Methodists and their Missionary Societies 1900-1996

John Pritchard was the General Secretary, Methodist Church Overseas Division (MMS) from 1991 to 1996, having previously served as its Africa Secretary. He had been a missionary with the Methodist Church in Cote d’Ivoire - then a District of the British Methodist Conference - from 1966 to 1975, and was Secretary of the committee which drafted its constitution as an autonomous Church. In the 1970s he edited Urban Africa, a quarterly magazine published by the All Africa Conference of Churches. He chaired the interdenominational Friends of the Church in China for six years from 2000 and convened the Methodist Missionary History Project from its inception in 1994.

• 1: A New Century: High Hopes and Ill Omens; 2: Changing Patterns of Missionary Life; 3: Twentieth Century Martyrs; 4: Life at the Mission House; 5: Nurturing Support; 6: Mass Movements and Group Conversions; 7: Mens sana in corpore sano; 8: Life-Long Learning; 9: Vocation, Selection, Preparation; 10: Methodist Union; 11: Wider Union: Achievements and Failures; 12: Christian Mission and the Faith of Others; 13: The World at War; 14: Autonomy and Indigenization; 15: Forced Withdrawals and New Beginnings; 16: Do All the Good You Can; 17: New Name, New Mood, New Emphases; 18: Struggles for Justice; 19: Moving On

’I think this is an excellent volume ... The title alone makes this an essential text for anyone interested in the Methodist missionary movement. It is meant to be the definitive word on the subject, and I think it achieves this...’ MET Connexion '... this book offers a comprehensive overview of a world-changing movement - a story packed with heroism, mistakes, achievements, frustrations, and arguments. ... I would recommend this title for graduate level students who are specializing in church history.' Mission Studies 'This is an informative and at times moving book. It tells many stories and yet has one overarching story: a changing church for a changing world; the transition from mission to mission partners; the call to serve and be served, to be loved and to love.' Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society