Everyone, Everywhere
Glimpses of God’s Global Work Through
People Like You
By Erick Schenkel
“This book will help you activate your God-given gifts in the greatest adventure this side of eternity.”
Dr. Bruce Wilkinson
New York Times best-selling author and speaker
Book Summary
God is at work around the globe. You’ll find stories in these pages from every walk of life, and every corner, that bears this out. Amazing stories of the miraculous, and stories of the unassuming yet life-altering hand of God through His people.
In some respects, it is not a surprise that God is at work. What is a surprise is that God is at work through us, when He could choose to work alone. He invites you, and everyone, to partner with him, not just to do the work but to experience the success and joy that comes with taking a leap of faith.
As you read through this book, you will be both challenged and inspired by these stories. The hope is that you will see the world around you differently because God is at work in you. That is the exciting promise He offers—that you can participate in the most life-changing adventure you could ever experience, the story of His incredible love for Everyone, Everywhere.
Excerpt from Chapter 1
As I knelt over the badly broken body of my wife, Elizabeth, on the floor of our mud-walled Central Asian home, a long line of those who had suffered for following our Master flashed through my mind. I said to her though my own bloodied lips, “Don’t worry honey, someday you’ll look back on this as the best day of your life.” At that moment, I honestly didn’t know if she would live or die. But I knew that, either way, my words to her would be true.
We had moved to our Central Asian home from a typical American suburb four years earlier, taking along four of our children and leaving our fifth at college. In many ways it hadn’t been a good time to move, but as we assessed our lives, we realized that there would never be a good time to do what we were sensing God’s call to do. We le a comfortable home, sold two cars, gave away our family dog and cat, le town sports and dance lessons and everything we knew, to move to a country whose name we hadn’t even known a little over a year before.
We had been living the American dream! I’d been plucked from my poor public school in northern Kentucky to attend Harvard College. I had recently received my fourth diploma from Harvard—a Ph.D. in the study of world religions. I was leading a small evangelical congregation and teaching part-time at a prestigious local university. I’d recently taken a third job at an evangelical New England preparatory school that enabled me to continue to preach weekly and actually make ends meet financially—a real dream for a pastor! And yet, something deeply troubled me.
Many people had warned me that it was not a good idea for an evangelical Christian to study the world’s religions and cultures at a place like Harvard; they were afraid I might lose my faith. In fact, my studies led me to a conclusion that was even more troubling. My faith was fine; it was my lifestyle that was a problem!
I professed to know God personally through Jesus Christ and to believe that God loved everyone and wanted every person on earth to know Him as I did. Yet my lifestyle remained unaffected by the reality that over vast portions of the earth, it remained extremely unlikely that some people whom God deeply loved would ever have a chance to hear the message of God’s love in Jesus Christ.
About the Author
Erick Schenkel has served as executive director of Jesus Film Project® since 2012, bringing to this role a varied history of Christian service. After his graduation from Harvard College, Erick led a church-planting team that established a church and an elementary school in Arlington, Massachusetts. While leading this church, Erick earned two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. from Harvard in the Study of Religion; his dissertation was published by Harvard University Press as The Rich Man and the Kingdom: John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and the Protestant Establishment. While in graduate school, Erick and his wife, Elizabeth, developed a desire to live and work in the Muslim world. The Schenkels moved to Muslim Central Asia in 1996, where Erick worked in the fields of education and economic development for 11 years. While in Central Asia, they also worked as church planters alongside JESUS film teams, starting a Bible school and directing a movement of nationally led churches. Erick then served for five years as strategy director for North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia for Campus Crusade for Christ®. Erick became the third executive director of Jesus Film Project in March 2012, succeeding Jim Green and founder Paul Eshleman.
Where to Buy
About Aneko Press
The books we publish say a lot about the vision of our company. As you browse this website, you’ll notice that we publish books that encourage, help the reader in Christian life, provide glimpses into the lives of those in ministry, and are evangelistic in nature. Above all, we want to see the Lord glorified and individuals living fulfilled lives for Him.
Our team of ten is bound together by the love of Christ and service to Him. Each team member, from publisher, editors, graphic designers, and the maintenance man, uses his or her gifts in this Kingdom work. Our backgrounds vary from business owners, teachers, fighter jet mechanic (now in maintenance), and other interesting and diverse careers.
We believe Christian books should be well-written and well-designed. Because of this paradigm, our books go through a thorough, multi-stage editing process and our graphic designers take care to make sure the physical appearance of our books and eBooks match the quality of the words in our books.
Our base of operations is in Abbotsford, Wisconsin. This sets us strategically close to major U.S. book printers, a large Amazon distribution center in Kenosha, and many of our other partners in this work.
Our authors are individuals with a sincere heart for the Lord. Some are missionaries and pastors who are serving the Lord in the U.S. and various countries of the world—from South America to India and in-between. Our mission is to partner with the Lord’s people to publish their books—books that share the gospel, strengthen Christians, and give glory to God.