Let me bring you into the messy process a bit on this one… about a year ago, someone wrote me to ask about doing an issue on tools being used to reach the least reached. I liked the idea and agreed to do it for a future issue. Fast forward six months and we reconnected on a Zoom call to discuss the idea. I thought we came away from that call with a clear path forward; my collaborator had a totally different idea. Neither of us realized it. Ahh, the joy of human communication!

Jump ahead another few months, and I’m thinking he is gathering authors and preparing them to write for the issue. Can you see where this is going? 

When I contacted him a couple of months before articles were due, expecting him to have the issue set, he barely remembered our conversation and told me he was happy to have one of his people write an article. What?!

There I was, less than two months before articles were due, and we didn’t even have a theme for the issue, much less a list of authors. In our next team conversation, we decided to pursue an issue on innovation and to ask our colleague, Paul Dzubinski, our Innovation Catalyst at FV, to help us invite authors. He went to work and the result is this excellent issue which will take you on a powerful journey through “Innovation in Missions.” What a kind and gracious God we serve who generously overlooked my failings and provided more articles than we could print

Some people think of innovation as synonymous with technology like phones and computers and other mechanical gadgets. Having just done an issue on AI a few months ago, we wanted to take a more expansive perspective on the concept of innovation.

With this issue, we are inviting you to make space to encounter God as you prayerfully read each article. We begin with Beth Gill, one of Dr. Ralph Winter’s four daughters, describing the values that have defined Frontier Ventures (FV) for 50 years. The US Center for World Mission, now FV, was an important innovation in missions, and Dr. Winter introduced many more innovations along the way.

Next, we dive into the theme with a warning. God is our foundation. All the innovations in the world can’t transform a single heart. Read Dr. Savage’s words and let them act as our base assumption throughout this issue. Innovations can be wonderful gifts from God, but they come under the Spirit; they don’t replace him. This is easy to forget.

Dr. Pickett runs us through a brief history of mission innovation followed by two articles that give context for a baseline of effective innovation. Following this, we consider specific, practical ideas among nomads, children, apps, and contextual Hindu communities.

Then, don’t miss two more online-only articles covering the need to consider big-picture systems innovation (Edmiston) and the importance and dangers when mixing innovation, Scripture, and formation (Chiang).

We close with our excellent columns covering books, mobilization, life on the field, and Gen Z calling. Lastly, our Final Reflection invites you to marvel in the beauty of God’s creation and our coloring page allows you (or your kids or grandkids) to slow down. As always, we hope you choose to pray for the unreached each day over the next couple of months.

With that, we bring you across the globe and to the edges of innovation while keeping you grounded in Christ. May you walk in humility, full of God’s creative Spirit, as you seek innovative ways to see his glory realized in whatever context you find yourself.

Duke Dillard