Gospel for Asia founder KP Yohannan’s “Revolution in World Missions” has helped spark growth of indigenous-Christian-worker movement.
WILLS POINT, Texas—A book first met with controversy but now widely credited with helping change the face of modern missions is marking a major milestone—more than four million copies in print.
Since it was published in 1986, Dr. K.P. Yohannan‘s Revolution in World Missions has helped spark the change its title champions, enabling thousands of indigenous men and women to be the hands and feet of Jesus around the world.
Written by the founder of GFA (Gospel for Asia), the book tells of his personal call to be part of taking the love of Christ to a world so desperate in need, and challenges readers to a radical lifestyle of all-out commitment to Christ and his cause. It also advocates what has been called a “third wave” in missions, shifting away from a focus on sending Western missionaries to one that is more on support for national Christian workers.
Leaders who endorsed the book include George Verwer, founder and former international director of Operation Mobilization. Rev. Dr. Paul Blackham, CEO of Biblical Frameworks in London, England, calls the book “one of the great classics of Christian literature.”
Since the book first came out, Yohannan has seen Gospel for Asia (GFA) grow into one of the most influential movements in this generation. With an emphasis on practical expressions of God’s love, workers are involved in a wide range of ministries, from providing fresh water and health care to literacy programs, vocational training and childhood education.
In the latest, revised edition of Revolution in World Missions, Yohannan writes of how “the Holy Spirit is moving over Asian and African nations, raising up thousands of dedicated men and women to take the story of [Christ’s love] to their own people, helping them to hear for the first time about the love of God.”
Reflecting on the impact of his book, Yohannan said that he was shocked by how many people have been touched, with many ministries started as a result.
“I’m constantly amazed what God will do with a life that’s surrendered to him and a heart that wants to follow after him,” he said. “God loves us all, and we must also love everyone enough to pay any price to take his love to the world. We have so many examples of those who have paved the way for us,” Yohannan said. “It was Adoniram Judson who brought hope to millions who had none in Burma and the neighboring nations, and he lived a perpetual life of suffering to do so. It was Christ’s love that compelled him, and it is the same for us.”
Born in South India in 1950, Yohannan had an encounter with God as a timid teenager that transformed his life. After several years with Operation Mobilization, he studied in seminary before founding Gospel for Asia (GFA). He has published more than 200 books in Asia—11 in the U.S.—and broadcasts radio programs Spiritual Journey and Road to Reality around the world.
Translated into eight languages, Revolution in World Missions is available free at the GFA website, at gfa.org/getthebookfree.
GFA (Gospel for Asia) has – for more than 30 years ‒ provided humanitarian assistance and spiritual hope to millions across Asia, especially among those who have yet to hear the Good News. Last year, this included more than 70,000 sponsored children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,000 wells drilled, over 11,000 water filters installed, Christmas presents for more than 200,000 needy families, and spiritual teaching available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry.