. His brilliant gifts, united with unfailing humility and a sympathy motherlike in its tenderness and thoughtfulness, made him our refuge at all time of perplexity and need. And to win a smile of approval from him was worth any extra effort. It is one thing to be praised by a person who has no experience of your task; it is quite different to win a ‘well done’ from one who is himself a master in that very line of things. We have lost a great stimulus, as well as an indispensable counsellor. I say ‘indispensable’, for we still feel that way. Life can never be the same to us, without him.”

What beautiful words and what a tribute to this man of God. Make sure you read this book this year, before any other.

A FOREIGN DEVIL IN CHINA Author John Pollock

Billy Graham once wrote:

“Dr. Nelson Bell was one of the major influences in my life and ministry. In fact, as I look back, I am convinced that one of the reasons God, in His incredible providence, allowed Ruth to become my wife, was so that Dr. Nelson Bell would become my father-in-law.”

This beautiful biography is on the life and ministry of Dr. Nelson Bell, Ruther Graham’s father. After graduating as a medical doctor in USA, he went to China as a missionary and remained there for 30 years. He was adored by the Chinese and Pollock describes not only his ministry, but the home he created for his wife and children.

This is one of the most wonderful biographies I have read, you will not want to put it down.

MEMOIRS OF CHARLES SIMEON

This is one of my most prized possessions. Ray Aitcheson, a very dear friend and fellow lecturer at KMBC, gave me this special present of a leather-bound copy of the Memoirs of Charles Simeon. I have just read it for the 2nd time. For any pastor this is one of the very best giving us a detailed account of his walk with God, his 52 years he served at Holy Trinity in Cambridge, the formation of the Church Missionary Society, the formation of the Bible Society, and of his close relationship to his spiritual son, Henry Martyn.

Wow … a book you ought to read, mark and digest.

Click here to download this book.

THE AUTHENTIC VOICE  (Biography on C.S. Lewis) Author W. Griffin

My world stopped for a weekend !!! I could not put this amazing biography on C.S. Lewis down, it gripped me like few other books have done. John Piper once said that C.S. Lewis was not a man, he was a world.

“Christian apologist, literary historian, scholar, critic, writing of science fiction and children’s books, he was one of the more prolific authors of his time. The Times obituary wrote of C.S. Lewis following his death on 22 November 1963. As a Christian writer his influence was marked … he made religious books bestsellers and in a nice sense, fashionable.

In this imaginative and dramatic biography William Griffin allows the reader direct access to Lewis the man. He provides a narrative in which Lewis speaks for himself at every turn;  we hear with delight the tones of the authentic voice.

From the pages of this book Lewis emerges as an active, energetic man, one who loved to walk and to talk, who was happiest in the company of friends. He was a brilliant scholar and a man of deep wisdom and humility. Known to millions through his books and broadcast talks, he patiently dealt with a vast correspondence, making new friends through letters. He came late but with great joy to the love of a woman and endured an agony of pain in her early death.

From his first days as a reluctant convert he gave his whole heart and mind to the knowledge and love of God.

Better than a feature film, this book brings to life a vivid and multifaceted portrait of Lewis, a thousand scenes flash by like frames on the screen.

From the pages of this book emerges an active, energetic man who personally handled an amazing range of correspondence:  a man who looked like a farmer but talked life a philosopher:  a man who relished the love of friends, was surprised by the love of a woman and cultivated the love of God.”

You have read his books, now read of the man C.S. Lewis ….

MEMOIRS OF CHARLES SIMEON

This is one of my most prized possessions. Ray Aitcheson, a very dear friend and fellow lecturer at KMBC, gave me this special present of a leather-bound copy of the Memoirs of Charles Simeon. I have just read it for the 2nd time. For any pastor this is one of the very best giving us a detailed account of his walk with God, his 52 years he served at Holy Trinity in Cambridge, the formation of the Church Missionary Society, the formation of the Bible Society, and of his close relationship to his spiritual son, Henry Martyn.

Wow … a book you ought to read, mark and digest.

Click here link to download this book

ADONIRAM JUDSON

Adoniram Judson (1788-1850) represents the first pioneer to sail abroad from America in the great missionary awakening that developed in the early 19th century. He translated the whole Bible into Burmese and laid biblical foundations for the churches for generations to come.

Three principal purposes are designed in this presentation of Judson’s life and doctrine.

Firstly, there is inspiration for every reader as Judson exemplifies the life of a Christian. He was outstanding in faith, love, self-disciple, enterprise, perseverance and godliness.

Secondly, Adoniram Judson set an example of total commitment and dedication which inspires missionaries who are enduring the opposition of darkness and the inevitable strains and pressures peculiar to their calling. Judson never lost sight of the joy of the harvest that lay beyond seemingly insuperable obstacles.

Thirdly, in its application this biography is designed to highlight the awesome reality of the unfinished task of reaching the yet unreached people groups of the world. To meet that need a new army of divinely called missionaries must be forthcoming. It is the prayer of the author and publishers that Judson’s example of missionary courage will contribute toward the raising up and thrusting out of labourers into the harvest fields.

This short biography on the life of ADONIRAM JUDSON was absolutely brilliant, in every way a huge challenge to us today. A MUST read, but … have a box of tissues ready.

IF I HAD TWO LIVES: The Extraordinary Life of Costas Macris Author Dan Vorm

PIONEER MISSIONARY COSTAS MACRIS was a man who believed God for great things. Born in Greece, he moved his family to the jungles of Irian Jaya, Indonesia, where he confronted cannibalistic head-hunters, opened new mission stations, and introduced the gospel to stone-age tribes. He later returned to his hoe country, where he founded a bold evangelistic work where the Apostle Paul had preached some 2,000 years before.

This inspiring account of Costas’ life will challenge you to trust God at a deeper level. You’ll be encouraged by what God did through an ordinary man who abandoned himself, without reservation, to an extraordinary God.

This is one of the most thrilling missionary biographies I have read. The life and ministry of COSTAS MACRIS was an incredible challenge to me.

Listen to what two leading missionaries said of this book:

“Reading Two Lives was like reading a 20th century continuation of the Acts of the Apostles. Surely, this could well be one of the most impacting books on missions of our time. This book, and Costas’s life, humbles me, challenges me, and inspires me.”

 – Don Stephens, Founder and Director, MERCY SHIPS.

“A more inspiring testimony can hardly be found anywhere in the annals of Christian literature.”

 – Don Richardson, author of Peace Child, Lords of the Earth, and Eternity in their Hearts.

This is a must read!!

DAVID BRAINERD Author Richard A Hasler

David Brainerd was a protégé of Jonathan Edwards. He was a Puritan missionary to the Indians in New England until his early death at the age of 29. Jonathan Edwards said that Brainerd’s example of personal piety was “most worthy of imitation.” The martyred missionary of the last century, Jim Elliot, often read Brainerd for encouragements and inspiration.

Here are 40 devotions taken from the journals of David Brainerd, along with prayers corresponding to each one. Any person at any level of spiritual development can profit from these warm meditations.

Wow … what a book!!! If you have never read David Brainerd’s biography then read this short book of 40 readings from Brainerd’s writings. It is mind blowing.

John Wesley said this

“Let every preacher read carefully over the life of David Brainerd. Let us be followers of him, as he was of Christ in absolute self-devotion, in total deafness to the world and in fervent love to God and man.”

MINISTERS OF GRACE Author Judith Lang

This book describes the ministry of women in the first six centuries of the Church. It does not advocate the ordination of women to the priesthood, but rather follows the development of the orders of women officially recognized by the Church, that of deacons and widows. Women ministered to the early Church in specific and varied ways, which were necessary to its organization and growth.

TRAPPED Author David Dawson

A young medical doctor, small children, a few adults, and a hospital full of patients were trapped between opposing forces in DRC’s bloody civil war. Machine gun fire, mortars, and grenades rocked the compound. It was now impossible to remain but there was no place to go. But God performed miracle after miracle and made the impossible possible.

Dr. Dawson tells his incredible experiences in this suspenseful true narrative.

MEN OF UNITY Author Stephen Neil

In this candid and sometimes surprising book, Stephen Neil describes the personalities and work of the outstanding Christ leaders of the 20th century – bishops, thinkers, laymen from West and East. The thread running through all their lives is a concern for the ecumenical movement, for the unity and renewal of all denominations in the face of the colossal task in the world.

It made fascinating reading to read of Mott, Soderblom, Temple, d’Hooft and others and certainly for any one interested in Church History, you will find this book interesting.

ROBERT GRAY Author Audrey Brooke

The name of Robert Gray is written across 19th century South African history. He not only established many school including Bishops and St. Cyprians in Cape Town, but he also built many churches across S.A. He was also one of the main players in the Colenso controversy but above all, his fearless policy secured for the C.P.S.A. (now the African church in S.A.) independence and he laid the foundation for what it is today. This book tells the story of his long and uphill struggle, his amazing zeal and hard work and all this against eh background of the mid-19th century. Also the remarkable character of his wife emerges clearly. She was his constant companion, looked after him, designed Churches (including St. Saviours in Rondebosch), kept detailed accounts, wrote the minutes of all his meetings and wrote a beautiful journal.

A must read for all church history lovers.

THE WISE MAN FROM THE WEST Author Vincent Cronin

I found this book while sifting through books at a second-hand bookshop – what a find it was!! It is the story of the Roman Catholic missionary to China in the early 16th Century, nearly 200 years before Hudson Taylor went.

To win the confidence of the Chinese he:

  • Learnt the language
  • Dressed like they dress
  • Made clocks to create a bridge
  • Printed maps

This brilliant account of Matteo Ricci’s travels gives the most vivid picture of 16th-centry China. By mastering their language and learning, and then introducing the sciences he had learned in Rome, Ricci won the confidence of the mandarins, breaking the barriers of centuries to reach the Emperor. ‘An enthralling account of the first impact of the West on the East.’ – C.V. Wedgewood. ‘A travel book set in the 16th century, written without religious heroics, that reads as if it were written by a gentle and tolerant spectator.

If you ever find this book, buy it, it makes for fantastic missionary reading. He laid down missionary principles which are still relevant for us today.

JOHN KEBLE Author Walter Lock

For those interested in Church History, this will be an interesting read. It is about JOHN KEBLE who together with his friends J. H. Newman and R.H. Froude founded the Tractarian Movement/Oxford Movement who was to create the High Church Movement in the Anglican Church. In 1870 Keble College in Oxford was founded in his memory. This memoir is probably more complete than any other work on the life of John Keble.

JIM ELLIOTT Author Kathleen White

Jim Elliott was a modern martyr – a man filled with his faith. A young American who graduated from Wheaton College, he quickly discovered a vocation to the missionary life. The field that he chose was not to his home country, nor even to one of the ‘classic’ missionary destinations, like India or Africa, but to the unexplored parts of Ecuador in Latin America.

Not content with bringing the Gospel to the civilized people of the country, he and his four companions flew their Piper aircraft over the lands of the savage Auca tribe. Their first landing was, however, to bring tragedy. This thrilling story is a powerful testimony to the demands that God makes of his servants.

Jim Elliott’s life has shaped and moulded my life. His total dedication to the Lord and to missions has stirred me very deeply and this short, brilliantly written biography again brought me on to my knees – a must-read.

A LIFE OF JOHN CALVIN Author A.E. McGrath

‘A most welcome study filling a real need for a scholarly biography that is historically sensitive and theologically well-informed.’ Religious Studies Review

‘Not since Wendel’s Calvin has one volume given as much breadth and depth to the life and thought of Calvin as this one … A splendid resource for both novices and Calvin scholars. McGrath’s work will endure as a balanced, sensitive, historical-theological treatment.’ Sixteenth Century Journal

‘A full range of Calvin students and scholars will be grateful for this book. Wide in scope, detailed in coverage, yet clear in focus, McGrath’s work will find a secure niche for many years to come.’ Christianity Today

History occasionally produces figures whose influence on their own and successive generations is immense. Marx, Freud and Lenin had such an influence, and so, Alistair McGrath argues, does John Calvin. This book provides a fresh and lucid exploration of Calvin’s life and influence, his theology and his political thought, and his determining of the course of European history. It traces Calvin’s remarkable impact on the development of modern western attitudes to work, wealth, civil rights, capitalism and the natural sciences.

Published to wide critical acclaim in hardback and now available in paperback, this ground-breaking study of Calvin will be welcomed by all concerned with an understanding of the shaping of modern western culture.

For anyone who loves John Calvin this phenomenal book is a must read. Truly worth selling your bed for.

HEAR ME CAREFULLY Author M. Williams

Here is a brilliant, short, biography on JOHN BLANCHARD. He is an internationally acclaimed Christian author, teacher, evangelist, conference teacher, particularly in the field of Christian apologetics.

Ligon Duncan wrote:

“I want to commend this brief record of John’s rich and long ministry to you. You will read it with edification.”

GREAT CHRISTIANS YOU SHOULD KNOW Author Warren Wiersbe

You may have sung their hymns, heard them quoted, or had glimpses of their pioneering mission work. Others have had a dramatic part to play in the living history of the church.

Warren Wiersbe has peened eighteen inspiring life sketches of men and women faithful and devoted to Christ.

They have become our examples by refinement through trial and hardship – people of dedication, humility, persistence, large vision and conviction.

His infectious sketches will make you want to discover even more of these great yet varied characters.

Here is a brilliant book of 18 sketches of some of the greats: –

McCheyne; Borden; Whitfield; Chambers; Edwards etc.

You will love reading these short biographies on the men I often quote.

SHEPHERD OF LOVEDALE Author Prof. G.C. Oosthuizen

Having been to Lovedale, this wonderful biography took on a new meaning. After
Dr. James Stewart had built up Lovedale into the greatest college for Africans on the continent of Africa, he was succeeded as Principal by J. Henderson, A Wilkie and then R.H.W. Shepherd. Shepherd had already been the chaplain at Lovedale for nearly
15 years before becoming the principal and he held that position for 15 more years.

“This biography of a lad born into a lowly, godly home in Scotland, who never attended a secondary or high school, but on whom three notable universities have conferred doctorates, and who was elected to the high position of Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

It is however, much more than a ‘success story’. Dr. Shepherd has given over fifty years of service to South Africa as missionary, preacher, author, editor, administrator, and has won a unique place in the life of the land.

He has sometimes criticised the acts of successive Governments, but has also sought to give credit where and when it was due. A leading South African has said of him: “Shepherd has been a great figure in South Africa, wielding in his day a tremendously stabilising influence, trusted and revered, fearless and courageous, yet never merely radical, and not seduced by the technique of protest. His work and his voice have always been constructive.”

Professor Oosthuizen, after ten years of intimate friendship, (and by laying under contribution the twenty books Shepherd has published and the 700 magazines and other articles he has penned) has added to his much sought-after books on African indigenous religion one of the outstanding biographies of our time.”

Oosthuizen closes with these words:

“To this man South Africa is deeply indebted”

STEWART OF LOVEDALE Author James Wells

Lord Milner said of Dr. James Stewart of Lovedale: He was “the greatest man in Africa”

After working alongside his hero, David Livingstone for 3 years he was asked by the Church of Scotland to become the Principal of Lovedale Mission. He served there for the next 40 years and achieved something miraculous.

  • He built up LOVEDALE COLLEGE into the top College in Africa, training pastors, missionaries, farmers, teachers, builders and translators. By 1900, 6990students had passed through Lovedale.
  • He built a HOSPITAL, called Victoria Hospital.
  • He established the Lovedale PRINTING PRESS to print Bible.
  • He established LIVINGSTONIA.
  • He built a PRIMARY SCHOOL for the children.
  • He laid the foundation for Fort Hare
  • He pastured the CHURCH in Alice for 20 years in addition to the above.

Having been there to Alice and seen this work, I urge you to read this Biography, it is worth selling your house for!

OUT OF THE SHADOWS  Author Faith Cook

Here is a brilliant book by Faith Cook containing 9 inspiring, but short biographies of men and women I had never heard of before.

“I am tempted to say that no one can dig up saints like Faith Cook! I love her stuff (like Out of the Shadows) because she introduces me to many disciples, I know nothing about. Mrs. Cook has masterful treatments of the “bigger” ones (Selina, Grimshaw, and Bunyan), but she also pulls out these delightful pieces of the Ebed-melech- and Onesiphorus-types, these sketches of the lesser known. As she depicts (what is often) the sadness of their circumstances and the tenacity of their faith, she encourages us to keep placing one foot in front of another for Jesus’ sake.”

DAVID LIVINGSTONE (The Truth Behind the Legend) Author Rob Mackenzie

Without any doubt the finest biography I have ever read on the life of David Livingstone. This is the second time I have read this book and enjoyed it even more.

“David Livingstone is perhaps the best-known missionary of them all. He attempts to find the source of the Nile and his meeting with Henry Morton Stanley are legendary.

But the truth behind the legend is even more compelling. Drawing extensively from Livingstone’s personal notes and letters, Rob Mackenzie unfold the intensely human story of a man with a vision – to set souls free from slavery, both physical and spiritual, and to open up Africa to Christianity and lawful commerce.

FAITHFUL AND FEARLESS Author J.J. Ellis

Biographies have more than anything else, shaped my life and challenged me in my walk with Jesus. Here, in this old book, we have the biographies of 3 great men.

  • John Wesley
  • George Mueller
  • Hudson Taylor

You will love reading these thrilling stories.

BORN TO BURN Author F. Tadford

“Born to Burn is a thrilling story of a British Missionary to China and of his suffering, torture and prison experience at the hands of the Japanese. David Davies was a man whose faith in God never wavered, no matter what the circumstances of life. If the story of Gladys Aylward (who was in charge of one of the foreign stations over which he was Superintendent) was moving, that of David Davies will prove even more stirring.”

Another brilliant missionary biography on a man who gave his all to China, David Davies, maybe someone you have never heard of before.

IT CAN BE DONE Author William Williams

This is the thrilling story of William Williams, the missionary to Venezuela. He writes

Twenty-eight years ago, we were face-to-face with these four truths:

  1. Has He still “all power” to supply all our temporal need after leaving “the nets”?
  2. Would the Lord wish us to leave Canada and comforts to go to Venezuela, a field noted as unhealthy and for its continual revolutions?
  3. Would it be possible to plant churches after the apostolic pattern, not “mission stations” as lucrative centres, and teach them to observe “all thing”?
  4. Could one really count on His being with one “all the days”? Can it be done?

Twenty-seven years have come and gone, and we wish to relate, in the following pages, the story of God’s unfailing care and faithfulness. His Word can be taken at face value. We have no hesitation in answering the four questions in the affirmative – It can be done.

“Venezuela!” said the seamen. Yes, sure enough it was Venezuela; and it was a fine sight to see the mountains soar away up above the clouds as the good ship Prins Wilhelm 1 steamed into the bay of Puerto Cabello, on the 25th of April 1910, at 6 a.m. We were in love with the country right away.

If you can get hold of this book – sell your shirt and get it, pioneering missionary work at its best.

GARENGANZE Author F.S. Arnot

Here is one of the greatest missionary finds I have ever made. Written by F.S. Arnot, it records his 21 years of pioneering work in the heart of Africa. Following on from David Livingstone, this book makes for riveting reading.

I had a laugh when I read this:

“they brought me milk, meal, or some such delicacy, from a distant village when they saw that I could hardly eat the boiled corn, drink the elephant’s flesh and putrid meat stolen from the crocodile’s larders …”

These early pioneers were incredible men …

MICHAEL CASSIDY – AUTOBIOGRAPHY

As Africa shook off colonialism in the 1960’s, a young man was gripped by a singular purpose:  to play his part in God’s plans for the fractured nations of Africa.

A son of apartheid South Africa, Michael Cassidy appeared an unlikely candidate to lead a team bringing a gospel message of salvation, reconciliation and hope to a continent overturning while rule. Over five decades, and with the support of his extraordinary wife Carol, Michael and his African Enterprise colleagues courageously built up ten national teams and a network of relationships that criss-cross Africa.

“Michael Cassidy is one of Africa’s foremost evangelists and prophets. His story deserves a wide readership and will have a deep impact.” – Moss Ntlha General Secretary, Evangelical Alliance of South Africa.

“A must read” – Joni Eareckson Tada

MARRIED FOR LIFE Authors Stuart and Jill Briscoe

The old adage of “opposites attract” certainly true of Jill and Stuart Briscoe. His is a pragmatic nuts and bolts man, she a visionary with a heart for people. From the beginning, these two personalities have had much to learn about each other. Married for Life brings with delightfully funny and poignant stories of everything from the first time they met to the heart-to-heart talks of their engagement and the celebrations of the honeymoon. But that didn’t end the surprises. Throughout the seasons of changing ministries, jobs, and raising three children. God has taken them from one continent to another and, step by step, into the richness of faithful growing love.

Married for Life is their story. As you laugh with them, cry with them, and identify with their ups and downs, you’ll be encouraged to celebrate your own marriage and family.

It is an excellent book for our world today as marriages continue to break up around us and the divorce rate continues to rise at a frightening rate.

DR MARTYN LLOYD-JONES (The first 40 years Vol 1) Author Ian Murray

When Martyn Lloyd-Jones, physician, preacher and Christian leader, died in 1981, after more than 40 years in London, few knew the remarkable story of his formative earlier years. Now, in this authorized biography, that story is narrated for the first time. From his rural Welsh background to St.Bartholemew’s Hospital (where at the age of 23 he was Chief Clinical Assistant to Sir Thomas Horder, the King’s Physician), then, suddenly at 27, to a struggling Calvinistic Methodist Mission Church in Aberavon, South Wales, he appears successively as schoolboy, dairyman’s assistant, political enthusiast, debater, doctor, and finally Christian preacher.

Some regarded his change of career as romantic, others as foolish. The one thing of which Dr Lloyd-Jones was sure was that his settlement amid the industrial depression of South Wales was no sacrifice: “I gave up nothing. I received everything. I count it the highest honor God can confer on any man to call him to be a herald of the gospel”.

This volume traces the unforgettable events of his first pastorate, his wider ministry in Wales (where, by 1933, the press reported, “he draws thousands to hear his message in all parts of the Principality”), his first visits to North America, and finally his settlement at Westminster Chapel, London, on the eve of World War II. While some saw him as “the modern Moody”, and others as “the last of the Calvinistic preachers”, I am H. Murray’s work makes constant use of hither to unpublished material, and is able to present Dr Lloyd-Jones’ own view of his life and ministry.

This Volume 1 of the life and ministry of Martyn Lloyd-Jones is magnificent – truly one of the greatest biographies ever written.

GREAT WORKS OF CHRIST IN AMERICA Author Cotton Mather

Cottom Mather’s Great Works of Christ in America, prepared between 1693-97 and published in 1702, was a grand finale to a century rich in spiritual literature. Written at the end of an era, it recaptured and recorded for posterity the spirit of that “best part” of the English Church – the man who, from a flood-tide of blessing and persecution in the 1620’s and 30’s, led the emigration to New-England.

In essence the volume is a Puritan Church History, covering much of the
17th Century and supplying a unique commentary of many of its Christian leaders. Collected from a wide range of sources, it appears, at first sight, to be almost thrown together. Certainly, Mather does not proceed in chronological sequence, instead his individual biographies provide the main structure and give the work much of its appeal. There are many glimpses of Puritans who stayed in England, and full-length portraits of John Cotton, Thomas Hooker, Thomas Shepard and a host of others who, in America, were ‘at work for the house of the Lord Jesus Christ.’

The reader will soon learn why the veteran John Eliot spoke of Mather as ‘a lover of Jesus Christ’. Barrett Wendell has described this as ‘among the great works of English literature in the 17th Century’. Pedantry and occasional credulity are its defects but the study is lucid and ‘the veracity of spirit that pervades the book is of very high order’. The latter is important in volumes, which, as W.B. Sprague says, contain ‘much valuable information that is no elsewhere to be found.”

These volumes are reprints of the definitive edition of 1853.

Each volume is 690 pages, full of biographical details and for those who love Church History, this will be a long but fascinating read. I especially enjoyed the biography of John Eliot.

HEROES OF THE REFORMATION Author F.G. Llewellin

Here is a fantastic book to read on some of the heroes of the Reformation.

It contains short biographies on the lives of:

  1. John Wycliffe
  2. Martin Luther
  3. John Calvin
  4. Williams Tyndale
  5. Hugh Latimer
  6. Thomas Cranmer

I loved reading through this book, and for anybody who loves Church History, this will be a great read.

IN SPITE OF DUNGEONS Author S.J. Davies

This moving book recalls the experiences of the chaplain to the First Battalion, the Gloucestershire Regiment, who was captured and became a prisoner–of-war in North Korea during the Korean War. His two-and-half years of ministry behind barbed wire as a chaplain glows all the brightly when set against the background of propaganda generated by the Chinese Communists in the early 1950’s. Enduring forced marches, degradation and forced confessions, he was the only chaplain to survive captivity, and our hearts rejoiced when he emerged a free man at PAN MUNJOM.

TWELVE MARVELLOUS MEN Author E. Enock

Short easy to read biographies on these great men makes for an enjoyable read.

  1. Frederick Stanley Arnot – The Central African Pioneer
  2. Baedeker – The Apostle to the Russians
  3. Sr Henry Havelock – The Believer of Lucknow
  4. Charrington  – The Brewer who gave up “The Trade”
  5. Barnardo – The Homeless Children’s friend
  6. George Whitefield – The Great Open-Air Evangelist
  7. John Howard, Philanthropist – The friend of the Prisoner
  8. Lord Shaftesbury – the Champion of the downtrodden
  9. Sir George Williams – The Founder of the Y>M>C>A>
  10. Samuel Morley – The Noble Merchant Prince
  11. William Quarrier – The Scottish Orphans’ Friend
  12. William Wilberforce – The Liberator of the Slave

These short biographies will certainly give you an excellent introduction to these 12 marvellous men and wet your appetite for reading more biographies.

THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF F.W. ROBERTON Author S.A. Brooke

 

Here is a very detailed biography of the Rev. F.W. Robertson. After his conversion he became a moderate Calvinist but enthusiastic evangelical with a deep love and admiration of Henry Martyn and David Brainerd.  He was then ordained by the Bishop of Winchester and served his first curacy at Cheltenham where sadly doubts regarding the evangelical doctrine began. He then served his second curacy at Oxford before going to Holy Trinity Church in Brighton, where he served for seven years before his death at the age of 37. Here he departed from the evangelical doctrines but because of his preaching gift the Church was packed. After his death five volumes of his sermons were printed as well as two volumes of expository lectures on Genesis and 1 Corinthians. I found this biography sad, especially towards the end of his life when he became very depressed due to the criticisms which were levelled against him because of his liberal views. But this book containing many of his letters gives us a deep insight into this sensitive man. For those who love Church History, it will be an excellent read.

THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF DR. KENNETH TAYLOR My Life, A Guided Tour

My Life: A Guided Tour is the autobiography of Kenneth N. Taylor; the man God chose to write The Living Bible.

Perhaps no other achievement in the twentieth century has made as great an impact upon Christendom as has The Living Bible. It is acknowledged by multiplied millions of Christians to be the most readable of all English Bible versions.

Ask Ken Taylor’s associates to describe him, and they will use words like dedication, humility, integrity, faithful stewardship, honesty. As you trace the “guided tour” that is his life, you will see each of these qualities displayed:

  • The dedication that kept him at the translator’s desk for sixteen years
  • The humility that kept his name off the title page of The Living Bible
  • The integrity that made publishing peers, bookstore owners, and readers trust the fledgling Tyndale House Publishers and its products
  • The faithful stewardship that inspired him to transfer all of the millions of dollars of royalties from The Living Bible into a non-profit foundation
  • The honesty that compels him to reveal in frank detail his own shortcomings and mistakes in both personal and professional life

This book abounds with fascinating anecdotes about Ken and Margaret Taylor’s home life and the vicissitudes of rearing a large family during the lean years when there was more month than money.

The life and work of Kenneth N. Taylor will powerfully challenge all who aspire to faithful stewardship.

DEVELOPING A HEART FOR MISSION (5 Missionary Heroes) Author Roy Robertson

These 5 modern missionaries were unbelievable men:

  • David Moken
  • Hubert Mitchell
  • Dick Hillis
  • Dawson Trotman
  • Bob Pierce

They were faith heroes who were totally surrendered and available to God to take whatever risks necessary to obey the Great Commission.

These faith heroes were men of vision and passion. But more than that – they personally taught the spiritual disciplines necessary to godly discipleship and witness.

Missionary autobiographies like this volume are rare today and legacies can easily ne lost. I am delighted this book has been written for the benefit of present and future generations. Enjoy the stories and apply the unchanging principles. Do not overlook the valuable study sections.

The legacy continues as in Psalm 78:2-6 (NLT) – “I will teach you hidden lessons from our past – stories we have heard and know … handed down to us … We will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord …”

Read Developing a Heart for Mission at your own “risk”. You might just find yourself caught up, like Roy, in the greatest and most enjoyable challenge any redeemed can face. Nothing else will ever again offer the same snap, the same joy, and the same opportunity to serve Christ and His Kingdom for eternal rewards.

A brilliant read to keep the fire burning on our hearts for missions.

ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU (Prophetic Witness in S.A.) Author L. Hulley

“Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu has been a towering figure in South African church and political life for over twenty years. From the time he wrote that open letter to Prime Minister John Vorster as Dean of Johannesburg in 1975, South Africa has had to take notice of this cleric, who has been a stern critic of apartheid as well as a priest of deep spirituality.

These Essays attempt to capture the being of Desmond Tutu through the insight of a few of his friends and scholars who have observed his progress over the years, as well as those whom he mentored like this writer.”

IN PURSUIT OF GOD (Biography of A.W. Tozer) Author James. L. Snyder

A.W. Tozer was one of the spiritual giants of the last century. Warren Wiersbe said of Tozer: “I consider A.W. Tozer the most remarkable man of God that I have known personally.”

Leonard Ravenhill said: “To know Dr. Tozer was a great blessing. To pray with him was to be in the holy place.”

Fortunate is the person who when going through a dry period spiritually, has a Tozer book at hand. His classic monumental work was “The Knowledge of the Holy”.

James Snyder has written this brilliant biography on A.W. Tozer which was a huge challenge to my own life.

MOODY WITHOUT SANKEY Author John Pollock

As the major international evangelist of his time – outstanding in his pioneering endeavour and fervour – Moody has become a figure of enduring stature and inspiration. He landed with Sankey at Liverpool, utterly obscure and unexpected, but when he left, Scotland, Ireland and England were at his feet. The famous Moody Bible Institute will always be a memorial to this great man.

In this wonderful biography on Moody, Billy Graham wrote:

“one of the classic biographies of this generation. I have felt that other biographies of Moody were rather bland, this one by Pollock makes Moody live.”

Luis Palau wrote:

“it is one of the few books that I say is MUST reading.”

A brilliant biography, worth selling your bed for.

FRONTIERS OF AFRICAN CHRISTIANITY (Essays in honour of Inus Daneel) UNISA

Inus Daneel, the product of a missionary home and fluent in Shona, was fascinated by the interplay among African traditional religions, Shona culture and Christianity. He moved into the Shona communal lands among members of AICs as a participant-observer in order to gain a better understanding of their spirituality. Over several decades, despite civil war, shattered finances, family traumas and the disapproval of his peers in the Dutch Reformed Church, Daneel pursued his relationship with the Shona Independent Churches.

Frontiers of African Christianity: Essays in honour of Inus Daneel showcases recent reflexive research on African Christianity that draws inspiration from the career of Inus Daneel. It evocatively brings together the indigenous knowledge of church leaders and chiefs with various scholarly constructions of African Initiated Churches (AICs) in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Malawi to extend the limits of research in this field. The anthology includes cutting-edge analyses by leading specialists.

MOUNTAIN RAIN (Biography of James Fraser) Author E. Crossman

James Fraser was only twenty-two years old when he abandoned a promising engineering career and went to China. At first sight of the Lisu tribes-people of the Yunnan province, he felt immediate affection for them. For the rest of his life, he travelled on horseback over rugged mountains, labouring to bring them the good news of Christ.

Packed with personal letters, insightful anecdotes and riveting stories of missionary life in China, this superb biography by his daughter shines with God’s constant faithfulness and power over evil.

One of the finest missionary biographies you will ever read – it is heart-shattering reading on one of the giants … truly a must read.

TEN SOCIAL REFORMERS Author W. Purcell

This is the 4th book in the KNOW YOU CHRISTIANS series.

A brief portrait is presented by William Purcell, Canon Emeritus of Worcester, of ten outstanding social reformers, motivated by their Christian faith:

  • William Wilberforce
  • Hannah More
  • Elizabeth Fry
  • Lord Shaftsbury
  • Josephine Butler
  • Wilson Carlile
  • Donal Soper
  • Group Captain Leonard Cheshire
  • Cicely Saunders
  • Martin Luther King Junior

A LIVING SACRIFICE Author Lydia Lee

This book tells the fascinating and amazing life story of Allen Yuan, a founding father of the now vast Chinese House Church movement – a movement that has affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of Chinese people.

The story tells of Yuan’s conversion to Christianity and of the many challenges he faced, including becoming a prisoner for his faith for 21 years. This book is a must for those concerned for China and for students of the church.

What a moving book of a Christian who was imprisoned for 21 years for loving Jesus, to walk out and be one of the founders of the huge Chinese Church … but … get the tissues ready!!!

MARTIN LUTHER, SAINT AND SINNER Author Theodore Kleinhans

If you are looking for a shorter biography on the life and ministry of Martin Luther, covering only 150 pages then this is the book – it is brilliant. Written from an evangelical perspective it shows the grace of God in the life of Luther and how from this man’s bold stand for truth, the Reformation grew. It really is a lovely read.

FLORENCE YOUNG Authors J. & G. BENGE

A rip current overturned the whaleboat with eight Kanaka Christians aboard. Only three of the men could swim, and the others clung to the upturned boat. Sharks circled the three as they struggled to get to shore. The three survived but the others could not be found. When Florence heard the news, she resolved to go on despite the dangers.

Once timid and unsure of her own salvation. New Zealander Florence Young rose to her calling and became a fearless and faithful witness for Jesus Christ. Eventually serving in the remote Solomon Islands and, for a season, in China during the deadly Boxer Rebellion, Florence began her service close to home.

This one woman’s mission to the Solomon Islanders, or Kanakas, working on her family’s Australian plantation soon expanded to their home islands. There, as Florence and others helped Kanaka believers reach out to villages steeped in cannibalism and prevent killings, thousands of people were transformed by the love of God.

A brilliant, easy to read biography on another missionary hero.

TEN SPIRITUAL LEADERS Author W. Purcell

A brief portrait is presented by William Purcell, Canon Emeritus of Worcester, of ten outstanding spiritually leaders in the Christian faith:

  • Martin Luther King – man with a protest
  • John Bunyan – man with a vision
  • John Wesley – man with a message
  • John Newton – man with a past
  • William Booth – man with a cause
  • C.S. Lewis – apostle to the sceptics
  • Brother Roger of Taizé – the call of youth
  • Pope John Paull II – a voice to the world
  • Mother Teresa of Calcutta – something beautiful for God
  • Desmond Tutu – prophet of black consciousness

This is the 3rd book in the series KNOW YOUR CHRISTIANS. They are short, easy to read biographies, and are a great introduction to these 10 leaders.

TEN WITNESSES FOR GOD – Author W. Purcell

This is the second book in the series “KNOW YOUR CHRISTIANS”.

A brief portrait is provided by William Purcell, Canon Emeritus of Worcester, of ten outstanding witnesses for God by word and deed:

  • George Fox – the inner light
  • William Grimshaw – the man on the moors
  • George Whitefield – the enthusiast
  • Sanky and Moody – ‘save all you can’
  • Charles Haddon Spurgeon – king of the pulpit
  • A. Studdert Kennedy – apostle of the back streets
  • Billy Graham – prophet of hope
  • David Watson – the man who walked with God
  • Father Popieluszko – through death to life
  • David Sheppard – prophet of the inner city

These are brilliant, short portraits of these outstanding men. If you want to know more on then then this book will be of value to you.

TEN MISSIONARY PIONEERS Author William Purcell

A brief portrait is presented by William Purcell, Canon Emeritus of Worcester, of ten outstanding missionary pioneers in the Christian faith:

  • Francis Xavier – apostle to the East
  • William Carey – the call of India
  • David Livingstone – the call of Africa
  • Mary Slessor – woman among the wild tribes
  • Albert Schweitzer – reverence for life
  • Hudson Taylor – the call of China
  • The Cambridge Seven – the call of duty
  • Gladys Aylward – the small woman
  • The Pentecostal martyrs – ‘with love in Jesus’
  • Paul Brand – surgeon to the lepers

A great, easy to read book on these missionary heroes.

WILLIAM TYNDALE (IF GOD SPARE MY LIFE) Author Brian Moynahan

The English Bible, the most familiar book in our language, is the product of a man who was driven abroad, hunted, vilified, betrayed, strangled and burnt.

“William Tyndale, If God Spare My Life is Brian Moynahan’s wonderful biography of William Tyndale, the young Gloucestershire tutor who left England in 1524 in order to translate the Word of God into English. It is also the story of Sir Thomas More, hailed as a saint and a man for all seasons, who thought it a divine duty to pursue him, and did so with an obsessive ferocity that in all probability led to Tyndale’s capture and death.”

I love books like this – brilliantly researched, wonderfully written, a biography you will want to go and buy. Every time you read your Bible, thank God for William Tyndale who gave his life so that we could read the Word of God in English.

MARTIN LUTHER Author Edwin Booth

Here is a short but brilliant biography on one of the greatest men in the history of the world. God raised up Martin Luther to bring the Church back to life after being dead for over 1000 years.

His cry was always:

  • SOLA FIDE – only faith
  • SOLA GRATIA – only grace
  • SOLA SCRIPTURRA – only Scripture
  • SOLA CHRISTO – only Christ

You will love reading this biography on the life of Martin Luther.

ABANDONED TO GOD Author D. McCasland

Oswald Chambers was a man for all time. His mind was the mind of Christ and so his words are compelling because they reflect the thoughts of our Saviour. I am not the first to say that no book outside the Bible has influenced me as much as My Utmost for His Highest. In David McCasland’s book we have, at last, the story of this remarkable man’s life and how, having honoured God, God is now honouring him with the only fame that really matters.

Listen to what 2 popular authors wrote about this book.

“Whoever has read or heard about My Utmost for His Highest must buy and read this book from cover to cover. Your tears will flow, your heart will be moved, the Holy Spirt will speak a word of peace, and your Christian life will never be the same.” – Harold Lindsell – Editor Emeritus, Christianity Today.

“So many millions of us have read his words – been deepened by his prayers, been brought before God by his writing. And now we get to know him. I had no idea what a magnificent life was present behind these marvelous words. Oswald Chamber’s writing is validated in detail after detail by his life.” – Eugene H. Peterson – James M. Houston Professor of Spiritual Theology, Regent College.

Perhaps no other man has influenced me more than OSWALD CHAMBERS. For 53 years I have read his book “My Utmost for His Highest” every day and been transformed by his example and teachings.

A MUST READ

MEMOIR AND REMAINS OF ROBERT MURRAY M’CHEYNE Author A. Bonar

Few books have been better loved than the Memoir and Remains of Robert Murray M’Cheyne. Its circulation underlines this. First published in 1844, within twenty-five years it went through one hundred and sixteen English editions. In 1910 it was estimated that including translations into other languages, not less than half a million copies were in circulation.

Few books have had such a widespread influence on the lives of God’s people. Testimonies to its usefulness were received from many lands and Christians of differing theological persuasions have testified to the blessing experienced through reading it. ‘This is one of the best and most profitable volumes every published’, said C.H. Spurgeon. ‘The memoir of such a man ought surely to be in the hands of every Christian, and certainly every preacher of the Gospel’.

Few books contain such variety and wealth of spiritual matter between their covers. As well as the life covering 174 pages, the work contains a good selection of letters (12 pages), sermons (20 pages), other writings (86 pages) and sacred songs (18) pages.

I have just finished reading this amazing book for the third time. It truly is one of the most stirring biographies every written. Read it and buy one for your pastor.

Margaret Paton (Letters from the South Seas) Author Margaret Paton

John G. Paton: Missionary to the New Hebrides is a missionary classic. In this companion volume, Margaret Whitecross Paton gives an enthralling account of missionary life in the New Hebrides from the 1860s to 1890s. The steady advance of the gospel in the islands is vividly described, and the whole account is set against the background of the joys and sorrows of family life. Margaret Paton writes with rare grace, humour and pathos. Letters from the South Seas is an inspiring story full of the triumphs of Christian faith and love, and a missionary classic in its own right – a book to prize …

Truly an incredible, heart wrenching book written by John Paton’s second wife. It gives an amazing insight into missionary work during that period from 1860 – 1890.

GOSPEL TRAILBLAZER Author Howard Jones

If ever there was a need for this beautiful book to be read, it is now! It is an African-American preacher’s historic journey across racial lines.

“God call the Church to overcome racism in the world. God called Howard Jones to overcome racism in the Church.

From his early challenges in a white Bible school to his triumph as the first black evangelist to conduct crusades in Africa, this is a moving account of Howard Jones, a man who understands the power of prayer. And the absolute necessity of following God’s call wherever it leads.

In these pages, you will get to know one of the most inspirational men you have every met, an authentic model of what it means to be not just an African-American leader, but a true trailblazer for the kingdom of God.

This is an incredible testimony of how God can use one fully devoted life to change the face of the evangelical movement in America. Dr. Howard Jones’ story of sacrificial love and meekness in the face of bigotry and racism is brilliant and motivating.” (Dr. Joseph M. Stowell, President, Moody Bible Institute)

A brilliant autobiography so pertinent for today’s world. Read it and buy some copies for friends.

ONE HEART AND ONE SOUL (JOHN SUTCLIFF OF OLNEY)  Author Michael Haykin

“The story of William Carey and his ministry in the Indian sub-continent in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries has been told and retold many times. It captured the imagination of untold numbers of evangelicals in his own day, sparked the formation of a host of missionary societies and generally initiated what has been termed the modern missionary movement.

What is often forgotten, however, is that Carey did not set out alone, nor would his ministry or that of his colleagues in India have been possible without the faithful support over many years of a circle of friends back at home. As one of these men later recalled, when they contemplated the possibility of a mission to India they thought of it in terms of a gold-mine. Carey said that he was prepared to ‘venture to go down’ the mine to explore its possibilities but, he told his close friends, Andrew Fuller, John Sutcliff and John Ryland, they ‘must hold the ropes’.

This book is a tribute to that circle of loyal friends, who saw themselves as being so closely bound together that they were all ‘of one heart and one soul’, and in particular to one of them. John Sutcliff, the pastor of the church at Olney which originally set apart Carey for the ministry. As well as remaining a lifelong friend to Carey, he was one of the founders of the Baptist Missionary Society, one of the joint authors of the Prayer Call which initially led to the interest in overseas missions and a faithful pastor and teacher in whose home many candidates for the ministry, both at home or aboard, received valuable training for the work to which they were called.”

This is the brilliant, well researched biography of one of the men who ‘held the rope’ when William Carey went to India. It makes wonderful reading and gives us a deeper insight into the teams which sent Carey out.

THAT MAN OF GRANITE WITH THE HEART OF A CHILD (Biography of J.C. Ryle) Author Eric Russell

John Charles Ryle was born into a wealthy English family background. He was intelligent, captain of Eton and Oxford cricket teams and was set up for a career in politics. Then disaster happened when his father lost everything and the family was left destitute. As a last resort, Ryle was ordained into the ministry of the Church of England.

But his glorious conversion occurred, and by God’s grace, he grew into a fantastic preacher and godly pastor. At the age of 63, he was appointed as the first Bishop of Liverpool. Through his books, sermons and leadership he changed the face of the English Church. 100 years after his death he still stands as an example to church leaders today.

A wonderful biography on an amazing man.

BILLY GRAHAM Author Sir David Frost

An inside look at the heart of Billy Graham.

For thirty years, Billy Graham and David Frost fascinated television audiences with their conversations about God, the Bible and Graham’s decades-long ministry. Frost asked the questions that thousands of viewers wanted to ask. Graham answered them with authenticity and grace.

With engaging honesty, Graham tells stories of his earliest crusades, his involvement in the civil rights movement, and his role as spiritual mentor to several American presidents. He also speaks candidly about his failures and the part suffering and doubt have played in his spiritual life.

With a chronology of Graham’s life, a prefix from Frost, and a forward from Graham’s grandson Tullian Tchividjian, this weaving of stories, interviews, and reflections will inspire you as you listen to a man who has lived and loved well.

A wonderful book on an unbelievable man – I enjoyed every word.

SONS OF THE PROPHETS Author Michael Hennell

The Golden Age of Evangelicalism in the Church of England was dominated by the giants, Wilberforce and Simeon, who were characterized as the prophets of the period.

Their early Victorian successors have been written off as dull, inflexible and ineffective. Michael Hennell challenges this theory of decline and in this book presents six representatives, and long neglected, figures of this period who as passionate philanthropists, reformers, educators and politicians brought their faith in active Christianity to bear on the sorest sores of the industrial revolution and attempted to evangelize and change society:

  • Edward Bickersteth, pioneer of the ecumenical movement known for his theological and devotional writing;
  • Lord Shaftesbury, philanthropist and committed social reformer;
  • Henry Venn, the far-seeing chief secretary of Church Missionary Society, who consciously prepared for the twentieth century;
  • James Stephen, Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge who, as Second Under-Secretary in the Colonial Office, hoped to govern the empire on the interest of the governed;
  • Francis Close, chief spokesman for the Evangelicals on educational matters;
  • Thomas Fowell Buxton, politician and philanthropist who sough to destroy the African slave trade through a ‘Bible and Plough’ policy.

These were true and worthy sons of the prophets.

C.S. LEWIS Author Colin Duriez
You can learn a great deal about people by their friends, never more so than in the case of C.S. Lewis: the remarkable academic, populariser of faith, and creator of Narnia.

Key relationships mattered deeply to him, and profoundly influenced his beliefs and writings – a life-long childhood friend, his gifted, but alcoholic brother, J.R.R. Tolkien and other Inklings, a single mother twice his age, and his beloved Joy, whom he married late in life. In this sparking new biography, which draws on material not previously published, Colin Duriez brings C.S. Lewis and these friendships to life.

“It may seem difficult to image that we could have a new take on C.S. Lewis’s life when so much has been written – but this book is just that … thoroughly researched, wide-ranging, and sympathetic.” Rowan Williams, Cambridge.

I loved this book, it gave me a brilliant insight into this amazing man – well worth selling your bed for.

HEROES Author Iain Murray

A.W. Tozer was right when he wrote, “Next to the Holy Scriptures, the greatest aid to the life of faith may be Christian biographies”.

In another of Iain Murray’s brilliant biographies, he writes on:

  • Jonathan Edwards
  • George Whitfield
  • John Newton
  • Thomas Charles
  • Charles Spurgeon
  • Robert Kally

Christians who know what Christ did yesterday are energized to trust and serve Him today.

Another brilliant read.

STEWART OF LOVEDALE Author James Wells

Wow … one of the greatest Missionary Biographies I have ever read.

In his preface, James Wells says this:

“This book might have been entitled “The life and times of Dr. Stewart”, for it records his influential share in the enterprises which have made a new world of South and Central Africa.”

Working alongside David Livingstone he laid the foundation for the great mission stations in Livingstonia and Blantyre and then did his life’s work at Lovedale.

What a story about a great man – sell your car to get a copy of this book!

21 SERVANTS OF JOY Author John Piper

This is one of the most wonderful books I have ever read – 850 pages of sheer pleasure and joy. Piper, using the talks he gave at his church’s pastor’s conference, gives us sketches of twenty-one of the church’s greatest heroes from Augustine to C.S. Lewis to Judson to Simeon – wow I could not put it down.

Definitely worth selling your house for!!

JERRY FALWELL – HIS LIFE AND LEGACY Author Macel Falwell

Dr. James Dobson wrote: “I have such deep admiration for the late Dr. Jerry Falwell and his wife, Macel. They laboured tirelessly alongside each other for many years and in doing so, nurtured a legacy that will endure for years to come. Only eternity will reveal the true extent of the lasting and far reaching impact they have made.”

Jerry Falwell, the founder of one of the largest churches in the world, Thomas Road Baptist Church, the founder of the largest Christian University in the world, Liberty University, and the founder of Moral Majority, was an incredible man.

In this intimate portrait, Jerry Farwell’s wife delivers a never-before-told account and behind the scenes look at her husband of 49 years. It was true that because of his heart and his courage, America is not the same, and yet this is the man who cancelled a White House appointment to be at home for his daughter’s birthday. One of his sons is now the pastor of the Church, while his other son, the Chancellor of the University.

Truly an inspirational read.

VISION AND VALOUR Author T.J. Back

Condensed into short, readable chapters are the life stories of twenty-six pioneer missionaries, men and women who have opened up nations and continents for God. Here is missionary history, from St. Paul’s day to ours, told in the tears and triumphs of those who dared to do exploits for Christ. The purpose of the book is to present principles, which must be found in all missionary endeavour if it is to bring forth “fruit that remains”.

Warner Sallman, well-known Christian artist, has illustrated the book with drawings of the missionary pioneers, based on photographs or early paintings.

Pastors, teachers, youth leaders, parents – here is a book to enrich your own spiritual life and give you a handy source of inspiring missionary information.

A great little book to fire you up for missions.

A GLOBAL MINISTRY – JOHN STOTT’S BIOGRAPHY Author T. Dudley-Smith

Timothy Dudley-Smith’s authorized biography continues the story begun in John Stott: The Making of a Leader. This second volume encompasses the last forty years of the twentieth century. It begins in 1960 when John Stott, the established Rector of All Souls Church, author of several book, and already something of a world traveler, had clearly emerged as a widely respected evangelical leader of energy and vision.

Creative conflict and drama are ever present. John Stott is found in dialogue, debate and dispute not only with unbelievers, but with outstanding liberals, charismatic, Anglo-Catholics, Roman Catholics and fellow evangelicals; with Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones and with Bishop Jack Sponge; and responding to Honest to God, to Bishop David Jenkins, to ARCIC and its Agreed Statements, and to “The Myth of God Incarnate”.

J Berry then wrote this about John Stott:

‘John Stott is extraordinary, combining in one person the radicalism of Martin Luther, the pastoral vision of Charles Simeon, the evangelistic passion of John Wesley and Billy Graham, the global commitment of William Carey and Hudson Taylor, the social involvement of William Booth, and the ornithological expertise of John Ray Gilbert White.’

There will never be another John Stott, an amazing model to me and millions of pastors around the world. For a month, my world stopped as I re-read these two volumes on this incredible man.

STAR OVER GOBI Author Cecil Northcott

In my search for missionary biographies, I found this one. It is the story of MILDRED CABLE and records her clear call to China and then to travel across the Gobi Desert, sharing her faith with all who came her way.

Another one of the heroes of the past.

TEMPLE GAIRDNER OF CAIRO Author C. Padwick

William Henry Gairdner (1873-1928) was a missionary with the C.M.S. in Cairo, Egypt. He dedicated his entire life to serve in Egypt. He studied at Oxford University and for some years served as the secretary of the Student Volunteer Movement under John Mott who made a profound impact on Gairder’s life. In response to the call of God, he partnered with Douglas Thornton in order to reach Muslims in Egypt. Sadly, in 1907 when Thornton died he was left to carry the massive load alone. He became the top scholar in Arabic, a prolific author and lecturer. His bishop said this of him:

“Temple Gairdner, though always utterly humble and apparently unconscious of being a leader, was a dominant figure through the sheer force of intellect and personality and the beauty of his Christian life.”

He was one of the very great missionaries to Africa – I loved reading this biography, it was a great challenge to my own life.

GREAT SOUTH AFRICA CHRISTIANS Author Horton Davies

In the series entitled GREAT SOUTH AFRICAN CHRISTIANS, a choice of eighteen representative Christian leaders has been made ranging over a period of two hundred and fifty years, from George Schmidt, who was born in 1709 to the Rev. John White who died as recently as 1933. In a sense the writer did not choose them; they chose themselves. That is, they were already distinguished in their lifetime and they have lived on in the history of South Africa and are evergreen in the annual of the Church. If their memory deserved to survive, their closest friends and admirers refused to allow the remembrance of them to be buried in their graves but resurrected them in biographies. In that sense, too, they were already candidates for selection in such a series. They being dead, yet speak. Their biographies are, in Milton’s words, ‘the precious life-blood of a master spirit’.

Enjoy reading about Schmidt, Philip, Moffat, Livingstone, Murray, Stewart and others – these portraits show us Christians in action.

JONATHAN EDWARDS  Author Iain Murray

Dr. Martyn-Lloyd Jones wrote:

“No man is more relevant to the present conditions of Christianity than Jonathan Edwards … He was a mighty theologian and a great evangelist at the same time. If you want to know anything about true revival, Edwards is the man to consult. My advice is. Read Jonathan Edwards. Go back to something solid and deep and real.”

If you have never read anything on this amazing man, go now and buy this biography, it is truly outstanding. John Piper continues to say that he owes more to Edwards than any other person. So read this biography and buy one for your pastor!

OUT OF MY LIFE AND THOUGHT Autobiography of Albert Schweitzer

One of the most noted medical missionaries of all times was the famed Albert Schweitzer, a medical doctor, musician, and biblical scholar, whose liberal ad highly controversial theological views were widely disseminated in his book, The Quest of the Historical Jesus. His career as a medical missionary began in West Africa in 1913, where he established a hospital at Lambarene; and there, except for a period of imprisonment by the French during World War 1, he devoted his life to medical work in Africa. Although he was a sought-after author, lecturer, and concert organist and could have enjoyed a life of mingling with the celebrity world, he chose instead to expend his energy on prolonging the life of “the brother for whom Christ died.” Why? The reason he gave to those he served was the same reason that prompted thousands of other medical specialists to help their underprivileged brothers: “It is the Lord Jesus who has told the doctor and his wife to come …”

THE MAKING OF A LEADER Author T. Dudley-Smit         

In this authorized biography, Timothy Dudley-Smith tells the story of the first forty years in the life of one of the great Christian leaders of this century. He places his subject in the context of his times. John Stott has been a key player in a remarkable resurgence among evangelicals, yet when he was ordained in 1945; it seemed that evangelicals would be little more than a marginalized remnant.

Tracing the formative process shaping his life and character, Timothy Dudley-Smith draws on John Stott’s unpublished letters, diaries and other papers. In the light of them, it becomes clear why this multi-gifted man preferred the simple vocation of a local Christian minister to high rank in the Church.

This engaging and intelligent biography uncovers the secret of John Stott’s worldwide impact upon contemporary Christianity – the impact of a preacher passionately discovering the validity of a biblical and reasoned faith in a troubled and tormented century.

Steve Chalker wrote:

“For a generation, John Stott has been a source of inspiration, insight and information for literally millions of Christians around the world. It is hard to overestimate the breadth, depth and value of his influence. But, most importantly, he is an extraordinary example of a person absolutely dedicated to Christ and serving the Church. I commend this compelling account of the real man, his life and influences, to you. It makes fascinating reading.”

Like missions of other pastors around the world, John Stott is my model. I could not put this book down; it is absolutely magnificent.

JOHN PATON – Autobiography

If you want to read one of the very best missionary autobiographies ever written, then this is the one. The story of John Paton’s missionary work on the Hebrides Islands, amidst constant perils and discouragements is incredibly moving. Soon after he arrived in Tanna, his dear wife and baby son died and this was almost too much to bear. He wrote “but for Jesus, I would have gone mad and died beside that lonely grave. By God’s grace, he persevered, led many to Christ, translated the Bible and established the Church – unbelievable story.

Dr. Pierson said of this book:

“In the whole course of my extensive reading on missions, a more stimulating, inspiring and every way first class book has not fallen into my hands – everybody ought to read it.”

J.I. PACKER – AN EVANGELICAL LIFE Author Leland Ryken

Ryken, as a veteran student of the Puritans, is the ideal author to write about the most influential Puritan of our time. This magnificent biography of a great evangelical is full of insight into Packer’s genius as a brilliant communicator of the Reformed Faith.

Wayne Gruden wrote: “What a joy to read this book and be challenged by Packer’s remarkable life.”

Peter Jensen wrote: “To be able to read about Packer himself and to understand how God gifted and shaped him has been a moving and edifying experience. This is a good book about a great man.”

Go and buy a copy now … a phenomenal book …

A PROPHET WITH HONOUR (The Billy Graham Story) Author William Martin

No preacher has approached the heights of Billy Graham. Here is a truly remarkable biography on a remarkable man. It is biography as its very best. Thoroughly researched, lucidly written and brilliantly crafted, it will become a classic in the field of Christian biographies.

Anthony Campolo wrote: “The scope of this study has made it must reading for any serious scholar.”

Just on 750 pages of riveting reading, I could not put it down. My only sadness is that it concluded on Billy’s 70th birthday and he lived to the age of 99.

Truly a magnificent biography on an exceptional man.

CALVIN FOR TODAY Author Joel Beeke

“2009 was the year of the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin and throughout the world the opportunity was seized to remember the great achievements of this man who loved God, and tell them to whomever would listen. This book of essays reminds us of the richness of Calvin’s accomplishments and the fruit of his labours, his goal being the pervasive reformation of personal and ecclesiastical life in the light of the Scriptures and thus to impact the world. How great was his vision of life lived under the Word of God; each of these essays casts its light on Calvin’s various astonishing accomplishments. They explain and commend Calvin warmly, and take us beyond the reformer to the God of the reformer.”

If you can afford only one of the books published on Calvin that commemorated the 500th anniversary of his birth, this is the one to get!

JIM ELLIOT Author Susan Miller

Jim is one of my greatest heroes – you must read this book!

‘HE IS NO FOOL WHO GIVES WHAT HE CANNOT KEEP TO GAIN WHAT HE CANNOT LOSE.”

Jim Elliot wrote these words at Wheaton College, as he prayed for God’s direction for missionary service. Where would God lead this unusually dedicated and versatile man?

Born into a godly family in Portland, Oregon, Jim was a dynamic speaker, a Greek scholar, and a college wrestling champion. But he welcomed the sacrifice of the mission field, even to the point of death – and, years later in Ecuador, that would be his ultimate calling. Though many saw this young man’s martyrdom as a tragedy, God knew that Jim Elliot’s extraordinary witness would not end there – as the seeds of a previously impossible ministry had been planted among the Auca Indians.

THE JOURNEY Author Billy Graham

In this culminating work of a lifetime, the remarkable Billy Graham invites you to join him in discovering God’s plan for this exciting journey called life. Wherever you are in your journey, just beginning, at the middle or near the end – you have already learned that life offers a variety of paths. The good news is that we are not alone, not only did God carve out the path for us, but He wants to join us on this journey.

This MAGNUM OPUS from Billy Graham, seasoned with many personal stories from his own life, offers wisdom, encouragement, hope and inspiration for anyone who wants to make the most of the journey. It is a magnificent book on how to live by faith in an uncertain world; I would say a real must and a book worth selling your bed for.

SENSEI Author Russell T. Hitt

Here is the incredible life of IRENE WEBSTER-SMITH, a hymn of triumphant Christianity – the story of an Irish gentle woman who by prayer and faith supported her family of 87 little Japanese girls she had saved from the life of a geisha. It was a world of geisha girls and of blatant vice in the alleyways of Tokyo: of incredibly unsanitary living conditions, of endless days and nights spent in fighting the dreaded Spanish influenza, which brought death to one million Japanese people. Her SUNSHINE HOME was to become famous … this whole enchanting story brims with hope and love.

BISHOP HANNINGTON Author W.G. Berry

This is the moving biography of James Hannington, the Bishop who was martyred in bringing the Gospel to Uganda.

Hannington, James (1847-85), Bishop of E. Equatorial Africa. After offering himself to the C.M.S., he landed in Zanzibar in June 1882 at the head of six missionaries, but fever and dysentery compelled him to return to England in the following May. On recovering, he again offered himself for the work, was consecrated and first Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa in June 1884, and was back in Mombassa in January 1885. In October 1885, he was murdered by the natives of Uganda when leading a hazardous expedition to open up a shorter route to Lake Victoria Nyanza.

ELIJAH OF THE ALPS Author Don Shidler

This is a brilliant book on the reformer WILLIAM FAREL. We read a lot about Luther, Calvin and Zwingli, but very little about this great man.

Farel, Guillamune (1489-1565), Reformer of French Switzerland. While studying at the University of Paris, he came under the influence of J. Faber (Stapulensis), and on becoming suspect of discipleship to M. Luther; he retired in 1524 to Basle, where he disputed with the opponents of the Reformation despite an interdict from the bishop and the University. He was soon afterwards banished from the city, possibly at the suggestion of Erasmus, whom he had called “a new Baalam”. In 1530 he introduced the Reformation at Neuchatel with some iconoclastic violence, and in 1535, he and Peter Viret led a triumphant struggle, which established the Reformation at Geneva. In the following year, he detained J. Calvin, who was passing through Geneva, persuaded him to stay, and declared him called to be a preacher and teacher of theology. For the rest of his life his fortunes were largely bound up with those of Calvin.

“God beckons storm clouds and they come. He tells the wind to blow and the rain to fall, and they obey immediately. He speaks to the mountains, ‘You go there,’ and He says to the seas, ‘You stop here, and they do it. Everything in all creation responds in obedience to the Creator…until we get to you and me. We have the audacity to look God in the face and say, ‘No.” 

WILLIAM: THE STORY OF JOHN WILLIAMS Author E. Hayes

One of the most innovative and farsighted missionaries to the Pacific islands was John Williams, sometimes referred to as the “Apostle of Polynesia” because of his widespread influence in missions in that part of the world. He was born in England in 1796, the year the Duff was dispatched to the South Pacific by the London Missionary Society.

By 1834, after nearly eighteen years in the South Pacific, William’s work and the work of others had expanded to the point that he was able to announce that “no group of islanders, nor single island of importance, within 2000 miles of Tahiti had been left unvisited.

In Early November of 1839, after saying good-bye to his wife and family, Williams, along with several native missionary volunteers, boarded the Camden and set sail for the island of Erromango in the New Hebrides. Little was known of the people of these islands, except that they had viciously attacked European traders who had mercilessly exploited their precious sandalwood trees.

After a two-week voyage, the Camden reached Erromango. Natives soon appeared on the shoreline and waded into the bay to receive gifts from their visitors who had come near shore in a small boat. After that initial encounter, Williams and two other European missionaries went ashore and began walking with the natives to their village. Suddenly, without any provocation, the attack came. Williams had time to turn and made a dash for the beach, but he was clubbed to death in the water as he tried to out swim his assailants.

What a moving missionary biography …

40 YEARS ON THE LABRADOR Author E. Haynes

While most medical missionaries in modern history have spent their lives in tropical climates fighting against the ravages of fevers, leprosy, and other tropical scourges, Wilfred Grenfell, one of the most highly acclaimed missionary doctors of all times, carried out his ministry on the North American continent along the frozen coastline of Labrador. Though he was a medical doctor and commissioned primarily as a medical missionary, Grenfell branched out into many areas besides medicine. He not only built other hospitals, but he also opened nursing stations, schools, orphanages, and social welfare centres. When, over forty years later, he retired, he had built up an organization that included six hospitals, seven nursing stations, four hospital ships, four boarding schools, fourteen industrial centres, twelve clothing distribution centres, a co-operative lumber mill, and a seaman’s institute at St. John’s, Newfoundland.  Some people charged that he had become sidetracked from his calling as a missionary. Because of his wide-ranging activities, his efforts conflicted with the policies of his mission board and other interest groups, and he was frequently the centre of heated controversy. But though his critics were numerous, his popularity only seemed to increase as he wrote and spoke out for the need of the Labrador people.

This was a very challenging missionary biography of a man who carried out an amazing work in extremely difficult conditions.

RUTH AND BILLY GRAHAM: THE LEGACY OF A COUPLE Author Hanspeter Nuesch

No one has preached the Gospel to more people than Evangelist Billy Graham. But behind this exceptional man is an equally exceptional woman who made his global ministry possible. Through her constant love, support, prayers and personal ministry, Ruth helped shape Billy’s tireless work for the Kingdom of God. In this beautiful book, you will get to know this couple intimately in what is the first biography that focuses on both Billy and Ruth. As you read this book, you will discover how their devotion to God and to each other allowed them to influence generations of believers and bring the life-giving message of forgiveness in Jesus’ name to the masses. It also includes more than 100 photos, some never seen before.

This is a must read for any couple in Christian work, an absolute model for us today.

ON THE INDIAN TRAIL Author Rev. H. Whittington

This autobiography is one of excitement and adventure, of dogged perseverance and thrilling achievement. Rev. Whittington served with the Inland South American Missionary Union and did an amazing work in Paraguay and Brazil. On his retirement, he served a church for many years.

It is an amazing story of a man sold out to bringing the Gospel to Paraguay in the early 19-hundreds,  a story that sadly few people have read.

African Music, Power, and Being in Colonial Zimbabwe – Rev John B. Radashi Page 56

JOHN B. RADASHI Author J. Nicholson

Rev. John Radasi was a Zulu missionary who established the Bembesi Mission Station in Matabeleland (Zimbabwe). An ordained minister in the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, he worked on in the face of many difficulties and distinguished himself as a faithful servant of Christ. This is an amazing story of an African who became a wonderful missionary.

THANDABANTU Author J.C. Fraser

Thandabantu is the story of a man for whom the Lord Jesus Christ was everything. Its author, Cameron Fraser, tenderly and beautifully tells the poignant story of a wonderful missionary teacher, James Fraser—the father he knew all too briefly.

Sinclair B. Ferguson said of this book:

“Here is a book whose value is out of all proportion to its size. It will move your emotions challenge your commitment, and refine you. It is an honour indeed to be invited to commend it.”

A wonderful story of an amazing missionary to Zimbabwe, truly one of the greats.

DAVID WILKERSON – Author Gary Wilkerson

This is a biography on David Wilkerson, the preacher who became famous through his work among the drug addicts in New Your City. Later the film “Cross and the Switchblade” thrust him on to the world stage. This moving biography written by his son is the moving account of his life – an excellent read and takes us back to fundamental Christianity in the 1960’s.

C.T. STUDD Author Norman Grubb

Nurtured in the lap of comfort, educated at Eton and Cambridge, the hero of the British sport-loving public, C.T. Studd, whose Cambridge career has been described as “one long blaze of cricketing glory”, created a stir in the secular world of his youth by renouncing wealth and position to follow Christ. He was captain of the Eton XI in 1879, and of Cambridge University in 1883, being accorded in the latter year (vide The Cricketing Annual) “the premier position as an all-round cricketer for the second year in succession”, and the top England all-rounder.

The illness of a brother brought him face to face with realities and the transitoriness of worldly riches and fame. He obeyed the divine command, “Go thy way, sell that thou hast and give to the poor … take up thy cross and follow Me”, throwing himself into the work which had called him with the same thoroughness and earnestness with which he had learned to “play a straight bat”. Hence-forward his life was dedicated to the service of God and his fellow-men, and the story of his labours and adventures makes an epic of faith and courage against great odds that will be an inspiration to all who rejoice in a tale of high endeavour.

The Lord used him to open up the Congo and W.E.C. was born under the motto:-

“If Jesus Christ be God, and He laid down His life for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.”

William Perkins Author J. Beeke and S. Yuille

William Perkins (1558-1602) earned a bachelor’s degree in 1581 and a master’s degree in 1584 from Christ’s College in Cambridge. During those student years, he joined up with Laurence Chaderton, who became his personal tutor and lifelong friend. Perkins and Chaderton met with Richard Greenham, Richard Rogers, and others in a spiritual brotherhood at Cambridge that espoused Puritan convictions.

From 1584 until his death, Perkins served as lecturer, or preacher, at Great St. Andrew’s Church, Cambridge, a most influential pulpit across the street from Christ’s College. He also served as a teaching fellow at Christ’s College, catechized students at Corpus Christi College on Thursday afternoon, and worked as a spiritual counselor on Sunday afternoons. In these roles, Perkins influenced a generation of young students, including Richard Sibbes, John Cotton, John Preston, and William Ames. Thomas Goodwin wrote that when he entered Cambridge, six of his instructors who had sat under Perkins were still passing on his teaching. Ten years after Perkins’s death, Cambridge was still “filled with the discourse of the power of Mr. William Perkins’ ministry,” Goodwin said.

Perkins’s influence as a theologian continued unabated after his death. This was due in large part to the widespread popularity of his writings. His writings were translated into several European languages and greatly influenced British and American Reformed theology, the Dutch Further Reformation, and European Pietism.”

I enjoyed this biography so much. I now want to go and visit Cambridge again and see his Church and grave – a magnificent read.

FRANCIS AND EDITH SCHAEFFER Author M. Roberts
REVISED 2013 By Sam Wellman

When Francis Schaeffer was converted to faith in Christ, he at first refused to call himself a Christian because he thought Christianity was the “unreal stuff” he had experienced at church. What he discovered was a whole new way of life. From then on, his great desire and commitment was to tell others about God, that the Bible is true, and that it answers the big questions of life that philosophy can only raise.

Schaeffer trained for the ministry and was sent, with his wife Edith, to Europe. They established child evangelism work and he developed a profound understanding of contemporary culture and the state of the church. He experienced a spiritual crisis which made faith and prayer more real to him, and founded the L’Abri Fellowship. Here, thousands of people have heard about the God who is Creator and Saviour. In his last decade, Schaeffer became famous for his Christian film series and his anti-abortion stance.

As Mostyn Roberts reviews the life of this man of God, variously called a prophet for his prescient analysis of trends in culture that explain where we are today, an apologist, and even a philosopher, he shows us that fundamentally Schaeffer rejoiced, to the end, in being a pastor and evangelist.

“Francis Schaeffer, who was born exactly a hundred years ago, is arguably one of the five most important Evangelical leaders of the second half of the 20th century. This brief but excellent summary of his life and ideas is a helpful reminder of his importance. As a genuine prophet, Schaeffer’s assessment of our times and of what we should be doing about them is, if anything, more relevant today than when he first wrote.”  Ranald Macaulay

My love for Schaeffer and his writings has again been ignited, it was a brilliant biography.

THE ROMANTIC RATIONALIST Author John Piper

C.S. Lewis stands as one of the most influential Christians of the twentieth century. His commitment to the life of the mind and the life of the heart is evident in classics like the Chronicles of Narnia and Mere Christianity—books that illustrate the unbreakable connection between rigorous thought and deep affection.

With contributions from John Piper, Randy Alcorn, Philip Ryken and others, this book explores the man, his work and his legacy – reveling in the truth at the heart of Lewis’ spiritual genius: God alone is the answer to our deepest longings and the source of our unending joy.

Louis Markos, Professor, Houston Baptist University, wrote:
“This volume paints a well-rounded, sharply observed portrait that balances criticism with a deep love and appreciation for the work and witness of Lewis.”

THE EVANGELIST Author Lewis Drummond

After 60 years in ministry, Billy Graham’s influence is unprecedented, his impact unmistakable. But how do we begin to measure the enduring value of one man’s life and work. In this intriguing survey, Lewis Drummond takes on the task of evaluating the integrity, historical authenticity and eternal significance of the last century’s best-known evangelistic career. Detailed, honest and insightful, this book evaluates Billy Graham’s life and ministry in the light of Scripture and evangelical tradition – helping illuminate both his place in history and his significance for the future.

John Stott said this in his preface to this book:

“I prophesy that a careful reading of this book will convince us that, by God’s providential grace, no single person in the 20th century has been more influential for Christ than Billy Graham.”

I loved it; it was brilliant and was a huge encouragement to me – now read it!!

BEHIND THE RANGES (Fraser of Lisu Land) Author Mrs. H. Taylor

As a Science student in the London University, young J.O. Fraser saw a life of promise opening before him. Mathematics and music were his strong points; perhaps especially the latter, for he studied under the best masters and was urged to make music his career. How in the full flush of young manhood he was arrested by the inward call, “Follow Me”; how he arose and followed even to the remotest parts of inland China, where the Burma Road crosses the mountainous borderland; how there his heart was won by the despised, neglected children of the ranges, the numerous aboriginal tribes, and especially the Lisu people; how his life was given for their salvation, with a love that broke down all obstacles, is the story of this book. “He saved others, himself he cannot save” was indeed true of that following. Yet it was a life full of achievement, rich in its reward and crowned at last with God’s best earthy gift, a perfect human love.

Lessons, which Fraser learned in the school of prayer, are passed on in his letters to the group of friends who formed his Prayer Circle, and will be found of exceptional value.

If you have not read this biography, go out and buy it now – it was one of the finest missionary biographies I have ever read.

SAMUEL RUTHERFORD Author K.G. Rendell

Rutherford played a major role as a reformer at the Westminster Assembly and was also a crucial figure leading to the establishment of Presbyterianism for Scotland in 1689. His famous book LEX REX heavily influenced John Locke and in turn, the farmers of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Usually described as a model preacher and pastor, Rendell shows he had an even greater ability as an apologist. This new biography of the man and ministry of Samuel Rutherford is brilliant and well worth reading, an excellent introduction to his amazing man.

SPURGEON (Heir of the Puritans) Author E. Bacon

Popular author Warren Wiersbe wrote:
“Spurgeon was a wonder in his own day, and he is still a wonder today. When, the sermons of other men are covered with dust, Spurgeon’s will still be read – and preached.”

This brilliant and readable biography of Spurgeon will strengthen Christian witness, increase an appreciation for Biblical preaching and inspire believers today. Beginning with his heritage and early years and concluding with the shining legacy of his influence and commitment, other chapters trace his career beginning as a boy preacher at the age of 16 whose fame propelled him to London at the age of 20. Bacon relates his ministries at New Park Street, Metropolitan Tabernacle, the founding of the Pastor’s College and the sad events of the “Downgrade Controversy”, right up to his death at the age of 57 …

It is well worth buying; once you begin reading it, you will not be able to put it down

HUDSON TAYLOR Author Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor

Hudson Taylor trained as a doctor but in 1853, he felt the call of God to be a missionary to China and sailed there under the auspices of the China Inland Mission, now the Overseas Missionary Fellowship. A man of indomitable faith and great personal devotion, he carried the Gospel into the heart of China and ensured its continuance by recruiting almost 1000 workers to carry on the work.

Truly one of the greats in mission history and this book is probably the very best on his life. It really is worth selling your bed for … read it and pass it on, it is brilliant.

WILLIAM BORDEN Author Mrs. H. Taylor

This was one of the most moving biographies I have ever read. Mrs. Taylor traces Borden’s life from his secure, loving upbringing right up to the time of his death. William Borden studied at Yale and Princeton before deciding to become a missionary to the Muslims in China. He then went to Cairo to spend a few months with Dr. Samuel Zwemer, a missionary to the Muslims for over 60 years. Borden’s humility and passion for souls was soon seen as he passed out tracts on the steaming Cairo streets as he rode around on his bicycle. All this belied the fact that he was born into wealth and was heir of the equivalent today of what was R2 billion from the vast Borden fortune. But slowly he gave it all away to missions and more than that, offered his life for missionary service. His single-minded zeal was to serve out his life as a missionary. That he did, though his term was short. After only 4 months in Cairo, he died following an attack of spinal meningitis. Just before he died at the age of 24, he wrote:

NO REGRETS     NO RETREAT            NO RESERVE

A book worth selling your bed for!!!

PHILIP’S EMPIRE Author Tim Keegan

Dr. John Philip towered over the 19th Century South African history, championing the rights of indigenous people against the power of white supremacy, but sadly, today he is largely forgotten or misremembered. From the time he arrived in South Africa as superintendent of the London Missionary Society in 1819, the society to which Livingstone and Moffat belonged, Philip played a major role in fighting for the emancipation of slaves, protecting the Khoi against injustice and opposing the dispossession of the Xhosa in the Eastern Cape, as well as trying to look after all the London Missionary Society missionaries.

This book seeks to revive him and to recover the real man and his noble but doomed struggles for justice in the context of his times.

Tim Keegan says that if he had come back, say in the 1970’s or 1980’s, we can well imagine that he might have found congenial company among the liberation theologians who played such a very important role in South Africa’s struggle for justice. He would have recognized their social Gospel as compatible with his own.

I loved reading this book but at times was saddened by the huge amount of opposition and criticism he faced.

NANCY’S EXPLOITS Author Lorna Eglin

The Story of Nancy McElroy, Missionary to the Maasai People in Kenya

When I studied at the Bible Institute of S.A., one of my greatest privileges was to study with men and women who went all over the world as missionaries – some to Japan, China, Namibia, Seychelles and the Comores and then Nancy McIlroy went to Kenya. This book is the story of Nancy, a South African, A.I.M. missionary, who served her Lord for 16 years in Kenya amongst the proud Maasai cattle people until an accident took her back to Cape Town.

Drawn from her newsletters, you will enjoy adventures, sorrows, joys, struggles, fun, opposition and triumphs – in all, praising God for using the weak and the foolish to His glory.

KNOW THE TRUTH – A Memoir by George Carey

George Carey was born in 1935 in the east end of London, the son of a porter. After failing his 11-plus he left school at fifteen, began working at the London Electricity Board as an office boy and service with the British armed forced in IRAQ in the 50’s. By the time he was twenty he decided he wanted to be ordained. After positions as a parish priest and Bishop of Bath and Wells, he became the 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury and served 70 million around the world.

His memoir makes riveting reading. He speaks at length of the issues affecting his reign especially the ordination of women priest and homosexuality and the remarriage of the Prince of Wales.

It was an amazing story of God’s grace, saving George Carey and using him as an evangelical archbishop during those turbulent years of the Church in England.

PRINCESS EMMA Author Janet Hodgson

The 19th century conflict on the frontier between white settlers and the Xhosa tribes was about much more than land and cattle. It soon became a battle for cultural and spiritual allegiance aggressively waged by missionaries, traders, teachers and colonial authorities.

So it was that PRINCESS EMMA, eldest daughter of the Xhosa chief, Sandile, was brought to Bishopscourt and Zonneblom in Cape Town. Bishop Grey and the governor, Sir George Grey had devised a scheme to defuse the explosive nature of the Eastern Cape. The children of the chiefs were to be educated and “civilized” in the European way and later this would transform the heathen society.

Emma’s story, a true story, describes the bewildering choices which confronted these children who were wrenched from their rural families and thrust into sophisticated urban life of the Victorian Cape Town. Sadly, they found themselves alienated from both sides.

A fascinating read …..

MARTIN LUTHER – THE HERO OF THE REFORMATION Author E. Velvin

Having read so many biographies on the life of this amazing man, I wondered whether I would enjoy this old classic which I found while walking through the streets of Cape Town. BUT … I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed this book immensely. It takes us through the life of Luther explaining how God used him to bring the world back to the Bible and to reformation. If you find a copy, buy it, read it, and thank God for raising up such a man to bring us back to:

  •       SOLA SCRIPTURA
  •       SOLA FIDE
  •       SOLA GRATIA
  •      SOLA CHRISTO

THE LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE Author J.H. Worcester

Here is a short but brilliant introduction to the life of this great man. It was Livingstone who opened up the whole of Southern Africa south of the Sahara for the Gospel and this book captures his deep devotion to the Lord Jesus and his passion to be a missionary and reach the lost people of Africa for Christ. He said of his work:

“our work and its fruits are cumulative; we work towards another state of things. Future missionaries will be rewarded by conversions for every sermon. We are their pioneers and helpers. Let them not forget the watchmen of the night…”

This book helps us never to forget the life and ministry of David Livingstone.

ALFRED BUXTON OF ABYSSINIA AND CONGO Author Norman Grubb

One of the great missionary heroes of the past. At age 21, half-way through his medical studies, he gave up everything, went against all those dearest to him and went to the Congo in 1912 with C.T. Studd to begin the HEART OF AFRICA mission, later to become W.E.C. “Babel’s ass and Noah’s dove” did the most incredible work across the Congo. Then he launched out on his own and went off the Ethiopia to open that country for Jesus … a remarkable story of a man sold out for Christ.

Norman Grubb says of Buxton:

“This book is one record of the accomplishment of a full life; the lives of those whom he led to Christ are another witness.”

TO LIVE FREE – WILLIAM WILBERFORCE Author Lon Fendall

William Wilberforce made a lasting mark on the world – by daring to fight the evil of slavery. The spiritual freedom he found in Jesus Christ empowered his efforts to liberate countless others of his era, and of generations to follow.

You can now meet this giant of the faith in TO LIVE FREE. This easy to read novelized biography, featuring topical excerpts from Wilberforce’s writings, promises a reading adventure you will not so forget.

MEMSAAB Author Phyllis Irwin

Stories of a Medical Missionary Mom

Travel a mountain road to a village for a medical clinic, trek along the Indus to visit a former patient, visit a princess to do a pre-natal, or watch as very sick patients are brought in to the hospital by local “ambulance:, a roped frame bed carried on the shoulders of four men. These and many other stories are drawn from the diaries, old letters and memories of the author as she relates her story as a medical missionary in the foothills of the Himalayas in Pakistan. But above all, she tells us of her longing to reach these people with the Gospel and bring them to Christ.

A lovely, easy to read biography of one of God’s heroes.

VALIANT FOR THE TRUTH Compiled and Edited by David Fuller

This amazing book if a treasury of evangelical writings. In it you will meet a succession of the very greatest expositors of the Gospel of Jesus Christ from Paul, to Athanasius, to Wycliffe, to Luther, to Calvin, Cranmer, Baxter, Edwards, Wesley, Whitefield, Carey, Mc Cheyne, Ryle, Moody up to Gresham Machen.

Dr Blackwood wrote:

“an experienced biographer introduces a succession of evangelical giants throughout the centuries. A spiritual account of each leads up to an excerpt or a dew shorter excerpts from his writings. This volume ought to strengthen evangelicals where they have been weak in a working knowledge of Church History.

A real classic well worth selling your bed for!!

MICHAEL NUTTALL – A personal anthology

This is an anthology with a difference prepared by Bishop Michael Nuttall from his public speaking and writing over the course of 50 years. It is a public record of a voice, both spoken and written, for the well-being of Church and society. Woven into this tapestry is a restrained yet strong personal thread as the reader is let into the aspirations, convictions and struggles of the author’s own mind and heart – all this within the vortex of a South Africa where he longed to see the dawn and blossoming of a new found freedom and an authentic unity among her people.

A brilliant, moving book on one of our greatest leaders.

HEROES OF THE FAITH Author Gene Fedele

What a fantastic book. It contains inspiring stories and compelling biographical sketches of 70 Heroes of the Faith affecting the course of history, regardless of the obstacles. You will be inspired by their faith … for more than 20 centuries; Christianity has fought against almost every conceivable form of human sin and corruption. Kings, clergy, philosophers have swelled the ranks of unbelief and godlessness … but all in vain.

In this book, you will find a generation-by-generation account of the lives of great and godly men and women who have changed the world for Christ. These heroes of the faith were appointed by God and granted supernatural courage to stand up for Christ and carry the torch of divine truth in splendour and victory.

So … go and buy this book and read of the heroes of the faith from the Apostle Paul up to Joni Tada.

JOHN NEWTON – FROM DISGRACE TO AMAZING GRACE Author Jon Aitken

Joni Tada wrote, “There is nothing like a well written thoroughly researched biography of a godly saint to stir one’s heart, stretch faith, and expand kingdom vision”.

John Newton, not only wrote one of the greatest hymns of all time, he lived one of the greatest stories of salvation. Saved from a life of blasphemy, violence, slave trading to become a very powerful Church of England minister in Olney and London, is amazing grace. Not only was he a leading minister in England but he also played a huge role in the abolition of the slave trade alongside William Wilberforce.

Os Guinness wrote:

“A rich-roaring adventure, a passionate romance, and an astonishing journey of faith all in one. But if that were not enough, Aitken’s superb new biography is also chock-full of extraordinary insights into friendship, prayer, networking, spiritual growth, and above all “amazing grace”.

A brilliant, superb, must read biography.

RUNNING FOR REVIVAL Author R. McGavin

This is a biography by his daughter on the life and times of Henry Brash Bonsall. He was a man with an extraordinary vision and later was to become the founder of the Birmingham Bible College.

Brother Andrew said this of him:

“I knew him to be a man of prayer. He had so much in his own mind and brains and heart and spirit. He was a creator, not a consumer … influencing hundreds, if not thousands of students and tens of thousands of conference visitors with untold numbers in meetings ….

We miss him, but I am grateful for this biography that will stir up many more to go back to his writings, consider his sayings, follow his teachings, and make a new commitment … for themselves.”

THE MONK WHO LIVED AGAIN Author B.H. Pearson

This is the amazing story of WALTER MANUEL MANTANO. Brought up in a very religious Roman Catholic home, he went into a monastery and became a Dominican friar. While in the monastery, very similar to Martin Luther, he never found peace and longed for a personal walk with Jesus. This led him to escape from the monastery where he met Rev. Charles Patton from the Evangelical Union of South America. Walter was wonderfully converted and left the monastery to become an amazing witness for Christ. He then got married and he and his wife had three children.

What a moving story showing the power of the Gospel

WESLEY Author Leonard Hulley

Dr. Hulley has combined in this book a wealth of information about John Wesley and early Methodism with an amazingly easy style of writing, hence the title “Wesley” – a plain man for plan people.” Here is a readable account of one of the great leaders of the Christian Church. Also, this is not just a short biography of Wesley’s life, but an account of how throughout his life Wesley dealt with a number of issues in a deeply devotional and pragmatic way. Thus, we have something of his deep regard for his mother, his tragic marriage, his dealings with trust property committees and many other issues.

An excellent book for anyone wanting a short overview of John Wesley’s life – it is brilliant.

HOLDING UP THE SKY Author Sandy Blackburn-Wright

This astonishing autobiography is the story of a young Australian woman’s complex love affair with Africa and its people. Sandy lived and worked in South Africa between 1988 and 2003 – years coinciding with some of the nations most tumultuous and significant events, including the release of Nelson Mandela. As a community development worker in the townships she witnessed the brutality of life under the apartheid regime. At the same time, she was bewitched by the uncrushable spirit of the people, the richness of the culture and the beauty of the land. Through her work and her marriage to a black South Africa, she became part of a world few white women have entered, experiencing first hand the joys and challenges of township life and mixed-race families. Sadly, she later divorced her husband, has now remarried and is living in Australia.

A brilliant read and a reminder of what was going on around Pietermaritzburg during these horrendous years between 1988 and 2003.

FRANZ HILDEBRANDT Author A. Cresswell

Fran Hildebrandt’s early ministry began and developed under the shadow of the swastika in Hitler’s Nazi Germany. His close, deep friendship and pastoral colleagueship with DIEDRICH BONHOEFFER in fighting that will power marked them both as true witnesses for Jesus Christ. His subsequent exile to England, his work as a pastor to refugees, as a Methodist minister, as a professor of theology in the USA and finally as an assistant pastor in the Church of Scotland, reveal him as a man who was fearless for the Gospel and who was also a loving, caring friend practicing the faith both in words and life. As a Christian he had a deep love for the hymns of Charles Wesley and Thomas Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer …

Eberhard Bethge wrote:

“without the existence of this spirited, upright and constant friend of Bonhoeffer in especially important years, one cannot have and know Dietrich Bonhoeffer.”

GELDOF IN AFRICA – Autobiography

Bob Geldof first visited Africa in 1984. The following year, LIVE AID inspired a generation to raise millions for the starving in Africa.

Over 20 years later, passion undiminished, Geldof returns to what he calls the LUMINOUR CONTINENT. This book is his personal diary. Unflinchingly honest, and stunningly illustrated with his own photographs, Geldof in Africa, paints a unique picture of this extraordinary and beautiful land.

The Guardian wrote:

“Geldof is a superb guide to this most generalized about and least understood continent.”

TUTU – VOICE OF THE VOICELESS Author Shirley Du Bouloy

Desmond Tutu is rarely out of the news. The first black Anglican priest to become the Archbishop of Cape Town, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, a passionate spokesman for the blacks of South Africa, an orator and wit, he always has been a controversial figure who arouses suspicion and hostility as well as love and reverence.

Shirley Du Bouloy has written this brilliant and meticulously researched biography. His faults are not camouflaged; his virtues inspire admiration and affection. She tells her story against the history of apartheid, and the conflict between the Church and the South Africa government. But Tutu’s infectious humour, his unquenchable hope and magnanimity, run like a golden thread through the dark history of his country and lifetime.

I was moved by this book and greatly challenged and say that every Christian in S.A. should read it to get a better picture of the man – Desmond Tutu.

SUSANNA WESLEY Author John Newton

Susanna Wesley, who made so profound and impression on her 19 children, especially John and Charles, is a fascinating many-sided character in her own right. She was a Puritan, an Anglican, a Methodist, a deeply devout and superbly practical house keeper and mother.

This brilliant book gives us a detailed account of her Puritan background, sees it as a key to her character and uses it to illuminate the Methodism of which she has justly been called “the mother”.

A brilliant book on a remarkable woman.

MY FATHER, MAKER OF THE TREES Author Eric Irivuzumugabe

In 1994, sixteen-year-old Eric climbed up a cypress tree and remained there for 15 days with little food or water, Eric is a survivor of the 1994 Tutsi genocide in Rwanda which claimed the lives of more than 1 million people in just 100 days. In the midst of indescribable loss, and without a job, a home, or an education, Eric was determined to start a new life for himself and his 2 surviving brothers.

This moving book is not only the story of his physical survival; it is the story of his spiritual rebirth and the role he is now playing in the healing and redemption of his land and his people. His story shows how God’s love and presence can overcome suffering and evil in our world.

THE LIVINGSTONE TOUCH Author Philip Birkinshaw

Walking down the street of Kalk Bay in Cape Town I stumbled into a second-hand book stall and to my surprise found this amazing book on Livingstone.

Birkinshaw says in the forward:

“I hope this is a responsible book but it is more an act of hero-worship than a piece of scholarship. I was drawn to the whole cut of his life, especially his relationship with blacks. His flesh and his frailties I leave to the resurrection men, it is the spirit he drove them with that speaks in this book.

Page after page in going over Livingstone’s life he merely quotes from Livingstone’s diaries, it makes riveting reading.

I found this book so helpful and could hardly put it down.

THE LIVINGSTONES AT KOLOBENG (1847-1852) Author J. Parsons

I picked up this incredible book in Franshoek, where having a bite for lunch I noticed this second-hand bookshop of rare books. It is an amazing book covering the years 1847-1852 when David and Mary Livingstone built their home in Kolobeng.

In 1847 an unknown missionary, David Livingstone began a simple house on the bank of the Kolobeng River. His mission station became the centre piece and the point of departure for the man who would become the 19th century’s great missionary, the family that traveled with him and Chief Sechele of the Bakswena.

This book brings to light so much material in Livingstone’s life which has preciously been overlooked or little used. Of all the books on Livingstone, none have highlighted the family he left behind and the devotion of his wife who returned to him only to die on the Zambezi at Shapunga. Also, none have credited Sechele with a statesmanship that built – at Kolobeng – the foundation of modern Botswana.

A wonderful read … and well worth all the money I had to spend to buy it…!!

JUDITH Author N. Saloff-Astakhoff

Judith was an earnest girl who embraced a faith that cost her everything – her family, fiancé, home and friends. This book is her story, the saga of a dedicated young woman caught by her deep faith in Christ and social position – forced to die in the blood-bath of the Russian Revolution.

THE YOUNG LUTHER Author Michael Elder

“I should like to have a son who is a lawyer.” Hans Luther had struggled to give his son a good education, but his ambitions were not to be fulfilled. Much of this book covers the story of Martin Luther’s boyhood adventures, his life at school and university. When the time came for Martin to decide about his future, he found he could not devote his life to law; but instead was wonderfully converted, became an Augustinian Monk and later was raised up by God to lead the Reformation, to take part in the history of the world which his father could never have foreseen.

JOHN WESLEY Author Stanley Ayling

Wesley was a man of the greatest courage and persistence, with a vast capacity for leadership and organization. His personality was magnetic, his piety and charity uncontestable. Although his brother Charles was a more gentle and attractive character and Whitfield a great preacher, John Wesley was beyond doubt the central figure in the rise of the Methodist Church as well as one of the greatest Christians ever.

This excellent book is a wonderful tool in enabling us to meet John Wesley.

JOHN BUNYAN Author Peter Morden

Who could have predicted that a ragged, impoverished, foul-mouthed tinker mechanic would live to pen the best-selling novel of all time? PILGRIMS PROGRESS has become the world’s second most printed book after the Bible.

Bunyan’s own life was one marked by trial and suffering, including 12 years in prison for refusing to stop preaching the Gospel.  John Bunyan is our role-model whose life works grips and inspires us.

I suspect this book will, as it has done for me, have you reading more of Bunyan and reading more into your own life and purpose.

Another must read biography.

THE LIFE OF PETER CAMERON SCOTT Author C.S. Miller

Peter Cameron Scott was not well known while living and sadly he is not well known today, but his memorial is the AFRICA INLAND MISSION which he founded in 1895. The appeal of Scott is pleasant and challenging. He died young, he did not live to witness the amazing growth of his labours, yet the fruits of his life are apparent today as seen in the Africa Inland Mission.

He was a modest young man with a great depth of Christian love in his heart that sought expression in a passion for the lost souls of men. For this cause in Africa he gave his life. His life is an inspiration to us all.

PASTOR AND POLITICIAN Author R.S. Kumalo

 

On 27 April 1994, Nelson Mandela arrived at the OHLANGE INSTITUTE, a school that was founded by JOHN LANGALIBAELE DUBE, a minister of the American Zulu Mission and the first president of the ANC. At the age of 72 Mandela had come to cast his vote for the election of a democratic government in South Africa. After casting his vote, Mandela went straight away to Dube’s grave and said:

 

“Mr. President I am here to report that today South Africa is free”

 

But who was this President that Mandela was reporting to? This brilliant book consists of essays on the legacy of J.L. DUBE and seeks to revive the legacy of the man who made such a tremendous contribution to the liberation of the African people in South Africa. Dube was first and foremost a Christian, converted under the ministry of the missionary William Wilcox, who then became a devoted pastor but of his love for his people, worked for their freedom becoming the first ANC President. He started the world famous Ohlange School where men like Seth Makitini trained but above all it was his love for the Bible and Jesus that moved him.

 

I found this book deeply moving and I learned so much about the man, J.L. DUBE –

 

“A great, if not the greatest Black man of the missionary epoch in South Africa.”

 

This is a MUST read … for every South African …

THE MOST RELUCTANT CONVERT Author D.C. Downing

 

His books have sold millions, including classics like MERE CHRISTIANITY, SCREWTAPE LETTERS, THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. Yet C.S. Lewis was not always a literary giant of the Christian faith. How did he go from a staunch atheist to one of the most beloved and renowned Christian authors of all time?

 

For C.S. Lewis enthusiasts and students alike, this book offers a unique look at Lewis’ personal journey to faith and the profound influence it had on his life as a writer and a follower of Jesus Christ.

 

Christopher Mitchell wrote:

 

“an intelligent and highly readable book that succeeds in taking the reader further up and further in to Lewis’ own story … here is a book that deals with the most important and neglected aspect of C.S. Lewis’ life – his conversion ….

It is really good …. No … it is brilliant.

THE CALLING Author Nancy Charton

 

This book charts Nancy’s life from the moment of the calling of God in the garden of a miner’s cottage on the Witwatersrand, through her painful growing years when she was sexually abused and lost her faith, to her re-emergence into faith with a mission as a community activist, campaigner against forced removals, crusading academic as a Professor at Rhodes University and finally after 20 years as a pioneering advocate of full ordination for women in the Anglican Church.

 

Dr. Willem Meyer said of this book:

 

“this is also a quintessential South African story of a woman struggling against the multi-layered obstacles put in her way: sexual abuse, class prejudice, the evils of apartheid, all played their part in trying to keep Nancy Charton from achieving her destiny, but like a rock she has weathered, not broken but emerged fully into her calling as a priest and canon of the Anglican Church – South Africa.”

 

An interesting read for all those who love the history of the Church in South Africa. I was challenged again as to what people like Nancy did to fight against apartheid.

THE SHAME AND THE SACRIFICE Author E. Robertson

In this book, Edwin Robertson, longtime editor and translator of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s many works, looks at the wholeness of the man who lived and died a disciple of Jesus Christ. Although Bonhoeffer had often created misunderstandings and even recognized that he had done and said the wrong things, he always rooted his actions and thoughts in the Word of God.

In this book Bonhoeffer’s dramatic story unfolds, in particular his opposition to the Nazis. After going through intensive theological training, preaching the Bible with passion, becoming the Principal of a Bible College he still continued to raise his voice against the persecution of the Jews, eventually returning to Germany where after much agonizing he joined the resistance movements, acted as a double agent and then conspired to assassinate Hitler. He was caught and imprisoned from where he wrote some of his greatest works including the COST OF DISCIPLESHIP. As the war was drawing to a close, he was tried, convicted and hanged.

I could not put this book down; I longed also to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ.

JOHN CALVIN Author John Piper

We live in a flippant and frivolous day. The majestic weight of the glory of God rests lightly on too many Churches. We’ve lost our appetite for God’s majesty. A passion for His splendor has faded. John Calvin encountered a similar landscape 500 years ago. Nothing mattered more to Calvin than the supremacy of God over all things. He wrote that his life’s’ aim was

“to set before man, as the prime motive of his existence, zeal to illustrate the glory of God”

John Piper writes: “the essential meaning of Calvin’s life and preaching is that he recovered and embodied a passion for the absolute reality and majesty of God.”

This is the aim and burden of this book. By telling the story of Calvin’s life, Piper aims to ignite your zeal for the centrality, supremacy and majesty of God.

It is a short book (only 58 pages) but dynamite – read it and get one for a friend!

A HUNDRED HOUSES Author A. Rayment

Life as a missionary is often seen as romantic, but Irene Rowley tells of the reality – coping with disease, misunderstanding, a handicapped child and homesickness. Yet her determination to work for God in Brazil carries her through and gives purpose to all that she does.

People will be challenged after reading this down-to-earth honest book. We can learn of the tensions of missionary life, the heat, dust and squalor of Brazil.

A short but challenging missionary biography of a missionary’s life in Brazil.

MICHAEL RAMSAY Author Michael De-La-Noy

This is a portrait of Michael Ramsay, the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury written by his former Press Officer. George Carey who later was to become the Archbishop wrote:

“this indeed is a book that recaptures the real Ramsey … it expresses all the signs of journalistic writing: a vivid style, excellent quotations – with an awareness of the questions that ordinary people ask.”

An interesting book but not one I would give my bed for!!

BELOVED PARTNER Author M. Dickson

On September 7th, 1819, Mary Smith of Manchester, England sailed for Africa on her way to marry the young nursery gardener, Robert Moffat. He had come out 3 years previously to serve with the London Missionary Society. For the next 50 years, Mary and Robert Moffat worked as pioneer missionaries in the lands north of the Orange River. It was a harsh, demanding life in conditions of physical hardship and spiritual barrenness far removed from the picture imagined back in England of rewarding missionary activity. In the midst of drought, famine, raiding migrations and wars, Mary Moffat built a home, taught the Gospel, bore her children, ran the mission station while her husband Robert traveled across Africa.

Mary Moffat was a remarkable woman. She came to Africa to be not only Moffat’s wife but also a partner in his missionary work. Neither ill health, disaster nor family pressures reflected her from this aim.

Robert wrote in 1859:

“Would that some knew, even were it a tithe of what you have had to suffer for the cause of Christ among the Bechuana.”

It was a moving biography, absolutely brilliant.

HUDSON TAYLOR Author S. Mills

This book is part of the ‘CHRONICLES OF FAITH” series and is geared to children from the ages of 8-12. It is a brilliant summary of Hudson Taylor’s life and will certainly encourage the seed of missions in the hearts of young lives. Brilliantly written it tells of the call which came to Hudson Taylor and then of his amazing adventures as the first Christian missionary into the heart of Africa.

Make sure your children and grandchildren read this …

GOD’S POLISHED ARROW Author Michael McMullen

This is a book in a million, I loved reading it. It is the biography of WILLIAM BURNS, the missionary to China for many years. This book is entitled GOD’S POLISHED ARROW because that is what Burns desired that he himself would be. He longed, he wrote, that God might find him as a polished arrow and that He might use him as an arrow flying straight, swift, and true towards its target. The book is divided into four sections:

Section 1 – An account of the life and ministry of William Chalmers Burns

Section 2 – Extracts from his journals

Section 3 – Letters from William Burns

Section 4 – Notes from sermons Burns preached

McMullen says “therefore as you read this volume, treat what you read as not just another book to pick up and put down, but as a direct challenge to see whether you too can say with Burns “here I am, send me.’”

Perhaps the most amazing comment made on William Burns came from Hudson Taylor, who wrote:

“William Burns is better to me than a college course with all its advantages, because right here in China is lived out before me all that I long to be as a missionary.”

One of the finest biographies I have ever read ….

MOTHER TERESA Author Eileen Egan

Mother Teresa’s work among the starving, the dying, the lepers, and the very poorest of the poor in Calcutta is now well known and honoured worldwide. Formal recognition has included the Nobel Peace Prize, and although she is not a British citizen, the order of Merit.

This biography is the authorized biography on her life, beginning from her childhood in Albania to just before her death. In a world where suffering and destruction seem ever more widespread, Mother Teresa’s life is remarkable and a huge challenge. Her work also has developed all over the world and is a legacy to this small woman’s’ awesome vision of the street. Malcolm Muggeridge has written a shorter biography on her life entitled “Something Beautiful for God” and that title summarizes her life.

In answering question about her life and work, she would always say:

Jesus said:

“I was hungry and you gave Me food
I was thirsty and you gave Me to drink
I was homeless and you took Me in
I was naked and you clothed Me
I was sick and you took care of Me
I was in prison and you visited Me

Truly, I say to you, for as long as you did it to those the least of my brothers, you did it to Me.”

Read this moving story, it will bring you to tears and make you examine what you are doing for the poor …

THE GOLD REGIONS OF SOUTH EASTERN AFRICA Author Thomas Baines

This book has been selected as the first volume in the Rhodesian Reprint Library as a tribute to the painstaking pre-pioneer exploration carried out by Thomas Baines in what is now Zimbabwe.

He traveled widely in Southern Africa, made a name for himself, as an official war artist with the British Forces in the Eastern Cape, was a member of David Livingstone’s Zambezi Expedition in 1862. As an artist, he was a most prolific worker and is especially remembered in Zimbabwe for his paintings of the Victoria Falls.

What I love about this book is the copy of a letter written to Baines from David Livingstone.

A great read for anyone interested in Thomas Baines.

CARL HENRY Author Bob Patterson

MAKERS OF THE MODERN THEOLOGICAL MIND

In 1978, Time Magazine named Henry Evangelism’s “teaching theologian”. No individual has provided ore intellectual dignity, prophetic insight, and clarification to the movement than Henry.

Therefore, this is an important book. It gives us an understanding about the whole evangelical movement especially in the 60’s and 70’s as it fought for the Bible. It also exposes us to Henry’s great theological mind.

So in our day where there is a war over the authority of the Bible, this will make this book an important book to read.

TOM COLLINS OF KENYA Author K.N. Phillips

“For 30 years his life was spent in an unwearied effort to evangelize the native races” … so runs the inscription on David Livingstone’s tomb in Westminster Abbey. The same epitaph might fittingly be used for this other pioneer missionary servant of God, Tom Collins, who also gave 30 years of his life for Christ and for AFRICA.

Tom Collins was born on 28th September, 1910 of Christian parents in Johannesburg, South Africa. When only 9 months of age he developed cataracts in both eyes but the specialists refused to operate on the baby … so the family went to live in England. By God’s grace he became an amazing missionary in Kenya where he was described a
“the nearest to David Livingstone of anyone I know in East Africa”.

Phillips wrote: “I felt the urge to place before the Christian public a record of the missionary labours of one who had performed unusual feats for the Kingdom of Christ.”

LIVINGSTONE’S PRIVATE JOURNALS Edited by I. Schapera

For years, I have searched for this book and at last, I found a copy and loved every page – it was an incredible read. Sell your house for it …..

In Missionary Travels and Researches, David Livingstone lamented the disappearance in Africa of a volume of his journal containing, as he says, “valuable notes on the habits of wild animals”. Although the volume was ultimately recovered and has been consulted by several of his biographers, this, this is the first time it has been published in full. It is essentially the contemporary record of Livingstone’s two journeys to Northern-Western Rhodesia in 1851-3. Apart from throwing important new light on the routes he took, it describes vividly the difficulties he occasionally encountered, adds considerably to our knowledge of the MaKolol and their chiefs Sebetwane and Sekeletu, contains information about Portuguese slave-traders tactfully omitted from Missionary Travels, reveals Livingstone as far more interested in natural history than geographical discovery or anthropology, and included many significant reflections on his walk with God and social progress. Two notable items are the original texts and letter in which the BaKwena chief Sechele reports the attack mad on him by the Boers in 1852, and in which Mrs. Mofatt bitterly reproaches Livingstone for taking his wife and children with him “on an exploring expedition.”

In 1853, he wrote this beautiful prayer:

“O if Jesus speaks one word of peace that will establish in thy breast an everlasting clam. O Jesus, fill me with Thy love now, and I beseech Thee accept me and use me a little for Thy glory. I have done nothing for Thee yet and I would like to do something. O do, do, I beseech Thee, accept me and my service and take Thou all the glory.”

What an incredible man and the greatest missionary Africa has ever known.

CHRIST IN CONGO FORESTS Author Norman Grubb

“To preach the Gospel not where Christ was named … to every creature …”

This filled the vision and fired the imagination of the early apostles and of the formed England cricket team C.T. Studd. He and some incredible people gave up everything and came to what was called “Darkest Africa.” They went to the old Belgian Congo and started the HEART OF AFRICA MISSION later to become the WORLDWIDE EVANGELISTIC CRUSADE (WEC). This book is their story, the story of the Heart of Africa missions.

For those with a passion for missions, this old classic will light up the fires to reach the unreached.

MACKAY OF UGANDA  written by his sister

I have been trying to get this book for the past 10 years and finally I found a copy. Alexander MacKay was the man who, against enormous odds, and constant threats of death by the King, opened up Uganda for the Gospel. When he died from Malaria, Henry Morton Stanley said of him:

“to my great grief, I learned that Mr. Mackay, the best missionary since Livingstone, died …”

A fellow missionary, A.J. Jephson said:

“not only is his death a sadness for his friends, but it is an irreparable loss to Africa.”

This book contains all the letters he wrote home and is edited by his sister. If you have a heart for Africa then sell your house to get a copy of this incredible book … I could not put it down!

ROWLAND BINGHAM Author Janet and Geoff Benge

The thought of a land with not one Christian and not one Missionary haunted Rowland. Images of cannibals and slaves pushed away sleep, and the words:

“Are you prepared to go if God calls you,” echoed over and over, as he turned in his bed. Was he willing to go to the Sudan, where white men nearly always died?

At the age of 20, Rowland committed himself to serving Africa, then known as the white mans grave. Experienced missionaries told Rowland that his dream was impossible. Soon with two friends, Walter Gowans and Tom Kent, he set out for the Sudan with no backing whatsoever. It was not long before Gowans and Kent died from Malaria … but he kept going. Later when Rowland died there were over 370 missionaries working with his mission, The Sudan Interior Mission.

A heart-wrenching story but one of unbelievable challenge to us today. Read it … it will change your life!!

FATHER OF FAITH MISSIONS Author Robert Dann

Ten years before David Livingstone first took ship for Africa, a 34-year old Englishman, with his wife and 2 boys, climbed off his weary horse at the gates of Baghdad. They had trekked more than 2000 miles over desert, rocks and mountains to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ancient capital of the Arabian Nights, the city of a 100 mosques. He was not the first evangelical missionary to the Muslim world. He was a boy of 11 when Martyn landed in Calcutta in 1806. But he went to Baghdad because he believed God has sent him.

This book is the incredible story of the life and times of ANTHONY NORRIS GROVES. When he packed his bags and set off for Baghdad, he was determined to leave behind him everything he had known of British Christianity. He took with him his Bible and a determination to teach exactly what he found there.

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