How can we Christians make sure we are presenting the good news of Christ truly, and in a way that the Lord's claims are understood? How do we steer clear of ideas that convey something other than God's truth? Culture clings to the message and the messenger, tradition and the "old ways" don't go away; and our own innate short-comings work against us. The result: a distorted message, an unclear call, a missed opportunity, and souls forever lost.

Because of such desperately high stakes, contextualization -- the preaching and teaching, sharing and showing of God's saving gospel "in context" -- becomes crucial.

"The conviction behind this volume is that contextualization, biblically based and Holy Spirit-led, is a requirement for evangelical missions today," says the editor, Dean S. Gilliland. "Contextualization is incarnational -- the Word which became flesh dwells among us. It clarifies for each nation or people the meaning of the confession, 'Jesus is Lord.' It liberates the church in every place to hear what the Spirit is saying...what obedience to the gospel requires. These are the components of a theology for mission that meets the needs of today's world."

Joining Dean Gilliland in this pathfinding volume are twelve members of the faculty of the School of World Mission of Fuller Theological Seminary: Arthur F. Glasser, Charles Van Enge, Paul G. Hiebert, Charles H. Kraft, R. Daniel Shaw, Viggo Sogaard, James Robert Clinton, Edgar Elliston, C. Peter Wagner, Edmund Gibbs, Tan Che-Bin, and Dudley Woodberry.