Written by church planter Jess Jennings who has been ministering in Southern Philippines since 1993, “Look Who God Can Use! Biographies of Christian Heroes” is not just your usual Christian biography book. It is a well-written and very inspiring collection of biographies of almost unheard (to me) of people who obeyed God’s calling in their lives.
An excerpt from the introduction summarizes the book excellently, “This book has been written to introduce you to several Christians whom God used greatly in their generation. Somehow they got God’s attention.”
Jess Jennings tells the extraordinary stories of 10 people from different eras over the last 150 years. It is amazing, but not surprising, to find out that among the 10 stories, four of them are women. Their stories are definitely worthy of inclusion in this book. These women, most of them ministered in the late 1800s to the early 1900s, shows the almost unheard of impact of women in the ministry, especially in the mission field.
The biographies are, as I’ve mentioned above, well written and well researched. The author quotes from other books written about the subject. It shows how wide a reader the author is. Each chapter challenges the heart of the reader to overcome whatever difficulties they may be experiencing in ministry. One thing is profoundly similar in each of the stories, it is that obeying Christ’s calling to missions is no easy task and if one is not doggedly persevering to fulfill his or her calling then they would easily fail or be discouraged.
I am happy to report, short of being a spoiler, that every story is a victory in its own right. One exemption would be that of Annie Armstrong, who, at first impression, one would think she failed in her calling. She did not. You have to read the book to find out how her chapter ended.
Overall, the book is an easy read. I went through one chapter during my daily commute to the office. I finished one chapter in a little over 10 minutes.
If you feel that God is calling you to a ministry in missions and is experiencing difficulty, be sure to read this book, Look Who God Can Use! It will lift up your faith in God and propel you to obey the calling.
This book is published by Church Strengthening Ministry (CSM) and should be available at popular bookstores like the Philippine Christian Bookstore (PCBS) which has branches all over the Philippines.