Lent and Missions: A 40-Day Devotional
By Bradley Bell and Nathan Sloan
Lent has historically served as a sacred season in the Church calendar—a 40-day journey of repentance, reflection, and renewal in preparation for the celebration of Easter. It is a time to acknowledge the sobering realities of sin, mortality, and a broken world, even as we cling to the sure hope of Christ’s resurrection. Yet this hope, while deeply personal, was never meant to remain private.
If the Church pauses to grieve the cost of redemption and rejoice in its triumph, how much more should it also grieve for the billions who have not yet heard the gospel? Lent, then, is not only an opportunity for spiritual formation—it is an invitation into deeper missional awareness.
With this realization, missions pastors Bradley Bell and Nathan Sloan crafted this Lenten devotional with personal renewal and global vision. Rooted in a simple liturgical rhythm—Scripture, reflection, prayer, and weekly fasting—it is designed to help local churches engage the season of Lent through the lens of God’s global purposes. Their desire is that congregations would be both formed by the cross and commissioned by the resurrection, entering Pentecost with the same Spirit-empowered urgency that defined the early Church.
This resource is more than a devotional—it is a tool to help your church live sent, shaped by the gospel and mobilized for the mission of God.
Reviews
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Highly Recommend! —Kelli Anneken
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Needed Resource for the Mission-Minded Believer
“I received an advance copy of this devotional and found it to be a timely and valuable resource for connecting the season of Lent to the believer's hopeful anticipation of the redemption of God's people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. I appreciate the authors' thoughtful survey of scriptures—from Genesis to Revelation—that shine a light on the heart of God for all nations and their gentle yet impassioned encouragement to focus our Lenten prayers and meditations on the fulfillment of God's mission. I'm praying God will use this book to align the hearts of those who read it with his own heart and so increase not only our prayers for but also our participation in his work of filling the earth with the knowledge of his glory as the waters cover the sea.” —McDogood