Lived Missiology examines the life of Ernest and Phebe Ward, the pioneer missionaries of the Free Methodist Church outside the United States. Featuring the work of the Wards in Central India during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the book offers the subaltern (Dalit) perspective. Aiming to understand biography as missiology, Mahendra provides not merely a historical account of the Wards’ work but also investigates what it meant theologically for the Wards to be called to do missionary work among the native population of India.
Undertaking the important task of telling the story of the lesser well-known figures in mission history, the author introduces his readers to previously unstudied sources, with the unpublished letters of the Wards, manuscripts of literary pieces (articles, plays), and diaries that illuminate the daily life and language work of the missionaries, among others. Mahendra engages with US-based self-published books by the Wards and also draws upon the perspective of contemporary Indian authors, which allows for a multi-faceted perspective on how Wards’ missiology was formative for today's mission strategies and methods in the Free Methodist Church.
Drawing upon various historical and missiological sources, the author constructs the story of the Wards through the fivefold thematic framework, namely, biography; evangelism and church planting; humanitarian work; interreligious encounters; and the theme of holiness in missiology of the Wards. Preceded by the helpful biographical account of the Wards’ family (chapter 2), the aforementioned themes are explored throughout chapters 3–7, investigating the evangelistic and church-planting activities of the Wards, their social service, the interdenominational conflicts in the field, the interreligious encounters, and the Wards’ Christian self-perception.
Centered around the life and work of a missionary couple, the text will be of great interest to scholars of mission history. The geographical focus on India makes Lived Missiology a useful source for those studying World Christianity. The discussion of theological themes makes the book an engaging text for the audience involved in theological studies.
