God's World to Win

How one book impacted the nations For over fifty years, Operation World--the first survey of the spiritual needs of every nation--has inspired Christians worldwide to pray for countries and peoples. But how did this expansive prayer resource come to be? In God's World to Win, Patrick Johnstone shares his personal story--from bullied schoolboy with an undiagnosed learning disorder to global missions strategist. While some friends encouraged him to write his personal biography and others urged him to record the story of Operation World, Patrick chose to do both. Discover the story of how one of the world's most transformative prayer tools was born. Motivated by a passion for the nations and their evangelization, Patrick spent countless hours gathering hard-to-find statistics, mapping hidden people groups, and crafting prayer points that would equip millions to intercede with insight and purpose. His journey reveals how God worked through divine appointments and unexpected challenges. God's World to Win will encourage you to dream boldly and persevere in obedience as you consider how God might use your own gifts to bless the nations.

About the Author :
Patrick Johnstone is British and served God with the Dorothea Mission in Southern Africa for sixteen years as a missionary evangelist, discipler, and Bible translator. In Africa, he began compiling information to help people in Africa pray for the world. He then compiled six editions of Operation World between 1965 and 2001, with millions of copies distributed worldwide in nineteen languages. He and his first wife, Jill, were invited to serve for one year on the OM ship MV Logos and thereafter with WEC International as part of the leadership team in the UK, developing strategies to plant churches among the least reached peoples. Just before Jill's death in 1992, she completed a children's version of Operation World, titled You Can Change the World (now Window on the World), which was published in over twenty languages. Patrick has also served part-time leadership roles in the Lausanne and the AD2000 and Beyond Movements. He retired from active leadership roles in WEC in 2015 and lives with his US wife, Robyn, in Derby, England, while retaining his great passion for world evangelization and continuing to encourage and mentor mission leaders. He can be contacted by email at patrick@operationworld.org.

Review :
Operation World has been a force in God's hands for over six decades, stimulating passionate prayer and disciple-making among least-reached peoples. God's World to Win now gives us the back story. Patrick Johnstone shares his journey with compelling authenticity and demonstrates how a humble vision born in Africa has been used by God to mobilize millions across continents. His story has left me awed at what Jesus can do through a surrendered life. May his legacy inspire curious minds, informed intercession, and global teamwork for God's glory among the nations!-Dean Carlson, DMin, President, One Challenge, International Liaison, Movement for African National Initiatives Operation World has helped millions of Christians expand their daily prayers from personal and local concerns to a global perspective on the church. Having translated several editions into German, I could see how it shaped and changed the landscape for those engaged in world mission, even opening a new dimension for Christians at large in the German speaking countries. Millions have learned that the world is made up not just of UN member states, but of a vast number of diverse ethnic groups, languages, and social situations, all loved by God alike. I believe that it helped millions to better understand John's vision in the book of Revelation of an innumerable multitude from all nations, tribes, peoples and languages worshipping the Lamb together. The time had come to write the history of Operation World as a vital element of world mission and world history over the last fifty years.-Thomas Schirrmacher, President, International Institute for Religious Freedom, Former Secretary General, World Evangelical Alliance, Archbishop of the Confessing Anglican Church, Professor of World Mission Operation World was like a spark that stirred up the hearts of believers towards believing that the Great Commission was doable. It opened their eyes to the various dimensions of the Great Commission task and lit their paths to follow the multiple directions required to accomplish such an excellent task. God's World to Win helps us to recognize the "hands" behind the scenes orchestrating the impact of Operation World right from that "spark," the fanning into the flame, the fueling and the controlling of the spread. Starting from the "finger of the Lord of the Harvest," the heart of the obedient servant of the Lord, the encouragement and involvement of several other servants of the Lord, and the hearts that caught the fire and started engaging in focused prayer and strategic engagement among the neediest sections of the Great Commission.-Reuben Ezemadu, International Director, Christian Missionary Foundation (CMF), Continental Coordinator, Movement for African National Initiatives (MANI) As a fellow global researcher, I'm so pleased to follow Patrick's engaging story of a lifetime commitment to both faith and research. He poignantly recalls the pain, disappointments, and sacrifices, punctuated by the victories and rewards in which so many Christians around the world were impacted by both his life and Operation World. A must-read for Christians of all kinds: God's world expertly portrayed, and a life well lived!-Todd M. Johnson, PhD, Eva B. and Paul E. Toms Distinguished Professor of Mission and Global Christianity, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Don't miss this captivating story highlighting the origin and impact of Operation World and the prolific life of its author. Both Patrick and this book chronicle and have contributed to the Spirit-led explosion of prayer movements, an influx of new missionaries from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and the harvest among previously unreached peoples over the last seventy years. In 1975, George Verwer, the late founder of Operation Mobilization, sent me an early edition of the book while my family and I were serving on OM's first ship, the M.V. Logos. We devoured it. Four years later, Patrick and Jill, accompanied by their three children, joined our international ministry team as we conducted the first Operation World Conferences and sold thousands of Operation World books in over a dozen Asian port cities.-Dave Hicks, Director, OM Ship Logos, OM North America Area Coordinator, Bethany International, President, AlongsideASIA I have had the great privilege of serving, and serving with, Patrick Johnstone over more than a decade of shared adventures in seeing the Lord multiply his church around the world. Whether in my role as a young tech/data entrepreneur or later as a behind-the-scenes advisor to leaders, Patrick has always been to me a gentle, servant-hearted example of godly maturity and excellence in action. Now, with God's World to Win, I have been delighted to see the personal roots that undergird Patrick's life. You too will be blessed by seeing God's great love in action in this amazing story of a life on adventure with God. Not perfect--many lessons learned every step of the way! Not "privileged"--Patrick had to learn great discipline and endurance to get through each battle.-Pete Holzmann, Founder/Exec Director, The International Christian Technologists' Association (ICTA) In God's World to Win, Patrick Johnstone recounts the remarkable history of the life-impacting book Operation World. Operation World has radically changed the direction of many lives, including my own. I first encountered Operation World in a college prayer group. Praying through it powerfully opened my eyes to a global picture of Christianity and the spiritual needs of each country in the world. God's World to Win encourages and challenges as it traces the humble beginnings of Operation World and its growth to become one of the most significant and impactful books in Christian missions. God's World to Win is a powerful reminder of the Lord's faithfulness in the past and the promise that one day there will be some from every tribe, tongue, nation, and people worshipping the Lamb. Thank you, Patrick, for the gift of God's World to Win to the global Church.-Dan Scribner, Operations Director, Joshua Project In content, style, and format, Operation World has been a standard to which I aspire and compare all my own research and analysis. As a leader and elder in research, Patrick himself has been one of the principal formative influences on my life: kind, generous, clarifying, gently critiquing, encouraging. We all want to be Patrick when we grow up. God's World to Win--his story, and the story of Operation World--is one of the books I have been waiting eagerly to read, just to hear his voice in print once more.-Justin Long, Missionary researcher with Beyond, Editor, Weekly Roundup Many people want to change the world, but relatively few have actually done so. Patrick Johnstone, through his creation and stewardship of Operation World, is someone who has. Patrick and his incredible team showed me what God is doing to draw people from every nation to himself, and how I could play a role in his mission. Read this honest and compelling account of how the Lord has used an ordinary man with an extraordinary vision. It will help you to see God's world with fresh eyes.-Stan Guthrie, Author, Missions in the Third Millennium and Victorious: Corrie ten Boom and The Hiding Place Patrick introduced me to mission information, first through several editions of Operation World and then through the pages of The Church Is Bigger Than You Think. So, what a delight it was that in my first mission project, he was on hand to mentor me in person. As God led me to pray for and develop mission information work as a profession, I realized that, as with any other godly endeavor, we need history. Operation World is central to our history. I gave Patrick a few hints, which he acknowledged, but he remained busy with other important things. Finally, I got down on my knees in front of him and begged him to write this book. I am not disappointed. Thank you, Patrick.-Chris Maynard, Founder Member, Community of Mission Information Workers Patrick Johnstone has left an indelible mark on global missions through his vision, scholarship, and faith. His book God's World to Win is not merely a history of Operation World--it is a testimony to how one man's obedience to God has shaped generations of believers. I experienced this firsthand as a young participant in the Doulos Intensive Training program, where we were required to pray through every country in Operation World. That discipline transformed my prayer life and radically expanded my worldview. Later, in 2001, I had the privilege of meeting Patrick aboard the LOGOS II in London, where, as ship director, I hosted the launch of a revised edition of Operation World. I was thrilled to honor the very man whose work had inspired me years earlier. Patrick's life and writings continue to call us to faith, humility, and passionate prayer for the nations.-Lawrence Tong, PhD, International Director, Operation Mobilisation Patrick Johnstone is a dear friend from the decade of the 1990s when we both had the great joy and honor of being selected to co-lead the Unreached Peoples Track for the AD2000 and Beyond Movement, he as chairman and I as coordinator. Those years, as Patrick wrote in his recent message to me, were "the greatest ingathering into God's Kingdom ever," a time of fruitful harvest, with large numbers coming to Christ as the worldwide body of Christ was challenged to engage in an all-out effort in united prayer and mission engagement. Our goal was the remaining panta ta ethne of Matthew 28:19 and 24:14, the thousands of people groups still needing a witness to Jesus through the ignition of endlessly replicating movements of his followers, to carry the gospel through their unique cultures, languages, and worldviews so it could be understood and received with heartfelt faith. During those years, hundreds of interdenominational networks were formed to reach these people groups. Patrick's wide-ranging knowledge of global missions and the status of these unreached people groups, displayed in successive editions of Operation World and in our AD 2000 consultations, was always deeply appreciated by me and our other colleagues. You will be greatly encouraged and blessed to read God's World to Win with its many precious lessons from his long life and extraordinary service for the Lord of the harvest.-John Robb, Coordinator, Unreached Peoples Task Force This fascinating story behind the book that has helped millions of Christians to pray meaningfully for the world also doubles as an inspiring autobiography of Patrick Johnstone. Reading this, we can glean many instructive principles on the Christian life, such as facing challenges and disagreements, involvement in mission, community living, and team dynamics. Along the way, we are introduced to some of the great people and movements that served to speed the work of reaching a lost world for Christ during a crucial period in the history of the church.-Ajith Fernando, Teaching Director, Youth for Christ, Sri Lanka, Author, Discipling in a Multicultural World This is a fascinating account of how God's people globally have been helped to pray great things for God's global purpose. This is the story of a historic change in how God's people pray. Left to ourselves, we pray for our own concerns. But there is tremendous dignity and joy knowing that God hears our voices along with many others. We have uttered prayers for distant lands and peoples, many times without knowing the names or places. But in the last few decades, Patrick Johnstone, along with his team, has given us specific names and numbers. This has enlarged our faith and brightened our hope: our God will fulfill what He has promised. Don't read this book to merely pray more. Read this to pray greater.-Steven Hawthorne, Lead Editor, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement This is more than the story of a book that changed the world. It is a deeply personal account of the man behind the book and the God behind that man. The book combines both an inspiring account of the global work of God with the humility and honesty of the man being transformed and used by God. As I read the book, my heart was stirred afresh in awe and admiration of Jesus, seeing how He used one faithful man, Patrick Johnstone, and one book, Operation World, to impact countless lives so deeply for missions and so many nations for Christ.-Louis Sutton, International Director (2011-2022), WEC International We are honored to endorse Patrick's new book, which reflects his faithful and Spirit-led ministry in Christ. His commitment to the gospel, demonstrated through research and intercessory prayer, has deeply blessed the global church. It is God's strategy to advance his Kingdom. Operation World has played a remarkable role in missions. When Mission Korea launched in 1988, campus prayer meetings began using the book, sparking a nationwide mission movement. One mission agency even uses it for a 24-hour, 365-day prayer relay. The 1986 edition inspired me (KyungNam) to start campus mission prayer. KyoungA led prayer meetings with insights from the book and consistently recommended it to mission candidates and churches. The book helped us decide to choose a mission field where the Gospel had not yet been proclaimed. We thank God who called Patrick and did His marvelous work through him. We pray God will continue to use Operation World under Jason Mandryk's leadership--for His glory.-Drs. KyungNam Park, MD, and KyoungA Park, MD, International Directors, WEC International We simply cannot know, this side of eternity, the depth of the impact of Patrick Johnstone's ministry through Operation World. I welcomed him to the very first 24-7 prayer room in Chichester, England, before anyone knew that a global movement was being born. In that encounter, I discovered that this statesman of the church was a humble servant of Jesus. He didn't just talk about prayer; he was himself a man of prayer who carried a deep and compelling love for the nations and for the Lord Jesus Christ deep within his heart.-Pete Greig, Founder, 24-7 Prayer International What a captivating read! Under God, Patrick Johnstone, through his tireless traveling, speaking, and creation of Operation World, has stimulated tens of thousands (that's no exaggeration) of believers around the world to pray more intelligently for the advance of the gospel in every country and every corner of the globe. We are deeply indebted to him. It is wonderful to read his life story and to feel something of the infectious spirit with which God has endowed this man. His material continues to be the surest means of informing the global church and any individual believer of how to pray for God's work in every nation under the sun. I couldn't put the book down. Read and be captivated yourself!-Dr. Lindsay Brown, General Secretary, IFES (1991-2007), International Director, Lausanne Movement (2008-2017) With every year I've used Operation World as a prayer guide for global evangelization, my respect and appreciation for Patrick Johnstone climbs higher. This beloved brother has constantly stoked his mission-minded passion to see Christ's gospel permeate some of the darkest places on the globe. Patrick's story alone would make his new work God's World to Win a must-read. But it's true value lies in the fascinating stories of humble missionaries, world-acclaimed scholars, and ordinary people that God wove together to advance his Kingdom wherever there's no hope. Pick up God's World to Win, turn the page and be inspired to share Christ's good news in your world.-Joni Eareckson Tada, Joni and Friends International Disability Center