This page has recently been revised to better assist prospective authors in their submissions to the IJFM. Please review it before submitting your work and contact Andy Bettencourt at [email protected] or [email protected], if you have further questions around submitting an article or book review. We love to receive submissions and will do our best in aiding you in your work and communication about frontier mission.

Guidelines for Authors
(Adapted, with permission, from "Guidelines for Writers" for the Evangelical Missions Information Service, Wheaton, Illinois)

Author Guidelines in PDF Format (72K) 
Sample Article in PDF Format: Disconcerting Divine Contextualization in the Hebrew Scriptures (272K)

Notes on Citations: IJFM articles use Chicago style and endnotes, not footnotes, which is a part of the notes and bibliography system, so remember to use the notes and bibliography system not the author date system. Here are some helpful links for citing properly, The Chicago Manual of Style (link here) and their Quick Citation Guide (link here). Please utilize these to cite your articles properly. We will send the articles back if you need to improve your citations or bibliography.
Helpful links for Citing: https://www.grammarly.com/citations/chicago?msockid=241584400471606329639195051e6170, www.citefast.com, or https://www.citefast.com/?s=Chicago#_Book
Helpful notes for Formatting Christian writing: Robert Hudson’s The Christian Writer’s Style Guide (link here)

IJFM Distinctives 
Prospective writers for the IJFM should recognize, and if possible, further the Journal’s distinctives. The IJFM is published in partnership with the Ralph D. Winter Research Center and Frontier Ventures. Its origins date back to the International Student Leaders Coalition for Frontier Missions, what was then a fellowship of younger leaders who were committed to the purposes of the twin consultations of Edinburgh 1980: The World Consultation on Frontier Missions and the International Student Consultation on Frontier Missions. Since then, it has seen various senior editors and has attempted to evolve in its thinking and approach. This most recently was seen through the 2024-25 ISFM Executive Committee, who assisted in the publication of the 41st issue. As an expression of that effort and its present objectives, the IJFM seeks to:

promote intergenerational dialogue between mission leaders and thinkers.
cultivate an international fraternity of thought in the development of frontier missiology through more intentional interaction with Majority World thinkers and writers.
highlight the need to maintain, renew, and create mission agencies as vehicles for frontier mission.
encourage multidimensional and interdisciplinary studies as well as interaction with field practitioners.
foster spiritual devotion as well as intellectual growth.
deeply, thoughtfully, and faithfully engage conversations around contextualization across religious boundaries.
advocate “A Church for Every People.”

Mission frontiers represent boundaries or barriers beyond which we must go. However, we may not be able to see clearly beyond these boundaries, which may be disputed or denied by others. Their study involves the discovery and evaluation of the unknown or even the reevaluation of the known. But unlike other frontiers, mission frontiers is a subject specifically concerned to explore and exposit areas, ideas, and insights related to the glorification of God in all the nations (peoples) of the world, to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, and toward the power of Christ.

Frontier missions focuses on least-reached peoples, identified as peoples with less than .1% evangelical Christians (or believers) see Joshua Project, https://joshuaproject.net/. If you are submitting an article or book review please insure that it focuses on or connects to the spread of the gospel among least reached peoples. Feel free to e-mail [email protected] or [email protected] for more information regarding the fit of your topic, article, or book review. Exceptions can be made if the article or book review communicates information helpful to frontier missions.

IJFM Readers 
Readers of the IJFM come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Mission professors, field missionaries, young adult mission mobilizers, college librarians, mission executives, and mission researchers all look to the IJFM for the latest thinking in frontier missiology.

Guidelines for Choosing Topics and Writing Articles:

Below are some recommendations for writing an excellent article. They can help develop your article as well as inform you about things that we look for as we assess your writing.

Fresh ideas that: 
a. plow up new ground.
b. fit the purposes of the Journal. 
c. are useful to our readers. 
d. contain keen insights, sound wisdom and judgment, and careful analysis and interpretation. 
e. make interesting and compelling reading.
f. express missiological perspective and principles grounded in sound missiology. 
g. communicate a call to commitment and involvement in frontier missions.
Strong, logical development of ideas and major thesis:
a. with clear transitions between points.
b. that show the reader where you are going and why.
c. that make clear what you are trying to prove.
d, that includes strong supporting evidence for major points, avoiding superficial generalities.
e. that diagnoses and suggests solutions for problems.
f. that involves detailed research where necessary.
g. with sound foundations and application of biblical values and principles.
A compelling introduction that pulls the reader into the article such as a colorful story, a concise description of the main problem, or an interesting quote.
A strong conclusion that synthesizes the main points of the article and communicates what you expect the reader to do, think, believe, or feel after reading it.
Careful craftsmanship that involves:
a. a high regard for language, syntax, style, punctuation, and grammar.
b. colorful, vivid, and active verb usage.
c. simplicity, clarity, readability, and conciseness.
d. adherence to professional, scholarly standards.
e. avoidance of pedantic or ostentatious terminology and tone.

Practical Tips 
1. Write to the editor first about your article, giving a brief summary of what you propose to send, the subject matter, how you would treat it and how many words you expect you may need for the article.  
2. If you have sent your article to another publication, please indicate which one. We will not use another publication’s material without permission.  
3. When the editor gives you encouragement to proceed:

Before you begin, please review the next section, “A Few Comments on Text Formatting.”
Type your article in your favorite word processor, but save it in Word or contact us regarding a workable option.
Count the words and indicate the total at the top of the first page.
Please have three other people read your work and make suggestions/corrections since even good proofreaders miss mistakes in their own work. We suggest you use a spell checker and a grammar checker, but don’t rely on them exclusively. Though helpful, they’re not perfect and are no substitute for a good human eye.
Enclose a short biographical sketch of 3-4 sentences.
Include a complete bibliography and endnotes in University of Chicago Style (link for style guide).
Indicate which Bible version(s) you are quoting.
E-mail your paper, as an attachment, either to the guest editor who solicited your paper, or to [email protected] (if you are submitting your paper on your own). Or if you have further security concerns, reach out to Andy Bettencourt via Signal, +1 (209) 402-3489.
We will work with you as we edit your article and make recommendations. Please let us know if you have a travel schedule where you may be hard to reach.
After your paper has been flowed into our layout program, we will e-mail you a copy of your formatted article in PDF format for your final review. You will have 72 hours to respond with changes should you notice any errors that were inadvertently introduced in the layout process. If you do not own a copy of Acrobat Reader, please download the latest version at http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep2.html.

A Few Comments on Text Formatting 
Please observe the following guidelines (and thereby gain our enduring gratitude):

Do not double space after punctuation (or anywhere else). Please run the Find & Replace function of your word processor to make sure you have no double spaces.
Do not indent paragraphs.
Never underline anything.
Use italics sparingly.
Do not use all caps for headings or subheadings.
In general, spell out numbers below 100. Use numerals for numbers 100 and above, unless they begin a sentence. Example: One thousand people crowded into the gymnasium.
Learn the difference between hyphens, en dashes and em dashes (these aren’t exhaustive but will give you a start): (a) For our purposes, the only place you ever use a hyphen is in compound words like grace-oriented. (b) En dashes are used to indicate a duration (8–10 A.M.; May–July) [Mac: Opt+-; Windows: Alt 0150] (c) Em dashes are used to set off phrases that contain many commas or to mark an abrupt change in thought or sentence structure. [Mac: Shift+Opt+-; Windows: Alt 0151]
It is extremely helpful to us if you use either a different font/font size or style (if you know how to use styles) for the following: body text, heading levels, indented lists, indented quotes, etc. That way we can simply do a find and replace your formatting with ours, saving us much time!

Citation Styles and Article Lengths

For guidance on general matters of style, please consult the latest edition of The Chicago Manual of Style (link here) and their Quick Citation Guide (link here). For specifically Christian questions of style, see Robert Hudson’s The Christian Writer’s Style Guide (link here).
Normal maximum length of article: 6,000 words (approximately ten journal pages), if you need more words contact us at [email protected].
Minimum length of article: 3,000 words (approximately five journal pages), if your article is shorter than this, please contact us. Note: One full journal page, without graphics or titles, etc., consists of approximately 600 words.

 Responsibilities of IJFM Staff

To give your article a fair review.
Our answer may not always be a “Yes” or “No” but a “Maybe.” That means that we would either like to see more revision or work done on your article, or we need more time to see how various ideas jell and which other articles would cover that subject.
We regret that we cannot pay honoraria at this stage of the Journal’s life. You are free to print copies of your work and share the journal with others. Please let us know if there are other ways that we can help with the distribution of your work.

Recommendations for Co-authoring papers: (Not Required)

1. If you are from the Global North, consider co-authoring with someone from the Global South or vice versa. If you are a scholar on the field, consider co-authoring with a practitioner that is implementing your theories. Ideally you would work with someone whose conceptual framework is not the same as yours.

2. Work together bearing in mind the objectives for our journal: Our current objectives are to cultivate an international community of people (academics, practitioners, leaders, and mission enthusiasts across generations) that band together to critically reflect, prayerfully discern, and co-create renewed approaches for frontier mission, equipping one another toward fruitfulness and impact.

3. Suggested approaches for co-creative authorship:

a. Both parties write drafts, and then rigorously discuss, and co-produce a paper together.

b. The field worker/cultural insider writes a first draft, while the scholar/cultural outsider discusses the first part within a broader sociological/theological/missiological framework. The scholar/cultural outsider needs to have in-depth conversations to ensure faithful understanding of the ideas.

For further information on guidelines and suggestions for writers, contact:

Andy Bettencourt, IJFM Managing Editor  
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]