If you are busy (!) and have time to read only one book on missions history this year, make it this gem. With the glad tidings of Christmas and Easter in their hearts, and with the love of God compelling, small numbers of missionaries set sail to "advance the gospel in the regions beyond." In Arabia, Turkey, and Persia missionaries endured more hardships, suffered the death of more children, and laid down their lives in greater numbers than we who have made some attempt in recent years to follow the trail they blazed. It is not for us to judge those missionaries who came before us--they were made of sterner stuff--but there are lessons to learn, cautionary tales. When one reads Henry Riggs' thoughtful, heartfelt examination of his own missionary life in Turkey and Lebanon and Jerusalem, which Livingstone incudes in an appendix, one feels empowered to keep telling the message to those who need it most, and to stand on the shoulders of giants. As Greg Livingstone has said, "It's too soon to celebrate, too soon to quit." -Bob Blincoe, Frontiers US President emeritus Greg Livingstone, along with his Research Associates, have produced a ground breaking historical overview of evangelistic efforts among Muslims in Turkey, Persia and the Middle East. Perhaps never before has so much information on this subject been brought to publication.
It is heartrending to read of the dedication of hundreds who went forth to toil and persevere through innumerable obstacles and then see only trickles of converts, many of whom, under intense family pressure revert to Islamic faith. The reader will be surprised to read how many of the pioneer missionaries were women. Greg points out that their witness usually brought little tangible fruit.+ One can only salute these soldiers of the cross who labored in a male dominated culture. Livingstone has lived with his 'magnificent obsession' throughout his extremely productive life. His founding of FRONTIERS allowed for hundreds of visionaries to flow forth to every majority Muslim nation in the world. Kudos to my good friend, Greg, for producing a work that will help new recruits learn from past unheralded heroes. Their successes and failures will be a guide for all to ponder.
-Phil Parshall, SIM I cannot recommend too highly the outstanding new work by Dr. Greg Livingstone, The Greatest Toil Ever Storied: Reflections on Protestant Mission to Muslims, Volume 1: Turkey, Persia, Mesopotamia, and the Arab World 1800 ñ 1978. Dr. Livingstone has combined an amazing breadth of historic detail and personal experience with a concern for their application to current missions +work. This volume should be required reading for anyone desiring to serve God in the Muslim world, so that they might take advantage of the hard lessons learned by those who have given their lives to that work. -Tim Lewis, CEO Telos Fellowship, Frontiers International Director Emeritus, Frontiers Senior Strategist I have known of Greg Livingstone since the early 1990's, and have been honored to know him more personally over that last 4 years. Anything coming from the heart and pen of this catalytic servant of Jesus is worth the reader's time and prayerful engagement! -Kevin Higgins, General Director, Frontier Ventures.