In Apostolic Imagination: Recovering a Biblical Vision for the Church’s Mission Today, Payne takes on one of the most critical and foundational issues related to missions and to the health of the American church today.

In this volume, J. D. Payne encourages the church to recover the apostolic imagination that fueled the multiplication of disciples in the first century. He calls readers to understand grand, contemporary missiological challenges and to return to the Scriptures for clarity on how the church should consider the Great Commission task.

Payne examines the contemporary practice of Western missions and argues that we need a paradigm shift. He advocates a more central place for Scripture in defining missionary language, identity, purpose, function, and strategy and encourages the church to return to an apostolic framework for global disciple making. Payne shows that an apostolic understanding of the church's disciple-making commission requires rethinking every aspect of missionary engagement. The book includes end-of-chapter discussion questions and action steps to help pastors and church leaders develop an apostolic imagination.