Although I’m not a Christian, I did enjoy this tale of spreading Christianity (“church planting”) in Mongolia in the early 1990s, just after the fall of Communism. The author’s stories of mixing with a culture much different from his own make for interesting reading for anyone interested in travel books. (For example, he initially struggled to make any converts because, it turned out, his Mongolian Bible translation was using the wrong word for “God.”) The story about the death of his infant son, and how both his family and his nascent church coped with it, was very touching. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in travel stories, and especially to Christians. ( )

There’s a Sheep in my Bathtub is a remarkable book. It tells the story of the small team of missionaries that God used to plant a dynamic indigenous church in Mongolia. In the course of a few years, Mongolia went from being a nation with hardly any Christians to a nation with its own church planting church. Brian tells the story with wisdom, humor, and transparency about the struggles and loss his own family experienced. The book is a must for anyone with any interest in church planting because it is one of the healthiest and most anointed examples that I have heard of—it will be a classic of missions history. ( )

Funny, sad, informative, practical. A great read on many levels and very worthwhile. ( )

Advance Praise for There’s a Sheep in my Bathtub

From the very first page this book jerks you irretrievably into the outrageous, the uproarious and the impossible to imagine. It has got to be one of the most absolutely fascinating tales to ever prove that the truth is stranger than fiction. Nevertheless, it throbs with a sobering and relentless sense of calling and purpose that is truly inspiring.
Dr. Ralph D. Winter
Founder, U.S. Center for World Mission

Hogan has written a personal account of church planting in Erdenet, Mongolia’s third city, which occurred over a three year period in the 1990s. While emphasizing that he and his family were part of a church-planting team, his narrative is deeply personal. At points the story is heart-wrenching and poignant; at other times it is uplifting and motivating. From the despair of having to bury his only son on the steppes of Mongolia to the birth of a church-planting movement, Hogan offers a deeply spiritual memoir, peppered with humor and inspirational insight, and informed by solid biblical missiology. I recommend this book to all Christians in the hope that they will see what God in Christ can do when a man and his family are willing to pay the ultimate price in discipleship.
Hugh P. Kemp, author of Steppe by Step: Mongolia’s Christians – from ancient roots to vibrant young church

I wept, laughed and was stirred by this book. I love a good story, and this is a really good one! You won’t be able to put it down!
Floyd McClung., author of Living on the Devil’s Doorstep: From Kabul to Amsterdam

Brian Hogan’s apostolic passion shines through with an incredible combination of raw honesty and witty humor. A gripping real-life parable unfolds that will have you laughing, weeping and rejoicing at the amazing testimony of God’s grace and power revealed through ordinary people facing extra-ordinary obstacles. I wholeheartedly recommend this book as it not only tells an amazing story, but also becomes a discipleship tool that reveals to us a whole new paradigm of church and missions.
David Broodryk, Kingdom People Network, South Africa

“Reading There’s a Sheep in my Bathtub is like reading another chapter in the book of Acts. Brian Hogan is not a theorist, but an apostle in the strictest sense. He has an amazing story to tell of what God has done through simple obedience to God’s Word and trusting in the Holy Spirit’s leading to see an entire unreached nation explode with the Gospel. The spontaneous and radical expansion of the Church in its first several centuries was not just for then, but it is happening still today around the world through church planting movements. Read this book and experience the adventure, miracles and acts of the Holy Spirit through Hogan’s story. Be prepared to be challenged, to let go of old paradigms of Church and be ready to embark on your own adventure to see souls saved, disciples made and churches planted in the nations. After reading There’s a Sheep in my Bathtub you will once again believe that the impossible can be possible with God!”
Jaeson Ma, author of The Blueprint: a Revolutionary Plan to Plant Missional Communities on Cam-pus, and Director of Campus Church Networks.

If you want a radically cross-cultural journey without leaving your favorite easy chair – this book is your ticket.
If you desire to plant churches that reproduce among the least reached – this is your training manual wrapped up in a most delightful, brawny and instructive story-box!
I laughed – I cried – and wrestled through the realities of what it means to leave the easy chair and watch God prove Himself faithful - accomplishing His dreams for a people through one ordinary and obedient family.
Brian Hogan is courageous, practical and real. Focused in the same direction for many years, he is a pioneer, church planter, mentor and model. His journey is a challenge to all those who want to be used by God. Brian’s thinking will stretch and grow you; his passion and lifestyle will confront every comfortable corner of your life.
There’s a Sheep in my Bathtub will be top on the reading list for those I train.
Carol Davis, executive director of LeafLine Initiatives

Paul planted a church in Ephesus in just three years. Is that still possible today? Brian Hogan’s story proves that it is. With humor and colorful descriptions, he tells the story of how his family joined a team among an unreached people “at the ends of the earth” and saw a healthy, indigenous Mongol church raise up its own leaders, multiply itself, and send out its own missionaries—all within three years. As Brian illustrates, it may not be easy, but it is possible.
Anne Thiessen, Mixteco tribal church planter and author of The Shepherd’s Storybook

Brian Hogan’s Erdenet-story had been told to me a number of times as a real and astonishing exception and a true, powerful secret. I am thrilled to see it in print. Brian experienced church history in the making in 1993-1996. May his insights multiply like an epidemic and grip an entire new generation of an apostolic people, so that this planet will never remain the same.
Wolfgang Simson, author of Houses that Change the World & The Starfish Manifesto

“There’s a Sheep in my Bathtub” is the gripping story of the Hogan family’s life on the mission field in Mongolia. It is a book that will not fail to stir the emotions. Throughout the account, Brian’s passion to see the Kingdom of God come to one of the least reached areas of the world shines through. But more than just an enthralling read about the beginnings of a church planting movement, the book teaches valuable lessons and principles that can be applied to any church planting situation—especially cell and simple churches. I could not put it down. I recommend it without hesitation.
Felicity Dale, author of Getting Started & An Army of Ordinary People.

For the past decade, I have worked side by side with Brian training and coaching cross-cultural church planters serving among unreached peoples. How enjoyable it’s been to watch him inspire hundreds of YWAM church planting teams scattered from Senegal across to Japan. He’s touched us all deeply by his life experiences communicated with a passionate heart. Now, through this book, you will feel the impact as well. May you choose to follow the Hogan family’s example—launching out in faith, doing your part in bringing the Message of Jesus to those who have never heard!
Kevin Sutter, International Coordinator, YWAM Church Planting Coaches

Extraordinary things happened when these two ordinary people decided together to follow God’s leading “no matter what.” Their story will touch your heart, encourage you and challenge you, but even more importantly, their example highlights many key principles for those who wish to live extraordinary lives of faith following our Lord Jesus.
Joe B., cross-cultural coach/consultant

Brian keeps the story rolling. You won’t put this book down easily. But while you’re having fun turning the pages, you’ll find yourself amazed at the God who puts the move in Christ-following movements. You’ll find yourself coached without realizing it, learning all kinds of wisdom about how to over-achieve in seemingly impossible things. Mongolia may be one of the best laboratories to learn about how Christ becomes famous and followed throughout an entire people. And this could be one of the best bundle of lessons learned. Brian is transparent about his misgivings and mistakes, and at the same time he is disarmingly clear about the principles that he was proving true. It’s hard not come away feeling that you are ready to attempt something great yourself.
Steve Hawthorne, director of Waymakers, editor of Perspectives on the World Christian Movement

Many are writing about the principles of Church Planting Movements that today are globally sweeping thousands into God’s Kingdom. Brian Hogan humbly recounts his family’s experiences on the remote Mongolian steppes giving leadership to one of these powerful movements of God. Weaving a story of personal grief, hope, tragedy, and eventual triumph he has created a volume powerful in honesty and uplifting in spiritual insights. I recommend it not for armchair theorists but for ordinary Christians who may also be called upon to count the cost of obedience.
Bill Smith, International Mission Board church planting trainer

I’ve known Brian and Louise for many years, and have been deeply impressed with their extraordinary commitment to the Lord and to His eternal purpose of spreading His love, mercy, tenderness, compassion and forgiveness to the ends of the Earth. Their lives truly demonstrate the Lord’s Father Heart made flesh in a winsomely genuine way that is incredibly attractive and deeply compelling. I was unable to put this book down. This masterful and engaging story of their joys and sorrows, overwhelming challenges, perseverance in tribulation and astounding successes in Mongolia is a testimony to both their undaunted spirit and the unwavering faithfulness of God to accomplish His word with great power through normal people just like you and me. The timeless spiritual principles embedded in these pages will both inspire and instruct those who want to know and understand the Lord and His vision for the world in a deeper and clearer way. I can’t recommend it to you highly enough!
Fred Markert, director of the Center for Strategic Initiatives

Brian shares with humor and honesty both the joys and the pain of cross-cultural pioneer ministry. I laughed and cried as I read this book and “walked with them” through their years in Mongolia. Some biographies are worth reading for the delightful and interesting accounts of the adventures. Others are meaningful for the spiritual lessons shared. Still others present significant missiological insights and principles. This book is valuable on all three levels. I highly recommend this book to anyone considering cross-cultural ministry.
Dr. Betty Sue Brewster, Associate Professor of Language and Culture Learning, Fuller School of World Mission

John Lennon wrote a song called, “A Day in the Life.” Brian Hogan answers the often asked question to missionaries “What is your day like?” with insight and great humor revealing there are not a lot of days in the life of a missionary that are what we think of as average. As fellow participants in this splen-did drama, my family found Brian recalling in excellent detail the joy (and sorrows) of what it was like to live in Mongolia in the 1990s and participate in what God was doing. I found his book wonderfully refreshing and recommend it you as a book you will never forget.
Rick Leatherwood, apostle to Mongolia and director of Kairos International

It is my delight to endorse my dear brother Brian Hogan’s book. I have known Brian and his family for a long time. Without pioneer missionaries like Brian and Louise Hogan, the great awakening Mongolia experienced would have been impossible. With great sacrifice they laid down everything for God’s Kingdom in Mongolia, but their sacrifice wasn’t in vain. Erdenet Assembly, which their team established, has been a model to young Mongolian churches, and a great encouragement to indigenous believers to step up and take on leadership within their churches and in their communities and country as well.
Brian has a heart for Mongolians. His great skill, biblical knowledge, respect toward Mongolian tradition, culture and history, and his sense of humor were easily embraced by the locals. His actions were louder than his words, for which he was loved not only by local Christians, but by non-Christians as well.
No one can tell the story of Mongolian church birth, growth, and struggles better than Brian Hogan. His first hand experience is helpful to not only missionaries who are about to start their journeys, but also to local believers who are writing the history of Mongolian Christianity. That’s why I am offering my support and if he wants to publish his book in Mongolian, I am honored to ask him to finish this task.
Baika Puntsag, pastor, Amazing Grace Mongolian Church, Denver, CO, 1st Mongolian church in USA.

A great read. I was drawn in by the struggles and victories experienced by the Hogan family as they dreamed the impossible: to see a church planting movement established in Mongolia. This book is stuffed with powerful New Testament Apostolic church planting principles—something woefully absent in today’s missionary literature. Brian writes from “hands on” practical experience and not theory. Excellent!! I highly recommend There’s a Sheep in my Bathtub to anyone who dreams of the impossible. A must-read for any future church planter on all continents!
Jeff Gilbertson, church planter to the Tajiks, simple church practitioner

I was greatly inspired. This book is an excellent asset for anyone training church planters. I would make it required reading for all on how to plant an indigenous church from the beginning. The wisdom and courage showed in passing the baton is simply remarkable.
Rev. Glenn Schwartz, author of When Charity Destroys Dignity and director of World Mission Associates. ( )