One part of my work as editor of EMQ that I particularly enjoy is choosing the themes of the issues. Sometimes those themes are suggested to me. But often I choose a theme based on critical issues being discussed in pockets of the missions world that are unknown across the whole of it. These topics are often ones that everyone would benefit to know more about.

For more than a year, I’d been considering an issue of EMQ featuring the indigenous peoples of the Americas. I knew about long-standing collaborative work in South America that could serve as a model for missions elsewhere. In the north, my heart was heavy for the indigenous communities impacted by “missions gone wrong.” An examination of what happened could help prevent these things from happening again.

With both of these things in my mind, I began exploring what an issue focusing on this topic could look like and who could contribute. ALTECO agreed to help me make connections in South America. That led to a trip to Brazil to see what was happening and to recruit article authors in person.

Up north, the path was more circuitous. A friend and mission leader in Canada introduced me to someone who introduced me to someone else who then connected me with yet another person who contributed the amazing story of the Korean Church’s partnership with First Nations communities in Canada. (Read Navigating Uncharted Territories). Other articles came through other seemingly disparate connections and paths.

Yet when everything came together several overarching themes emerged of how God is working across the Americas:

• God reaches people deepest when his story is contextualized into local languages and cultures. Well-meaning people can cause generations of needless pain when they don’t recognize this.
• Gospel knowledge does not equal gospel transformation. Few native people groups in the Americas have never heard of Jesus, but that doesn’t mean “the job is done.”
• Lasting gospel transformation happens through reciprocal relationships where everyone has something to give and receive.
• Working collaboratively across cultures powerfully demonstrates God’s Kingdom. Partnerships among foreign, non-indigenous nationals, and indigenous people offer a glimpse of heaven.

I loved this whole issue. Several articles brought me to tears while I was editing them. I can’t recommend just one article. This issue deserves a full read-through!

If you do not have a subscription, you can still read several articles in the issue that are available for free online.

Editorial:

• Walking Alongside our Indigenous Siblings

Special article preview: