Overview
Missionaries are called to cross boundaries for the sake of the gospel, adapting to new contexts and becoming ""all things to all people."" In such a role, how are missionaries to negotiate their own national identities? Do they simply suppress them or can such identities, rightly understood, be harnessed for the glory of Christ? In this study of the national facet of missionary identity, Dr. David Symon examines the specific example of Protestant Czech missionaries serving in the countries of the former Yugoslavia. Through interviews and related primary sources, including personal diaries, Symon demonstrates that an awareness of Czech national identity and its interplay with other facets of missionary identity can actually serve as a tool to reduce prejudice and increase effective contextualization for those ministering among Slavs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia. While centered on the context of mission in the Western Balkans, this book has implications for anyone engaged in international ministry for the sake of the gospel.
Full Product Details
Author: David Symon
Publisher: Langham Publishing
Imprint: Langham Academic
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 1.90cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.480kg
ISBN: 9781839739705
ISBN 10: 1839739703
Pages: 358
Publication Date: 30 November 2025
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
Availability: Not yet available, will be POD
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon it's release. This is a print on demand item which is still yet to be released.
Reviews
Backed up by rich empirical evidence, conversant with contemporary scholarly discussion, and guided by a sound methodology for interdisciplinary research, David Symon offers the reader a volume that has a great potential to make a significant contribution to the field of mission studies. Pavol Bargár, PhD Protestant Theological Faculty, Charles University, Czechia Contextualizing Missionary and National Identity sheds new light on modern mission from the Czech Republic and into the former Yugoslavia but clearly has implications for mission situations in which those who proclaim and who hear the gospel are positioned along linguistic, cultural, or religious continua. Paul Woods, PhD Theological Educator at Large, OMF International, UK
Author Information
DAVID SYMON has a PhD from the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, UK. He teaches missiology at Evangelical Theological Seminary, Czechia, and is the staffng and training manager for Endowment Fund Nehemia. He previously served with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) in Bosnia and Herzegovina and as the mission pastor for No Boundary Church in Prague, Czechia.
