In Theology, Piety, and Mission, Brazilian missionary and missiologist Ronaldo Lidório introduces a little-known, sixteenth-century Dutch theologian and missiologist, Gisbertus Voetius, and then distills missiological and church planting lessons for us today. Though widely regarded as the first Protestant missiologist (p. 1), Voetius is little known and largely inaccessible to English readers today due to the dearth of English translations for his works. This scarcity increases the worth of this English translation of Lidório’s work in which he seeks first to “reflect on the influence of Gisbertus Voetius in missiology—specifically, in the theology of church planting,” and second, to “create a space for personal and spiritual reflection based on the teachings of Voetius that propose the conciliation of theology and piety” (p. xii).

Lidório first provides the reader with a brief biography of Gisbertus Voetius, emphasizing his participation in the Synod of Dort and his seminal contributions to the theology of mission and church planting. Voetius is presented as a consummate scholar who saw theology, missiology, and piety as inextricably bound to one another. Sound theology must inform mission, but mission cannot be divorced from practical piety. The glory of God is the “main objective of mission,” faith is its means (p. 79), and “the love of God is its basic principle” (p. 43). Put succinctly, his three-pronged goal in missiology was the conversion of the lost, the planting of churches, and the exaltation of God (p. 48). In his work on church planting, De plantatione ecclesiarum, Voetius laid a foundation for a theology of church planting which speaks to the definition of church planting, the responsibility of the church in church planting, the objective of the church’s mission, and the process of planting churches (pp. 44–45). Voetius was not unaware of the need to minister to people’s physical needs and maintain the cause of justice among those that planters are trying to reach. Still, he understood these efforts not as a separate emphasis but as part of Christian piety, which should always accompany sound theology, ecclesiology, and the gospel proclamation.

In our day of frequent disconnect between the theology and practice of missions, Lidório’s presentation of Voetius’s writings, which gives thorough and integrated consideration to both, is very refreshing. Along the way, Lidório shares testimonies from his experience as a missionary in Ghana and Brazil, which corroborates in our day the writings of Voetius in the sixteenth century. Lidório’s experience as a missionary also lends credibility to the “Missiological Considerations for Today” and “Theological Principles for Church Planting,” which he commends in chapters 4 and 5. In applying Voetius’s work to our day, Lidório helpfully recognizes that church planting, while dependent on the work of the Holy Spirit through the gospel of Christ, also requires intentional effort and strategy on the part of the missionary. But he also warns of the temptations to pride, discontentment, grumbling, comparison, and competition that missionaries often face in their quest to be successful in church planting (p. 77) and commends them to trust in God rather than in humanly devised church planting models.

Lest the reader fail to recognize the personal implications of the goal of the glory of God in missions, Lidório reminds us that pursuing God’s glory first requires the death of the missionary. Similarly helpful is the distinction Lidório makes between the general and particular mission of the church. “The general mission of the church is to be salt that savors and light that gleams throughout the world,” while “the particular mission of the church is the proclamation of the gospel” (pp. 61–62). In both quests, “the Christian mission of the believer is to be and do all for the glory of God” (p. 61).

Amid Lidório’s ten theological principles for church planting (ch. 5) are numerous helpful summaries and frameworks, including a six-part church planting framework, five essential elements in a worship service, a definition of ecclesiology, five observations on ecclesiology in church planting, fourteen components to include in a statement of faith, five elements of public worship, and four stages of church growth. These practical helps are true gems, resulting from theological consideration and years of experience on the mission field.

The only shortfall of this work is the absence of direct quotations from the works of Gisbertus Voetius. Given the paucity of Voetius’s works in English, a representative presentation of Voetius in his own words (albeit translated from Latin) would better acquaint the reader with this premier missiologist. Lidório’s summaries of Voetius’s writings seem astute, but without access to Voetius’s own words, the reader must, so to speak, take Lidório’s word for it.

Students and pastors will be interested in Lidório’s introduction to Gisbertus Voetius, the first Protestant missiologist. Additionally, missionaries and strategists will appreciate the distilled principles for missions and church planting, which Lidório shares in chapters 4 and 5. Finally, local church members concerned with missionary sending will learn solid biblical principles, informing them of a strategic church planting framework to guide them in caring for their sent ones.