Monson Featured on The 700 Club
Jordan Monson interviewed on The 700 Club about Katharine Barnwell biography
HUNTINGTON, Ind. — Huntington University Assistant Professor of Missions and Old Testament Jordan Monson was featured as a guest on The 700 Club on June 23 to discuss his recently published biography on renowned missionary Katharine Barnwell, titled “Katharine Barnwell: How One Woman Revolutionized Modern Missions.”
The 700 Club is a daily news show produced by the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) featuring a mix of news and commentary, interviews, feature stories and Christian ministry. Following presenting at a conference at the University of Notre Dame, CBN flew Monson out to their headquarters in Virginia Beach, Virginia, to record the feature interview about Monson’s book.
The opportunity to promote his book on The 700 Club was a great honor for Monson, as he grew up watching the show with his father.
“Though I have done a lot of Zoom calls and live radio interviews at various levels of importance, this was definitely the biggest ticket item,” Monson said. “It was fun to be flown halfway across the country to appear on live TV. I also grew up watching The 700 Club with my dad, so it was special to be on the show I grew up watching. My parents were watching live!”
During the interview, Monson shared about his book and the backstory behind Barnwell, who Monson feels is one of the most influential missionaries of all time due to her lifelong devotion to Bible translation.
Some 3,000 languages now have Bibles or partial Bibles because of Barnwell’s work. And since she rewrote the Jesus Film’s translation methods, more than 400 million people have indicated they have become Christians following a viewing. This, coupled with her Bible translation, makes her well over 100 times as influential as Billy Graham.
Monson brought Barnwell’s story to Christianity Today in 2021, and in 2022 it became a cover story — the longest cover story published in Christianity Today in the 21st century. What started as the magazine profile eventually developed into the biography, as the reaction to the cover story motivated Monson to expand upon Barnwell’s story and give it the justice it deserved.
Monson worked on and off on Barnwell’s story in its various forms from 2021-2024, highlighted by a trip to the U.K. in January of 2024 to meet with Barnwell in person to collect interviews and work through Barnwell’s files, photos and correspondence for resources. He concluded the writing process later in 2024.
Monson is pleased with how the book has been received since publication but is not done dreaming about where Barnwell’s story may lead.
“I think the subject of my biography would make a great feature film,” Monson said. “I have been working up a pitch deck to bring to some Christian film studios. I know the chances are slim, but one can dream, right? During a commercial break, the host of The 700 Club, Ashley Key, leaned over to me and said, ‘I think this needs to be a film.’ I said, ‘Let’s talk about that after the show…’ Who knows!”
The book, published by B&H, is available everywhere books are sold and is also available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format. For those interested in an audiobook format, the book is available through Audible. Those opting for the audiobook version will enjoy hearing Monson narrate the book himself, which he was able to professionally record locally at Sweetwater Studios.
