A Big Life by Peter Hone

Subtitle: Ordinary People Led by an Extraordinary God, Tate Publishing.

A Big Life is a history of Big Life Ministries, a non-denominational missions group that plants churches around the world, mainly in India. Beginning with founder, John Heerema and his wife, Kathy, the author gives their life story, how they came to Christ, and how they gave up everything to found Big Life Ministries with the help of Christian friends in the U. S. and around the world.

But the story is not about the the founders. It's about Big Life itself. There are chapters detailing the history of the key people who helped the  Heeremas  build Big Life---people like Benjamin, the Indian preacher who joined the effort early. Mission work in India is complicated by the presence of several different religions (Buddhism, Hindu, Muslim) which makes it necessary for them to have multiple approaches and local assistance. The missionaries bring people to Christ and teach them how to witness to others and manage their own churches. They don't stay and run things themselves, but Big Life missionaries remain available if needed. Their method reminds me of the "each one teach one" strategy used by some literacy programs.

As mentioned by others who praise the book, the Big Life people are doing what the Apostle Paul did in the book of Acts. The late Chuck Colson wrote the foreword, and Mike Huckabee authored the afterword. Both men offer high praise for Big Life.

I enjoyed reading the book, but I felt that there was entirely too much detail in the history of the various people involved in developing Big Life. The author states in his acknowledgments that the story is not meant to glorify the people but to tell the story. The exciting thing about Big Life is the people that are being reached for Christ in India and Nepal. I think telling those stories alone would make a wonderful book.

Read the book. Maybe it will inspire you to lead a big life, too. You can get a copy with a $20 donation to Big Life. Click here to go directly to the donations page. The e-book is available at Tate Publishing's website here.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a request from A. Larry Ross Communications to review this book within six weeks of receiving the review copy. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I paid for this review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255  : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”