Peter and John were arrested and appeared before the leaders who would determine their fate. Continued imprisonment was a best-case scenario; death was a likely outcome. They could avoid all harm by ceasing their talk about Jesus. Instead, they told the leaders, “We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20, NLT). Such is the essence of Gospel Privilege by David Joannes. We must not hoard the message we have been given to share the gospel with those who have not heard. It is our mandate. It is our mission. It is our sacred privilege.

“In his latest work, Gospel Privilege, David Joannes rightly contends, ‘We must become global Christians with a global vision because we serve a global God.’ Indeed! As David makes abundantly clear, being a global Christian is an essential obligation for those who have been privileged to hear and believe the gospel, realizing that thousands of people around the world die every day lacking that privilege. Knowing that we live in the most populous century in the history of the world, might we, as David urges all gospel-privileged people to do, ‘follow Jesus’ incarnational model of sacrificial love for those living in spiritual darkness.’”

This book is a poignant reminder that those who have been privileged to receive the gospel are also charged to relay it to others. The gospel of Christ is not ours to keep but to lovingly pass on—especially to those who’ve never heard it. And Joannes doesn’t stop with just presenting the biblical mandate; he offers practical steps and inspiring stories to help us live out this vitally important imperative. Highly recommended!

“‘Spiritual poverty is the biggest issue in the world that needs eradication. That’s why the church is here.’ These words from David Joannes’ book, Gospel Privilege, convict and inspire me. This book draws me closer to Jesus and kindles my passion for being part of freeing the oppressed and standing for human dignity, justice, and reconciliation. I believe God desires these things too. That’s what grace is all about. Jesus saves the helpless, sets free the enslaved, lifts the downtrodden, and calls his followers to do the same. Once you realize you fall in the same camp as the powerless, oppressed, or impoverished, it makes faith-sharing much easier. That’s the message Joannes champions in Gospel Privilege. This book inspires me to listen to what God says and share Jesus’ love, mercy, and grace to anyone I meet as he so leads.”

“In the past several years, the upsurge of violent persecution against Christians globally has taught us that obedience is costly but worth it. We’re surrounded by people who choose Jesus daily, even when they know it may cost them their lives. They’re privileged to know Christ, and, like our friend David, we’re privileged to stand alongside them in the same spirit and with the same hope. Wherever you are, meditating on the reality of your gospel privilege will build your faith, knowing that a life set upon the kingdom of God will bear eternal fruit.”

David Joannes has written another book entitled Gospel Privilege. It is a spiritual kick in the gut. In Matthew 10, Jesus pushes a reset button for his followers when he states that he is sending his disciples as “sheep among wolves.” Joannes makes a strong case that the church has redacted Jesus’ statement to the point that we are sheep among sheep. I spent two days with a believer in Eastern Europe who witnessed the persecution of believers and was himself imprisoned as well. Pointedly, he said, “Don’t ever give up in freedom what we would never have given up in persecution. That is our witness to the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” That’s precisely the point. The worst persecution on earth is having no access to the good news of Jesus Christ, and we’ve left billions of unreached peoples around the world without any access to him. If we hoard the good news within our churches, we persecute unengaged and unreached peoples throughout eternity. We become their persecutors. We must recapture the sense of awe that Jesus wants to partner with us to proclaim his message. We must export our “gospel privilege” to those devoid of a single Bible verse or evangelistic witness. They’ve never met a missionary and don’t have baptized believers among them. Not one church of any form exists in their midst. Joannes’ passion permeates Gospel Privilege. He understands that we don’t have to take the good news to the rest of the world. We get to as a divine privilege. I highly recommend this well-researched and passionate book to anyone who considers themself a follower of Jesus Christ.

Once again, David delivers a metamorphic missional proclamation to the church. What the world lacks, the gospel provides. What the world questions, the gospel answers. This transformational book reminds us that the greatest hope and only response to global spiritual poverty rest in the hands, feet, and mouths of Christian disciples who possess gospel privilege.

Sometimes bizarre things can happen to Christians over time. We can lose our awe of the gospel. Somehow, we get numb to the jaw-dropping, life-changing beauty of the best news of all time. Gospel Privilege is the perfect antidote for this condition. David Joannes shines a bright light on the diamond of the gospel so we can be dazzled again. By introducing us to people whose lives have been changed by Christ and fleshing out the individual and cosmic dimensions of the good news, Joannes reminds us that the gospel is truly a privilege, both to receive and to share.

In the West, Christians possess the good news, but we’ve allowed the comfort of our surroundings, engagement of politics, and fear of being ostracized to silence our mouths on sharing the gospel. That’s why I’m glad David Joannes has written a challenging, wisdom-filled, stirring wake-up call to this generation. Millions of people worldwide have yet to hear that Jesus has come to save sinners and reconcile image-bearers to their Creator. If you possess the treasure of the gospel, you can’t help but tell others. This book, written from the heart of a missionary, will stir your heart and mind toward evangelism. Buy this book and let it change your life.

In David’s ground-breaking book, Gospel Privilege, he delivers a prophetic and apostolic call to believers in America. In a country where the gospel knowledge is abundant, too few actually understand the kingdom message and the power it contains. I know this from personal experience having brought the kingdom message to millions online within the conservative political space. While so many people find Christianity to be an affront or an ‘oppressive’ religion, presenting all people with the kingdom message of power has broken through racial barriers, even in the political space. The kingdom message is not a religious one. It’s a culture-shaking, yoke-destroying, systems-breaking power that transcends race, color, or creed. For this reason, those of us who have privilege to access this power must be conduits of this grace, sharing freely with the gospel-deprived; and David’s book grants readers a clear blueprint for this missional work in the United States and around the world. This work is the third project David and I worked on together. And each time, the Holy Spirit, through David’s writing, delivered an authoritative word that transformed the readers. Without question, Gospel Privilege delivers a trifecta. It was a great honor to work with David on this project as his writing coach and editor. I am confident you will be empowered as the words leap off the pages, piercing your heart, and compelling you to use your privilege to bring others to Christ’s saving power.

Wake Up! That’s the message Joannes has for American Christians. This means renewing our commitment to raising up disciples of Christ who understand the complete and authentic gospel message. It also means realizing our place in the worldwide church by sending out a gospel proclamation to millions around the world who still haven’t heard the good news of Jesus. The Great Commission commands us to go; to involve ourselves in prayer, give of our resources, and abandon our whole selves to Christ’s mandate.

Jesus calls his disciples across the street and around the world—to engage in his mission both locally and globally. Joining his redemptive mission is a high privilege and the natural response to his extravagant grace. That’s the essence of Joannes’ new book, Gospel Privilege. God’s love compels us to carry his life-altering, culture-shaping, world-changing gospel to every nation, tribe, people, and language and to extend salvation’s unearned benefits to our local and global neighbors.

Every once in a while, a book comes along that has an overt purpose of giving you a spiritual whack upside the head, and sometimes the subject matter is of such vital importance and far-ranging scope that the whacking is actually welcomed and even appreciated. Gospel Privilege delves into the current predicament of the world’s need for a greater gospel movement. By his choice of focus, by framing it into a compelling and convicting theme, and by leaving his heart in the pages, David Joannes has given us just such a book.

We live during a time when the exclusivity of Christ, reality of hell, and evangelistic zeal have faded from many hearts and minds. Attentions are now focused on local temporal matters at the expense of eternal global needs. In Gospel Privilege, David Joannes takes the reader on a worldwide tour calling the church to return to the biblical simplicity of what it means to be a kingdom citizen, which includes disciple-making, loving neighbors, and standing for justice—at home and abroad! The reader is introduced to women and men who took up the cross and leveraged their privileged kingdom status to follow Jesus to the least of these. Packed with encouragement, this work is solid, provocative, and inspirational! If you are satisfied with the status quo, then stay away from this book!

If we were honest with ourselves, we are often numb, lukewarm, even apathetic about sharing the gospel. I find myself so wrapped up in enjoying the gospel that I become absent-minded about spreading it. We need one another to help guide us out of these mindsets. Such a guide is true mercy from heaven. David Joannes’ book, Gospel Privilege, is a masterpiece of such divine mercy. Mercy can awaken us to the sweet, blissful joy of holding Jesus’ hand while he reaches a dying world through us. Take the time to read Gospel Privilege, and you will find yourself loving what God loves: beautiful people who are waiting to hear the sound of eternal rescue. You, your friends and family, and even your church need what the Holy Spirit reveals through this book.

The gospel’s compelling nature draws you into a joyous, reckless, generous, and audacious life of faith. You begin to see everything through an entirely different lens. The privilege of knowing Christ changes everything—how we view ourselves, how we interact with others, how we enter God’s presence. David Joannes’ new book, Gospel Privilege, awakens you to a deep understanding of who you are and what you’re made to do during your days on the earth. Spoiler alert: the book helps you joyfully live out the Greatest Commandment of loving God passionately and loving others graciously. Every Christian should read this book to recognize the magnificent privileges they have in Christ Jesus.