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Christianity Today 2024 Book Awards, Missions/Global Church category, Finalist

Are you preparing to take the gospel to the nations?

You’ve said “yes” to God’s call to go, and now you will pack up your things and step into the unknown of a new location, people, and culture. The following years will likely include great joy, frustration, homesickness, difficulty, and excitement. In this book, ten women who have served on the mission field share what they wish they had known before they began.

This book is a handbook for entering the mission field, including essays on:

• Discerning your calling  
• Leaving what you love  
• Serving well on a team   
• Engaging in prayer and evangelism  
• Fellowshipping through suffering  
• Going as a married or single woman  
• Taking kids overseas  
• Dealing with fear and anxiety  
• Spiritual habits of a missionary

These essays are from Emily Bennett (general editor), Ruth Ripken, Cyndi Logsdon, Hilary Alan, CJ Olivia, Lydia Pettus, Emily Watkins, Sydney Dixon, Amy Bowman, and Nina Buser.

About the Author

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Emily Bennett grew up in Clinton, Wisconsin. She attended Winona State University and completed her bachelor’s degree in education. She met her husband Matt in college, and they worked on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship for two years together. It was through the ministry of InterVarsity and the Urbana Missions Conference that both Emily & Matt felt a growing desire to both be trained and sent as missionaries. Before moving overseas, she completed a Master of Divinity & a Master of Arts in intercultural studies from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Emily and Matt served in North Africa for seven years with their three children, Anabelle, Elliot, and Oliver. She is currently living in Ohio working with an organization that helps internationals learn English and transition to life in the U.S. Matt (her husband) is a professor at Cedarville University and both she and her husband love encouraging future missionaries both from the University as well as in their local church. 

Praise For…

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 “When God called me to be a pastor, he did so by first calling me to the mission field. I spent the first two years of my ministry as a church planter among Muslims overseas. God never relinquished that call to missions; he showed me that my role in it is to be a part of a church that sends men and women to follow their calling to international missions.

The first few years on the field are crucial in laying the groundwork for future ministry. Before You Go is an incredible resource for those who are beginning that journey. I have tremendous admiration for many of the contributors, and I believe this book will strengthen and encourage women as they follow the call to go and make disciples of all the nations. May God cover the earth with these great heroes of faith!”
-J.D. Greear, Ph.D., Pastor, The Summit Church, Raleigh-Durham, NC

“Before You Go is a gem. Written by women that God called to reach the nations, they share biblical truth and practical wisdom learned on the field as they engaged the battle for souls. We have needed a book like this for a long time. Now we have it.”
-Daniel L. Akin, President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

“I remember the vast array of emotions I felt before our family left for the mission field eighteen years ago. Mixed with excitement, uncertainty, joy, and terror was also an intense hunger to learn from those who had gone before me. My heart was steadfast and my resolve sure, but I knew enough to know I had no idea what I was getting into! Before You Go is a precious gift from veteran saints to a new generation of women preparing to make Jesus known around the globe. These writers humbly and graciously share from a breadth of experience in varied locations, roles, and seasons of life, offering new missionaries scriptural insight, practical advice, and warm words of encouragement. I will heartily recommend Before You Go to all the new women missionaries the Lord brings our way.” 
-Courtney Dobson, missionary in North Africa