Risk Setting Your Soul on Fire: Start Reading Missionary Biographies Today

Serious Christians read theology. Insert the name of your favorite theologian here ____________. Maybe from time to time you dabble in some practical Christian living paperbacks. Obviously, you read good blogs. I mean, you’re here on Rooted Thinking. But why not branch out? Why not start reading missionary biographies?

Few believers today read missionary biographies. I’m not going to list why not. I don’t understand it myself. Missionary biographies have been a blessing and an inspiration to me throughout my spiritual journey. So here is a whole stack of reasons why you should start reading a missionary biography today.

Missionary Biographies Reveal God at Work

A good missionary biography shows what God did through ordinary people. God is the hero, not the subject of the biography. He steps in, answers prayer, and shows Himself strong in the mundane and the crises. What God began in the book of Acts continues to the present. If you want to see God at work, read a missionary biography.

Missionary Biographies Show Faith in Action

A good missionary biography provides a glimpse into the heart of a servant of God. It all began when Jonathan Edwards published the first missionary biography, The Life and Diary of David Brainerd. This work revealed Brainerd’s aspirations for God’s glory and efforts to further the gospel among the Native Americans. It has inspired countless believers including William Carey to draw close to God and to share His gospel with others. If you want to know what true dedication to God looks like, read a missionary biography.

Missionary Biographies Provide Timeless Discipleship

A good missionary biography teaches through example. As the subject of the biography learns to follow God and apply His Word to life, the reader sees how he too can grow in his faith. I have often joked that I was discipled by dead guys. It’s true. Because of missionary biographies, I have learned much from Hudson Taylor, Adoniram Judson, Ann Judson, Mary Slessor, John Paton, Geoffrey Bull, Harriet Newell, John Paton, Eric Liddell, and so many others. If you want to be mentored by those God used in the past, read a missionary biography.

Missionary Biographies Cut Through Lies You Don’t Know You Believe

A good missionary biography steps through time to illustrate truth. We often think the problems we face today are new. Unless you read history, you may remain in that delusion. We may pity ourselves, believing that no one has endured the trials we are facing. Think again. Missionary biographies reveal we are not alone in our struggles. What the missionaries of the past learned through their trials can help us to persevere. We do not know the end of our story, but we know the end of theirs. And every time, God is faithful. If you want to find how others have learned to overcome in the face of difficulty–how to apply truth in the trenches–, read a missionary biography.

Missionary Biographies Expand Your Vision

A good missionary biography puts your ministry in a broader context. No matter your role in God’s work, a missionary has been there at some point in their lives. Great Commission work is essentially the same regardless of the century, continent, or culture. The veneer changes but the heart of evangelism and discipleship remains the same. Seeing through the eyes of a missionary of the past can bring new perspective on the work in front of you. In times of discouragement, seeing a bigger picture of what God is doing in the world can inspire you to go on. If you want to enlarge your perspective and think outside your own immediate context, read a missionary biography.

Convinced? Where Do You Start?

What are you waiting for? Do you not like blessing, encouragement, and inspiration? Start reading a missionary biography today. Click the button below for a comprehensive list of recommendations from William Carey to Jim Elliot and beyond.

More specifically, if you want to know where to start, here are my recommendations:

• Ready to jump right in? Read a more recent missionary biography like Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose.
• Avid reader? Dive into the deep end rich with truth, reading the two-volume biography of Hudson Taylor by Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor.
• Not much of a reader? Start with my missions devotionals. They will introduce you to missionaries with a 3-4-page snapshot from their lives. Each day’s reading comes with a recommendation for a full biography, so you can choose where to go from there.

Final Thought: A Soul on Fire?

In the early 1800s, as young George Boardman considered heading to the mission field, he read the missionary biographies of Henry Martyn and Samuel Mills. He wrote in his journal, “My soul seemed to have caught new fire…I hope God has important designs to be accomplished by even me, his most unworthy servant.”¹ Boardman went on to serve with Adoniram Judson in Burma where God used him to begin a gospel movement among the Karen people that brought thousands to the Lord.

Do you dare risk your soul catching on fire? Read a missionary biography.

1. Alonzo King, Memoir of George Dana Boardman, Late Missionary to Burmah: Containing Much Intelligence Relative to the Burman Mission (Boston: Lincoln & Edmands, 1834), 61–62. I got this quote from a missionary biography that I am reading for the first time today! ↩︎