





































Ecclesial Futures
2023 – Volume 4 – Issue 2

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Ecclesial Futures – DOI: 10.54195/ef18340

B O O K  R E V I E W

DOI: 10.54195/ef18340

Farrell, B. Hunter, and S. Balajiedlang 
Khyllep. 2022. Freeing Congregational Mission: 
A Practical Vision for Companionship, Cultural 
Humility, and Co-Development
Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.
ISBN: 9781514000687

Reviewed by Say Young Lee

Freeing Congregational Mission serves as a comprehensive guidebook for the church’s 
mission, anchored in the theology of missio Dei. It particularly delves into the vision 
and practice of short-term mission (STM) within the context of mainline churches 
in the United States. From a historical standpoint, STM have emerged as a potent 
missionary strategy, characterized by explosive growth and expansion, fueled by a 
sense of urgent eschatology. This growth is intertwined with church growth theology 
and missions for unreached people groups.

The emergence of missio Dei paradigm in the twentieth century broadened the scope 
of missions to encompass various social justice activities, extending beyond mere 
evangelism and church planting. Nevertheless, the locus of control and agency for 
missions often resided with the church and mission organizations, rather than attrib-
uting the primary agency to God. This inclination also led to a colonial perspective, 
aiming to transform mission fields from the vantage point of the sending church. 
Consequently, the practice of STM still continues to retain a colonial undertone, 
seeking to extend the church’s influence and assert cultural and spiritual superiority 
over the host communities. This enduring dynamic illustrates that while missiolog-
ical theology has evolved, missions have remained largely within the domain of the 
church’s mission in the modern era.

In this book, leveraging their rich experience in the mission field, denominational 
leadership, and theological education, Hunter and Bala adeptly reveal the realities of 
the church’s mission practice as described above. They introduce a vision and theo-
logical foundation for renewing the church’s mission in the first section of the book. 



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In the second section, they provide church mission leaders with a practical method-
ology for practising companionship-based missions and enacting tangible transfor-
mations that align with God’s mission. This book offers a roadmap for nurturing a 
missional spirituality, addressing challenges such as colonialism, cultural superiority, 
and consumerism in mission work. It accentuates the significance of companion-
ship-based missions grounded in Jesus’ life and a community centred on the gospel, 
and offers concrete examples for transforming readers’ behaviours and habits.

What sets this book apart is its recognition of issues not only within the context 
of church-centred missions and colonialism but also within the self-centric and 
self-satisfying mission practices rooted in consumerism prevalent in the US (7). The 
authors critique self-satisfying missions for diminishing God’s role in the mission and 
reducing it to a mere “to-do list” for human accomplishment (9). They highlight how 
consumerist missions within American churches, especially mainstream ones, prior-
itize the individual over God. The authors particularly critique STM participants from 
American churches for pursuing self-satisfaction by indulging their personal good-
will. In essence, they acknowledge the potential of STM as a form of spiritual training, 
contributing to the expansion of God’s kingdom through human effort. However, 
they also acknowledge the irony that such endeavours can inadvertently strengthen 
a human-centred approach to missions, ultimately replacing God’s sovereignty with 
human agency in missionary endeavours. Consequently, they advocate for a renewal 
in the church’s mission practices, emphasizing the need for a shift towards missions 
driven by God and motivated by a quest for his kingdom, rather than centred around 
human objectives.

Building upon this awareness of STM challenges, the authors seek solutions rooted 
in Jesus’ life and the Gospel-centred community, providing alternatives to the issues 
of colonialism, cultural superiority and consumeristic missions. They introduce 
three elements for fostering a community’s spiritual reclamation. First, they present 
a theology rooted in Jesus’ companionship, contrasting with self-centric missions. 
Secondly, they propose a cultural humility grounded in the Incarnation, as an alter-
native to colonial attitudes. Thirdly, they advocate for a methodology centred around 
mutual cooperation rather than a unilateral approach where the giver transforms 
the receiver. According to the authors, the keyword for gospel-based missions is 
“companionship”, a concept rooted in shared experiences such as meals and journeys 
(47). Unlike a partnership focused on projects, companionship is a relationship that 
stems from vulnerability, where weaknesses are shared rather than power dynamics 
(50). As such, companionship is not about the achievement (52). The authors argue 
that for readers to engage in companionship-based missions, they need to shift their 



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focus from self-centred endeavours to God-centred missions, emphasizing the need 
to display a shared direction centred on Jesus (60).

Consequently, the authors posit that the companionship-based missions they advo-
cate aren’t about individually-driven or church-centred missions, aimed at conver-
sions and discipleship. Instead, they promote a journey of humble companionship 
rooted in Jesus’ life and demonstrated through a community united by the gospel 
(62). Such missions aren’t about powerful individuals transforming the weak, but 
about emulating Jesus’ mission, a collaborative effort that transcends distinctions 
(67). This approach prioritizes a gradual, shared missionary journey (229) rather than 
swift transformations. In this context, the authors call upon church mission leaders 
to alter their attitudes and methodologies in order to align their mission practice 
with the concept of companionship-based missions, providing practical strategies 
for implementing these changes.

The book also stands out for its role as a guide in cultivating missional spirituality. The 
authors’ focus lies in altering misguided behaviors and habits deeply ingrained in the 
readers’ lives. Their language is pragmatic and grounded in everyday life, avoiding 
doctrinal or metaphysical complexities. Through practical, real-life examples, they 
offer a roadmap for adopting more desirable patterns of thinking and behaviour, 
particularly in the context of mission mobilization. A notable example includes the 
three stones the authors present as alternatives for revitalizing missions, symbol-
izing a “home” represented by the cooking fire in Congo, where Hunter served (14). 
Through this metaphor, they underscore the centrality of companionship-based 
missions (15). Moreover, the authors share a specific case involving differing opin-
ions between missionary and local inhabitants, regarding the installation of wells or 
sports fields in Congo (21). This case makes the concept relatable and practical, illus-
trating the mistakes and challenges that churches in the US might have experienced. 
Furthermore, at the conclusion of each narrative about the theoretical foundation of 
the three stones, the authors offer practical methodologies for implementation. In 
Section 2, they provide detailed practical manuals for short-term missions, children 
and family ministry, and training mission leaders. These manuals guide the applica-
tion of missio Dei theology beyond theoretical discourse and into the realm of prac-
tical church mission, emphasizing both spiritual development and practical action.

However, while the authors emphasize that cross-cultural training isn’t a manual 
approach, system, method or technique, but rather a spirituality emerging from deep 
meditation on the gospel and obedience to Jesus (100), it’s somewhat disappointing 
that the book doesn’t offer more guidance on cultivating an everyday missional 
spirituality, something that should be an ongoing and regular practice. Moreover, 



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while the authors’ provision of comprehensive manuals for renewing church mission 
practice can be viewed as a contribution toward God’s mission, from the perspective 
of understanding a community as an organic entity, the practical methodology in the 
book seems to lean toward modern, Western approaches that aim to change indi-
viduals and organizations through planned manuals and deliberate education (234).

Nonetheless, the authors’ responses to pertinent and well-articulated questions 
regarding the mission practice that aligns with the missio Dei paradigm and the rele-
vance of short-term missions are astute and aptly presented throughout the book. 
The authors’ emphasis on theology of companionship, cultural humility, and the prac-
tical aspects of co-development as the foundation of short-term missions, alongside 
their presentation of specific ministry models, resonates well with the contemporary 
role and responsibilities of the church. I firmly agree that these topics are essen-
tial and timely discussions and responses. Furthermore, by highlighting that STM 
have served as opportunities for participants’ spiritual training and growth, the book 
addresses the question of opportunity cost for STM, that is, whether the resources 
invested in STM are merely consumed for self-satisfaction. The book firmly answers 
this question with a “no”, stating that STM of the church can be valuable and mean-
ingful dedications for the sake of missional spiritual training rooted in God’s mission.

About the author
Say Young Lee, President of Mission Incubators, SC, USA.
sayyounglee@fuller.edu

mailto:sayyounglee@fuller.edu

