“Most Christians and churches take very seriously the beginning of Jesus’ Great Commission, ‘Go and make disciples of all nations’, and they think of plans and strategies to accomplish that. But they neglect the second part of that Commission: ‘Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you’,” says Pastor Foley. “Pastors and Christian teachers tend to look at this as just a general command about Jesus’ teachings. But in Acts 28:20, Paul tells the Ephesian elders that he had proclaimed to them ‘the whole will of God’. Not only is it possible for us to teach people to obey everything Jesus’ commands; it is actually Jesus’ commandment to us. So I wrote this book to provide a 12-month plan to pastors, teachers, and parents which enables them to keep this commandment.” 

Pastor Foley says that it is important to note that Jesus did not only command Christian leaders to teach others what Jesus taught. “Jesus commanded us, ‘Teach them to obey’,” says Pastor Foley. “That means we must teach people how to do these things. James tells us, ‘Be doers of the word, not hearers only.’” 

In Pastor Foley’s “Whole Life Offering” book, he devotes one chapter to each of the ways Jesus commands his disciples to do the word. 

“There are individual chapters on ‘Sharing your bread’, ‘Opening your home’, ‘Visiting’, ‘Healing and comforting’, ‘Proclaiming the gospel’, ‘Forgiving’, and so on,” says Pastor Foley. “Each chapter is then subdivided into sections where we learn: What does scripture teach us about this particular ministry? How have Christians done this ministry since the time of Christ on through today? How can we incorporate this ministry into our personal, family, and church worship and prayer times? How does Christ call us to use our money and our possessions to do this particular ministry?” 

Pastor Foley says that the material in the book is what he and his wife, Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr Hyun Sook Foley, have taught in their ministry to North Korean, Chinese, and Russian-speaking underground Christians for decades. But Pastor Foley says that it was also what he and Dr Foley used to disciple their own children, who are now fully grown. 

“The content in the book is designed to be useful to Christian parents with their children of all ages,” says Representative Foley. “Our family, and the family of several of our staff, have used it to teach our own children to obey everything that Christ commanded and to be doers of the word.” 

Pastor Foley says that the book contains practical ideas about how families, churches, and small groups can learn to do each of the ministries the Lord commended to his disciples. 

“Ultimately we can’t learn to obey everything Christian commanded inside a church building,” says Representative Foley. “Much of what Jesus teaches has to be done in our homes, neighborhoods, and communities. The ‘Whole Life Offering’ book provides detailed examples of how Christians have done each kind of ministry throughout history, as well as how churches and Christian families and small groups can do those ministries today.” 

Pastor Foley says he originally wrote the book in English in 2010 but had been urged by Korean pastors to create a Korean version. “This Korean version is completely rewritten specifically for the Korean context, and, as with all of my books, is a collaboration with my wife, Dr Foley, who is also the translator, along with Miss Grace Kim, our long-time assistant.” 

The book is done in a two–volume set due to the size, with both being released this month for a total of 30,000 KRW. It is available for purchase by calling the Voice of the Martyrs Korea office at 02-2065-0703 Tuesday through Saturday, or later this month via the organization’s website, at www.vomkorea.com/store.