This month, our theme in Tirzah Magazine is justice and missions. Missionary work is often bucketed into just one category: overseas missions. But what if we’re called to missions work in one way or another, whether it is at home or abroad? Merriam Webster defines the word missionary as “a person undertaking a mission and especially a religious mission; relating to, engaged in, or devoted to missions.”

In Matthew 28:19-20, Christians were given their mission by Jesus himself: 

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

It is a mission transcending age, time and geography. It is a mission for every single Christian.

If you want to study this mission of disciple making deeper, check out our free Bible study on this topic (includes a free 33-page downloadable PDF and accompanying videos)! Today though, we want to point you to a few other books that relate specifically to missions work for women. 

We’ve tried to include a variety of titles, genres and themes to keep this list edifying and educational. From autobiographies of legendary overseas missionaries like George Müller, Elisabeth Eliot and Amy Carmichael, to what ministry looks like more locally: in your church, in inner cities, Titus 2 spiritual mothering. We also included a couple books that focus on issues relating to women and girls around the world. 

So, regardless of whether you feel called to overseas missions or ministry work in your local church, we hope you’ll add each of these books to your reading list. The below summaries are pulled from the back of each book.

1.      Becoming Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn

“Elisabeth Elliot was a young missionary in Ecuador when members of a violent Amazonian tribe savagely speared her husband Jim and his four colleagues. Incredibly, prayerfully, Elisabeth took her toddler daughter, snakebite kit, Bible, and journal . . . and lived in the jungle with the Stone-Age people who killed her husband. Compelled by her friendship and forgiveness, many came to faith in Jesus. 

This courageous, no-nonsense Christian went on to write dozens of books, host a long-running radio show, and speak at conferences all over the world. She was a pillar of coherent, committed faith; a beloved and sometimes controversial icon. In this authorized biography, Becoming Elisabeth Elliot, bestselling author Ellen Vaughn uses Elisabeth’s private, unpublished journals, and candid interviews with her family and friends, to paint the adventures and misadventures God used to shape one of the most influential women in modern church history. It’s the story of a hilarious, sensual, brilliant, witty, self-deprecating, sensitive, radical, and surprisingly relatable person utterly submitted to doing God’s will, no matter how high the cost. For Elisabeth, the central question was not, “How does this make me feel?” but, simply, “is this true?” If so, then the next question was, “what do I need to do about it to obey God?””

2.      Spiritual Mothering: The Titus 2 Model for Women Mentoring Women by Susan Hunt

“Presents a fully biblical and extremely practical vision for intergenerational ministry so that women of all ages can know the blessing of spiritual mother-daughter relationships.

For many churches, women's ministries, and women's Bible study groups, the missing element of discipleship is the interpersonal aspect. Titus 2:3-5 clarifies what mature spiritual relationships between generations of women should look like. Susan Hunt unveils how to put that model into action with stories of biblical and contemporary women who have responded to God's call, as well as page after page of personal encouragement, practical insight, and ministry-tested how-to's.

Through this wisdom-packed book, churches, groups, and individuals will be equipped to reach across generational lines-and inspired to experience the blessing of nurturing, godly relationships so that every Christian woman may flourish in her faith.”

3.      Everybody Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People by Bob Goff

“What happens when we stop avoiding difficult people and simply love everyone? In his wildly entertaining and inspiring follow-up to the New York Times bestselling phenomenon Love Does, Bob Goff takes readers on a life-altering journey into the secret of living without fear, care, constraint, or worry. The path toward the outsized, unfettered, liberated existence we all long for is found in a truth as simple to say as it is hard to do: love people, even the difficult ones, without distinction and without limits. 

Driven by Bob's trademark hilarious and insightful storytelling, Everybody Always reveals the lessons Bob learned - often the hard way - about what it means to love without inhibition, insecurity, or restriction. From finding the right friends to discovering the upside of failure, Everybody Always points the way to embodying love by doing the unexpected, the intimidating, the seemingly impossible. Whether losing his shoes while skydiving solo or befriending a Ugandan witch doctor, Bob steps into life with a no-limits embrace of others that is as infectious as it is extraordinarily ordinary. Everybody Always reveals how we can do the same.”

4.      A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot

“A Chance to Die is a vibrant portrayal of Amy Carmichael, an Irish missionary and writer who spent fifty-three years in south India without furlough. There she became known as "Amma," or "mother," as she founded the Dohnavur Fellowship, a refuge for underprivileged children.

Amy's life of obedience and courage stands as a model for all who claim the name of Christ. She was a woman with desires and dreams, faults and fears, who gave her life unconditionally to serve her Master. Bringing Amma to life through inspiring photos and compelling biographical narrative, Elisabeth Elliot urges readers to examine the depths of their own commitment to Christ.”

5.      If by Amy Carmichael.

“A little book about Calvary love in common life - one of the favorite Carmichael books, Based on I Corinthians 13.”

6.      Word-Filled Women’s Ministry: Loving and Serving the Church by Gloria Furman and Kathleen B. Nielson.

“The Bible is clear that women as well as men are created in God's image and intended to serve him with their lives. But what does this look like for women in the church?

Helping church leaders think through what a Bible-centered women’s ministry looks like, this collection of essays by respected Bible teachers and authors such as Gloria Furman, Nancy Guthrie, and Susan Hunt addresses a variety of topics relevant to women. Whether exploring the importance of intergenerational relationships, the Bible’s teaching on sexuality, or women’s roles in the church and the home, this book of wise teaching and practical instruction will become a must-have resource for anyone interested in bolstering the health and vitality of the local church.”

7.   The Well-Watered Woman: Rooted in Truth, Growing in Grace, Flourishing in Faith by Gretchen Saffles

“In the chaos of our everyday, it can be difficult to live out and apply the truths of Scripture. We want more of Jesus, but we find ourselves looking to our own lives and accomplishments for our worth and identity. And while that may buoy us for a time, we’re often left feeling dried up, discouraged, and longing for more.

Gretchen Saffles knows what it’s like to feel overwhelmed and unable to flourish. In The Well-Watered Woman, Gretchen leads us to the Well of fullness, the Word of freedom, and the Way of fruitfulness. She teaches that God’s Word will satisfy us for all eternity.

Using Scripture and her own personal story of surrender, Gretchen offers spiritually hungry women tangible tools to not only know Jesus more but to live a life that thoroughly enjoys Him, seeks Him, and follows Him into freedom.”

8.     Susie: The Life and Legacy of Susannah Spurgeon, wife of Charles H. Spurgeon by Ray Rhodes Jr.

“While many Christians recognize the name of Charles H. Spurgeon, the beloved preacher and writer, few are familiar with the life and legacy of his wife, Susie.  Yet Susannah Spurgeon was an accomplished and devout woman of God who had a tremendous ministry in her own right, as well as in support of her husband. 

Even while dealing with serious health issues, she administered a book fund for poor pastors, edited and published her husband’s sermons and other writings, led a pastor’s aid ministry, wrote five books, made her home a hub of hospitality, and was instrumental in planting a church. And as her own writing attests, she was also a warm, charming, and fascinating woman.

Now, for the first time, Susie brings this vibrant woman’s story to modern readers. Ray Rhodes Jr. examines Susannah’s life, showing that she was not only the wife of London’s most famous preacher, but also a woman who gave all she had in grateful service to the Lord.”

9.     Adorned: Living Out the Beauty of the Gospel Together by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

“The Titus 2 model of older women living out the gospel alongside younger women is vital for us all to thrive. It is mutually strengthening, glorifies God, and makes His truth believable to our world.

Imagine older women investing themselves in the lives of younger women, blessing whole families and churches. Imagine young wives, moms, and singles gaining wisdom and encouragement from women who’ve been there and have found God’s ways to be true and good. Imagine all women—from older women to young girls—living out His transforming gospel together, growing the entire body of Christ to be more beautiful.

This is Christian community as God designed it. Read this book and take your relationships to new depths, that your life might find its fullest meaning as you adorn the gospel of Christ.”

10.  Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption by Katie Davis

“The New York Times bestselling account of a courageous eighteen-year-old from Nashville who gave up every comfort and convenience to become the adoptive mother to thirteen girls in Uganda.

What would cause an eighteen-year-old senior class president and homecoming queen from Nashville, Tennessee, to disobey and disappoint her parents by forgoing college, break her little brother’s heart, lose all but a handful of her friends (because they think she has gone off the deep end), and break up with the love of her life, all so she could move to Uganda, where she knew only one person and didn’t even speak the language? A passion to follow Jesus.

Katie Davis left over Christmas break of her senior year for a short mission trip to Uganda and her life was turned completely inside out. She found herself so moved by the people of Uganda and the needs she saw that she knew her calling was to return and care for them. Katie, a charismatic and articulate young woman, is in the process of adopting thirteen children in Uganda and has established a ministry, Amazima, that feeds and sends hundreds more to school while teaching them the Word of Jesus Christ.

Kisses from Katie invites readers on a journey of radical love down the red dirt roads of Uganda. You’ll laugh and cry with Katie as she follows Jesus into the impossible and finds joy and beauty beneath the dust. Katie and her children delight in saying yes to the people God places in front of them and challenge readers to do the same, changing the world one person at a time.”

11.  The Billy Graham Christian Worker's Handbook: A Topical Guide with Biblical Answers to the Urgent Concerns of Our Day by Charles G. Ward

“This book is a topical guide with biblical answers to the urgent concerns of our day. It is a valuable resource for any Christian interested in sharpening his or her skills in using the Bible to share Christ with a needy world.”

12.  The Autobiography of George Müller by George Müller

“George Müller, a rebellious thief transformed into a humble servant of God, longed for his life to be a living manifestation of the strength and power of Christ. From a position of utter dependence upon God, Müller opens up his journals and offers us front row access to the inner workings of his own spiritual life as well as an intimate accounting of the miraculous provisions of God which enabled him to house, feed and care for thousands of orphans in 19th century England. Müller humbly beckons every single one of his readers to follow his lead toward a life of uncomplicated, dynamic faith in the King of kings and Lord of lords who is alive and waiting to overturn every paradigm of a watching world.

Our modern world desperately needs to see the power and light of the risen Christ bursting forth from our lives. Who among us is willing to take up the baton of faith Müller extends to us here and offer up our lives as living sacrifices to the faithful God of love?”

13.  The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson

“The dramatic and inspiring true story of a small-town minister called to help inner city kids everyone else believed were beyond hope...

David Wilkerson was just a young preacher in the Pennsylvania hills when he was stunned by a new calling from God: go to New York City to speak to seven young gang members on trial for murder.

But something much greater was to come. Once in New York, David was inspired to stay for a lifetime of helping troubled teenagers get free of drugs and crime. With the word of God in his ears, he founded an inner-city ministry still known as the Teen Challenge to change their paths and alter thousands of lives forever.”

14.   Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

“With Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn as our guides, we undertake an odyssey through Africa and Asia to meet the extraordinary women struggling there, among them a Cambodian teenager sold into sex slavery and an Ethiopian woman who suffered devastating injuries in childbirth. Drawing on the breadth of their combined reporting experience, Kristof and WuDunn depict our world with anger, sadness, clarity, and, ultimately, hope.

They show how a little help can transform the lives of women and girls abroad. That Cambodian girl eventually escaped from her brothel and, with assistance from an aid group, built a thriving retail business that supports her family. The Ethiopian woman had her injuries repaired and in time became a surgeon. A Zimbabwean mother of five, counseled to return to school, earned her doctorate and became an expert on AIDS. 

Through these stories, Kristof and WuDunn help us see that the key to economic progress lies in unleashing women’s potential. They make clear how so many people have helped to do just that, and how we can each do our part. Throughout much of the world, the greatest unexploited economic resource is the female half of the population. Countries such as China have prospered precisely because they emancipated women and brought them into the formal economy. Unleashing that process globally is not only the right thing to do; it’s also the best strategy for fighting poverty.”

15.   The Hole in our Gospel by Richard Stearns

“Is our faith only about going to church, studying the Bible, and avoiding the most serious sins? Or does God expect more? Have we embraced the whole gospel or a gospel with a hole in it?

More than twenty years ago, Rich Stearns came face-to-face with that question as he sat in a mud hut in Rakai, Uganda, listening to the heartbreaking story of an orphaned child. Stearns’s journey took much more than a long flight to Africa. 

It took answering God’s call on his life, a call that tore him out of his corner office at one of America’s most prestigious corporations, to walk with the poorest of the poor in our world. Stearns’s compelling story demonstrates that the whole gospel was always meant to be a world-changing social revolution, a revolution that begins with each one of us.”

Have you read any of these books? What were your favorite takeaways?

Are there any books you’d add to this list? Leave your recommendations below!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Yelena is the founder and editor in chief Tirzah. Yelena works as an attorney in tax and in her spare time, she is working on her first book for unmarried twenty-something women in extended waiting seasons and running Tirzah. She has a passion for pointing young women to Christ, and enjoys reading, writing, traveling, and spending time with her family.