Passion for the Good News: an interview with David Joannes

Missionary David Joannes speaks with Pneuma Review about his book, The Mind of a Missionary, and about sharing the story of Jesus no matter the cost.

 

PneumaReview.com: You are involved in cross-cultural missions. Please tell our readers how long you have served overseas and where.

David Joannes: I got started in missions in 1994 at the age of fifteen. I went to Russia with Teen Mania Ministries and have never been able to shake the missionary call. At age eighteen, I bought a one-way ticket to Kunming, China, and have been living overseas for the last twenty-two years. Southwest China is home to hundreds of ethnic tribes and was the perfect place to launch out into ministry among unreached people groups. After years of evangelism, discipleship, and church-planting, my wife and I founded a ministry called Within Reach Global. Working alongside the underground Church, we have seen God move in the lives of countless unreached communities.

 

PneumaReview.com: What kinds of resistance or persecution have you experienced while serving in ministry overseas?

David Joannes: The first time I faced persecution for my faith was in 1997. I spent six months smuggling Bibles from Hong Kong to China. On one particular occasion, a police officer slapped me on the face for carrying contraband materials into the People’s Republic of China. But that was a menial punishment compared to the persecution Chinese ministers still face today. Though I have now been interrogated twenty-two times in China, my passion for the unreached only grows. Our local missionaries at Within Reach Global have faced much more severe opposition: beatings and imprisonment, harassment and cigarette butt burns on their faces. I have learned that persecution comes with the territory when trying to publicize the name of Jesus in restricted access nations.

 

PneumaReview.com: What prompted you to write your latest book, The Mind of a Missionary?

David Joannes: The Mind of a Missionary is the culmination of over two decades of missionary experience. I grew up reading missionary biographies that impacted my life and thrust me out to join God on mission in the world. Through Gates of Splendor, Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret, Bruchko, and Peace Child (among many others) shaped my Christian faith and worldview. Today, it seems that the missionary biography has, in large part, gone out of fashion. In The Mind of a Missionary, I seek to unearth the missions grit and passionate service of past and present global Kingdom workers—not merely through emotional means or a dry revisit to times past. I hoped to cause Christ-followers at large to ask, “What are the motivations, expectations, risks, and rewards in the missionary mind and how do they help me thrive in my own missional context today?” Sure, a 300-page book does not suffice to tell the entire story. But I pray that this book challenges and inspires people to understand their identity in Christ, and thus fulfill their eternal destiny.

 

PneumaReview.com: Please tell our readers some of the important lessons they will learn from this book.

David Joannes: In each chapter of The Mind of a Missionary, a missionary “guide” shows you how to thrive on mission today. The lives of Jim & Elisabeth Elliot, C. T. Studd, Nikolaus Zinzendorf, Robert Moffat, Jackie Pullinger, David Eubank, Nik & Ruth Ripken [Editor’s note: See Nik Ripken’s author page at PneumaReview.com], William Carey, Hudson Taylor, Amy Carmichael, Don Richardson, and Heidi Baker [Editor’s note: See Heidi Baker’s author page at PneumaReview.com] merge with modern-day global Kingdom workers serving around the world. They urge you to explore the underlying drive of your missional efforts, how to overcome your negative internal monologue and experience victory in ministry. I draw upon history, psychology, life experience, and powerful storytelling to reshape your perception of God’s unique plan for your life. The book dares you to redefine your definition of the normal Christian life and join God on mission in the world.

 

PneumaReview.com: In the book, you mention how the paths of some well-known missionaries crossed and the impact that it had. For example, Amy Carmichael heard Hudson Taylor speak at a convention. Who are some of the missionaries who have crossed your path and impacted you?

David Joannes: I am intrigued by what I call “a divine sequence of providential events.” This may be otherwise stated: “All things work together for the good of those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Indeed, the rippling wake that our lives create has a tremendous impact on people around us—even those unbeknownst to us. Ron Luce, founder of Teen Mania Ministries, left an indelible mark on my life. His ministry initially propelled me to the mission field. A lesser-known missionary pioneer named Chuck Lenhart mentored me during my early years of ministry to China’s unreached people groups. Heidi Baker was a catalyst of unconditional love. Jackie Pullinger, author of Chasing the Dragon, paved the way with her pioneer efforts. David Eubank, founder of Free Burma Rangers, triggered in me a passion to accomplish the impossible. Nik Ripken, author of The Insanity of God (he also penned the foreword in The Mind of a Missionary), still inspires me to radical Christian living. There are many other—some well-known, others unknown—who played their part in shaping who I am as a minister of the Gospel of the Kingdom. God placed each puzzle piece to fit together into His grand redemption plan. I am grateful to live in the wake of many mighty men and women of God who have gone before me.

 

PneumaReview.com: In your work overseas, have you seen miracles and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in operation?

David Joannes: I am thrilled to say that I have, indeed, seen the manifestation of the Heavenly realm alive and active in the world today! It amazes me that God still uses weak and unassuming misfits—run-of-the-mill folks who simply say “yes” to His Spirit in and through their lives. I have seen my fair share of physical healing: a child’s eyes receive sight and the lame walk. I have seen prophetic words transform individuals and communities: Gospel-deprived ethnic tribes come to the faith in Jesus. I watched in amazement as the Holy Spirit led new tribal believers to smash their house idols, burn amulets, and boldly share the Gospel with their unreached community. Sign and wonders such as these have become the “new normalcy” in our ministry efforts in Southeast Asia. I believe that a bold public presentation of Jesus sets the perfect atmosphere for the Kingdom of God to come through in miraculous ways.

 

PneumaReview.com: You are the founder and president of a ministry called Within Reach Global. Please tell us about the ministry and the kinds of work that it is involved in.

David Joannes: After ten years of ministry among China’s unreached people groups, my wife and I founded Within Reach Global ten years ago. Twenty years after my arrival on the foreign field, we now lead a group of local and foreign missionaries who travel to the ends of the earth. Our purpose is to glorify God by reaching unreached people groups. God blessed us with a group of radical pioneers—people willing to suffer for the cause of Christ and make His name known where it is not. Over the years, our Within Reach Global missionaries have experienced waves of persecution in the form of jail time, physical beatings, and even burns from cigarettes extinguished on their faces. These difficulties have served to expand God’s Kingdom to regions without a Christian witness. We are now in a season of growth and believe that we are on the cusp of a continued revival in Southeast Asia. You can learn more about Within Reach Global at www.withinreachglobal.org.

 

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Read Pastor John Lathrop’s review of Mind of a Missionary