Lent is the forty days that Christians have historically set aside to prepare for Easter through repentance and renewal. It gives us space to admit the struggle: though the defiant joy of Christ’s victory is ours, it came at an unimaginably great cost; though our salvation is sealed forever, we still face mortality, indwelling sin, and a fallen world. But there is more to this struggle. If we who have hope are to pause for a season to lament sin and death, then should we not also lament for those who have no hope? There are billions around the world who do not yet share in the victory of Easter. Perhaps Lent and missions have more in common than we’ve ever considered. For this reason, Bradley Bell and Nathan Sloan wrote this devotional as fellow missions pastors. Each day follows a simple liturgical pattern: a Scripture reading, a brief reflection, a prayer, and—on Fridays—a guide for fasting. They wanted their local church to experience this special season with even greater significance, to be formed even more deeply by God’s global purpose for Easter, and to be sent into Pentecost with the same passion of the early church. And now they want that for you and your church too. ___________________________________ Bradley Bell is the executive director of Upstream Equipping and Upstream Books. He has over twenty years of experience as a missionary, missions pastor, lead pastor, and missiologist. He is also the author of multiple Upstream books, including The Sending Church Defined . Bradley writes for numerous publications, which are compiled at brokenmissiology.org. He is married to Katie, and they have four daughters, all named after missionaries: Elisabeth, Charlotte, Anneliese, and Madeleine. They live in Louisville, Kentucky. Nathan Sloan (DMiss, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the executive director of Upstream Sending, a missions-sending organization focused on empowering the local church to send well. Nathan is also a pastor at Sojourn Church Midtown in Louisville, Kentucky, and is the author of You Are Sent: Finding Your Place in God’s Global Mission and Multisite Missions Leadership. Nathan is married to Sarah, and they have two wonderful children, Asia and Jeremy.