At one point in my long evangelical life, I found myself fantasizing about the missionary world. While a paraplegic, I was convinced I had a place serving God in places most people could never imagined.

I never pursued this fantasy. Truthfully, I wasn't built for it. Beyond one brief trip to Haiti (and short-term missions are an entirely other discussion), my ministry life has been here in the United States.

With precision, insight, and sharp analysis, historian Holly Berkley Fletcher, herself a "missionary kid" or MK, explores this world evangelical missionary work specifically focusing on the experiences of the children of missionaries.

Fletcher unveils, over and over again, how the experiences of these MKs illuminate the broader currents present in American Christianity. This book is neither as dark as you might expect it to be, though it gets mighty dark at times, nor the celebration that those who nearly idolize evangelical missionaries might want it to be. Instead, it's, well, historical. It's constantly insightful, occasionally disturbing, frequently revealing, and fiercely thought-provoking from beginning to end. Written from a perspective of historical analysis, "The Missionary Kids" lacks the emotional resonance, at least for the most part, that might make it a more engaging read yet is also a book destined to be explored by clergy, theologians, and seminarians for years to come.

This is a world worthy of exploration and Fletcher explores it.

Fletcher doesn't hold back from diving deep into areas faced by MKs - God's calling, racism, privilege, faith, and most starkly abuse. Fletcher explores the mechanisms behind white evangelicalism by interviewing some of those most directly impacted by it. The end result is simultaneously compassionate and jarring.

A Southern Baptist MK in Kenya, Fletcher reveals how calling, multiculturalism, saints, and indispensability can allow for distraction from the weaknesses of the movement. Fletcher captures the weight carried by MKs, portraying family life amidst the "missionary industrial complex" and a world where one does not distract from the work of the Lord often at the cost of sexual abuse, relationships, and simple human connection.

In a movement that often raises up those who are called into the missionary world, the children often become sacrificed as if Isaac. Holly Berkley Fletcher powerfully unmasks the myths of white evangelicalism while also giving voice to MKs who've often been expected to remain silent.

Holly Berkley Fletcher’s Missionary Kids is a captivating narrative on evangelicalism, the notions of white saviourhood, and the twisty ways the Christian church’s mission work buried years of abuse.

Beyond the message of missionary kids, Fletcher’s storytelling is enlightening, aggravating and rich. Her open theology of “you do not have to be sure about who you are or who God is, or even if God is, to form community with others (p. 252).” Her story is a coming of age narrative that takes place in American Christianity - but it’s the American Christianity that is becoming more apparent. It’s loud, controlling and overzealous (former church kid, so I’ve been there). Through extensive research and interviews with former missionary kids, Fletcher weaves through challenging topics of racism, abuse, sexual violence, and neglect which many missionary kids may have experienced at homes or schools.

I appreciate Fletcher’s writing as she often recognizes her own background, identifying that she has biases (i.e., while citing corruption in world aid organizations, she highlights she has a World Vision sponsor child).

As an aside, as someone who remembers being referred to as a squeezed tube of toothpaste that cannot be reverted back to its original form I am pissed that purity culture flowers made its way to Africa. When the author is bold enough to suggest The Doctrine of Inerrancy is a “power hoarding device” I think that somehow this book needs to be a bigger deal, especially today.

Two points of feedback, which considering the publication date, I recognize I am late on: when it is indicated you have made your way to the school and “there was not even a phone” this is repeated a few times over pgs. 171-173 and may be a bit repetitive. The second point comes from pg. 125, when citing the Doctrine of Inerrency the text I have says “institutes writ large“ and I am wondering if that is meant to be “at large”.

The Missionary Kids by Holly Berkley Fletcher comes out August 19, 2025
5🌟/5🌟

This is a interesting and quick read. Drawing from her own experience as a missionary kid (MK), interviews with other MKs, and her expertise as a historian, Holly Berkley Fletcher critically examines the white, American evangelical missionary complex. Woven throughout her personal stories is a powerful analysis of the missions system—including mission boards, theological frameworks, and the structures that have perpetuated harm and abuse.

It's long past time for the white, American evangelical church to reckon with the racism and abuse embedded in its institutions, including the world of missions. This book is a bold step in that direction. The voices of MKs are rising, exposing broken systems—and we must not look away.

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