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Holly Berkley Fletcher will be joining us in our Grand Rapids event studio to discuss the good, the bad, and the complexities of being a missionary kid. Holly will be in conversation with Kristin Kobes Du Mez, author of Jesus and John Wayne.
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About the Book:
What do we learn about white evangelicalism from those raised by its heroes? From historian Holly Berkley Fletcher, herself a missionary kid, comes this first-of-its-kind examination of how the experiences of missionary kids illuminate broader currents in American Christianity.
As sidekicks to their parents' and churches' ambitions, missionary kids (MKs) face questions many white Christians eventually ask: about God's calling, sacrifice, faith, privilege, racism, abuse, and what belonging means. In The Missionary Kids, Fletcher reveals how MKs have intimate access to the movement's logic, longings, and ideals.
With penetrating research, sly wit, and an empathic gaze, Fletcher lays bare complicated emotions and troublesome truths. She investigates how calling, multiculturalism, saints, and indispensability can distract white American Christians from their own tradition's sins and failures. Drawing on her experience as a Southern Baptist MK in Kenya, on conversations with other missionary kids, and on the work of psychologists, historians, missiologists, and researchers, Fletcher paints an intricate portrait of family life on the front lines of the missionary movement. From boarding school to war zones, and from sexual assault by adult missionaries to fending for themselves so as not to distract from the work of the Lord, MKs bear the weight of their parents' choices and their churches' ideals. Fletcher delves into the "missionary industrial complex" that shapes the lives of missionary families, listening to MKs speak of the vexing, wordless longing for the places they've lived.
For many years, few people sought out MKs' real voices. God had called their parents to do great things, so the kids were beside the point. But the children of missionaries are beneficiaries of evangelicalism's rewards and victims of its failings.
And now they are ready to talk.
About the Author:
Holly Berkley Fletcher is a historian, essayist, and former intelligence analyst. She was raised in Kenya by missionary parents. She earned a PhD in American history and taught in universities for several years before being hired as an Africa analyst by the Central Intelligence Agency, where she worked for nineteen years. She lives in the Washington, DC, area with her husband, two kids, and dog. Website: azebrawithoutstripes.com
About the Conversation Partner:
Kristin Kobes Du Mez is a New York Times bestselling author and Professor of History at Calvin University. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Religion News Service, and Christianity Today, and has been interviewed on NPR, CBS, and the BBC, among other outlets. Her most recent book is Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation, and her next book, Live, Laugh, Love, will be published in 2026.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Schuler Books, 2660 28th St SE,Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States
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