Better Mission Trips

Description: Have you read The God Ask and want to hear more from the author Steve Shadrach? Here’s your chance. Be encouraged and inspired to follow God wholeheartedly down the path of support raising with this episode!

Notes:

The God Ask by Steve Shadrach

Support Raising Solutions Website: https://supportraisingsolutions.org

Five Keys to Personal Support Raising: https://supportraisingsolutions.org/docs/5Keys-v3.1.pdf

Center for Mission Mobilization: mobilization.org

Support Raising Boot Camp: https://supportraisingsolutions.org/bootcamp/

Article: https://supportraisingsolutions.org/rethinking-short-term-mission-fundraising/#.YVssB5rMKUk 

Bio:

Dr. Steve Shadrach (https://twitter.com/steveshadrach) has a passion for developing laborers for Christ to reach the world. In college, he was involved with Cru, Navs, and as head counselor with Kanakuk Kamps. He served as Pastor of Students and Missions at University Baptist Church in Fayetteville, AR. He is the founder of Student Mobilization, which focuses on evangelizing and discipling college students in the U.S. and abroad, The Traveling Team w/Todd Ahrend, Center for Mission Mobilization and Support Raising Solutions w/John Patton, and Campus Ministry Today w/John Allert. From 2004-2012 he also served as the Director of Mobilization for the U.S. Center for World Mission, including the oversight of the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement study program w/Dave Flynn. Dr. Shadrach has a Masters in Biblical Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary and a Doctorate of Ministry in Church and Para-church Executive Leadership from Denver Seminary. Steve and his wife Carol reside in Fayetteville, AR, where he serves as the Global Ambassador of the Center for Mission Mobilization(www.mobilization.org). They have five adult children and a growing brood of grandchildren!

Description: Support raising is difficult for all missionaries but minority missionaries have their own challenges. Byron Johnson from Vision 9:38 shares about these challenges, how to overcome them, and what churches and organizations can do to support minority missionaries.

Notes:

https://www.vision938.org/

https://www.naamcevents.org/

Bio:

Byron Johnson's roles included campus staff, campus director, area director, and regional director. He is the Founder and Executive Director of VISION 9:38 (2012). For 20 years (1992-2012), He served as a missionary with CO (Campus Outreach). He served in various capacities with CO. 

He continues to disciple and mentor young African-American male college students at Morehouse College. His hope and prayer is that God would raise up other African-American missionaries to labor in His harvest.

Byron is married to Kim and they have five children (Kelsey, James Byron II, Kaitlyn, Jordan, and Jonathan). Byron met Kim on a summer mission project hosted by CO while the two of them were in college. They were married in 1993 and currently reside in Atlanta, GA.

Description: What if fundraising was a ministry in itself? What if fundraising and giving became joyful? We talk with Scott Rodin about how we can approach fundraising from a biblical perspective that makes God the fundraiser and us a minister to those around us.

Notes:

Books by Scott Rodin: Million Dollar Dime, The Sower, The Third Conversion

https://thestewardsjourney.com/

https://thefocusgroup.com/

Bio:

Scott Rodin has a passion for helping Christian ministry leaders take a biblical approach to leadership development, strategic planning, board development and raising kingdom resources. Over the past thirty-five years he has worked with hundreds of organizations in the U.S., Canada, Middle East, Great Britain, China, India, the Philippines and Australia.

Dr. Rodin is president of The Steward’s Journey and a Senior Consultant and Chief Strategy Officer for The FOCUS Group. He also serves as a Senior Fellow of the Association of Biblical Higher Education. Dr. Rodin holds Master of Theology and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Systematic Theology from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.  He has authored seventeen books and he blogs weekly at www.thestewardsjourney.com.

Description: How can you share the gospel with someone in a Muslim culture? This podcast with Pierre Houssney of Horizons International explores some key doctrines of Islam including their view of God, forgiveness, and much more. He also provides some basic ideas that will help you build friendships with muslims and have the confidence to share the gospel in a meaningful and relevant way.

Notes:

https://www.horizonsinternational.org/

www.biblicalmissiology.org

www.engagingislam.org

Bio:

Pierre Rashad Houssney / Executive Director, Horizons International

Pierre Rashad Houssney is a Lebanese-American who grew up in the context of cross-cultural ministry among Muslims and international students. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Northern Colorado, and is fluent in English and Arabic. He has been in full-time ministry with Horizons International since 2006, and has been an active member of Horizons’ teaching staff and curriculum development team since 2002.

He played a lead role in the development and teaching of the Engaging Islam and Cubs to Lions training curricula, and co-edited Engaging Islam (Georges Houssney, Treeline Publishing, Boulder, CO, 2010). Pierre has traveled to over 30 countries, and his field experience in the Middle East began when he spent summers doing outreach in Lebanon as a teenager and spent a gap year during university doing music ministry in Beirut. 

Pierre lives in Beirut, Lebanon, with his wife, Gigi, and their three children -Rami, Talia, and Jana - where he leads a team of 98 nationals and missionaries who run 8 centers for evangelism and discipleship in Lebanon and surrounding countries, the School of Hope for refugee children, and the Middle East Center forWorld Missions (MEC) in Beirut, Lebanon, through which Horizons partners with a network of over 80 Lebanese churches and hundreds of foreign churches and organizations who minister to Muslims in the Middle East. As a key part ofHorizons' teaching staff, he trains Arab and Western Christians for effective ministry to Muslims, and is active in missiological advocacy among the global missions community. Pierre is a team player, and loves to see new leaders thrive and work together to glorify God.

Description: What do you need to know about the culture before serving in an Asian country? While not every country or region is the same, this podcast with “A friend of Asia” will help you with large cultural themes that will help you understand and communicate with those you are visiting. We talk about views of the after-life, “face,” honor-shame, ancestor worship and other elements of culture but, most importantly, talk about how the message of the gospel can be uniquely good news for those you are visiting.

Notes:

go2serve.com

cyclingadventures.org

Description: Gene Harter from Greater Europe Mission discusses how to prepare for ministry in a European, post-modern, post-Christian setting. Before you assume western Europe is just like your culture, have a listen to this podcast! We talk about how to shatter preconceived ideas of visiting Americans and Canadians and the importance of authentic relationships, among many other things.

Notes:

gemteams.org

[email protected]

Description: John Chow from the Chinese Mission Convention (CMC) and Isabel Lee of the Chinese Bible Church of Maryland share about the contributions of the Chinese Church to the Great Commission. They also share about the CMC Mission Alliance--a unique way for churches to grow in their mission’s engagement.

Notes: 

afcinc.org

Bio:

John is a trophy of God’s grace. His parents were sent by God to Indonesia from their home church in China. John was born in Indonesia. Later God called his father to pastor a Chinese church in Japan for two years before moving to the United States. John served in the Federal government for over 35 years in various management and leadership positions. Over the last 10 years, he has been serving on the National Executive Team for the annual Chinese Mission Convention mobilizing Chinese churches in the United States to join God’s mission in the world. John and Lorrie live in Washington DC area and have three married children and two grandchildren.

Isabel has been the Minister of Women’s Ministry since 2009. Since November of 2018, she also took on the role of Minister of Global Outreach Mobilization at CBCM. She graduated from Washington Bible College and Columbia International in Bible and Missions and has been in ministry since 1980. Her goal in ministry is Colossians 1:28 “We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.” She serves women in the areas of discipleship, mentoring, encouragement, counseling and prayer through Bible studies, seminars and retreats. She strongly believes when women are strong spiritually and emotionally, they are positive influences to those around them.  She desires to see many come to the saving knowledge of Christ, discipled and faithfully follow Him and serve Him. She prays, encourages and mentors the younger generation and trust that God will thrust them forth to the nations to reach the unreached.

Description: Ron and Starr Nelson, founders of Sowing Seeds of Joy, share about the unique opportunities African Americans have to share the gospel because of their ongoing story of liberation from oppression. They also share about the importance of relationships and a commitment to the long-haul when it comes to partnering with and mobilizing the African American Church.

Notes: 

https://www.sowingseedsofjoy.org

Bio:

Ron Nelson is a licensed and ordained minister, is co-founder of Sowing Seeds of Joy, an organization founded in 2007 to connect the hearts of people to the heart of God. We do this by empowering church leaders and believers through discipleship and training. Our belief is that effective evangelism leads to community transformation. Ron holds a B.A. in Vocational Rehabilitation and Counseling, and is a former police officer, US federal agent, and mission director at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, TX.; he now serves as a mission mobilizer, Perspectives Coordinator, and certified Evantell trainer. Ron’s travels and experience has taken him to Haiti, Belize, Brazil, Jamaica, Papa New Guinea, Austria, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Nigeria, Kenya, Philippines, South Africa, and countless regions and cities of the US.

Star Nelson is co-founder of Sowing Seeds of Joy. She holds a B.A. in Criminology, minors in Government, Psychology, Accounting, Spanish, Former Tax Business owner, Star has 32-years of Government experience with Internal Revenue Services and the US Postal Service (now retired postmaster), and works as a very knowledgeable logistical trainer and mobilizer in cross-cultural missions for SSOJ. Along with husband, Ron, she too is a Perspectives Course Coordinator and certified Evantell Trainer. Star has logistically coordinated hundreds of mission teams since 1998 and has traveled extensively with her husband serving in global ministry. Star is an advocate of connecting the hearts of people to the heart of God by way of mission education, and mission exposure.

Description: We are a diverse people and a diverse church--by God’s design. In this episode, we talk with Pastor Adrian Reeves from The National African American Missions Council about the rich history of black missionaries, challenges facing the African American church, and how we can work together as a diverse church to mobilize missionaries.

Notes:

http://thenaamc.org/

Bio:

Pastor Adrian Reeves Bio

Executive Director, National African American Missions Council

Adrian Reeves is a missions mobilizer and Executive Director for the National African American Missions Council, a conglomerate of missionaries, churches, and missions agencies working to increase African American involvement in the Great Commission. Additionally, he serves as the Executive Pastor for Christ Kingdom Church in Prince George’s County, Maryland where he oversees the Christian Education, Evangelism, Worship, Administration, and Family Life ministries. Having accepted the Lord Jesus Christ at the age of 12; Pastor Reeves has served the local church in various capacities: Youth Pastor, Trustee, Prison Ministry Coordinator, and Camp Director.

He majored in Sociology at the University of Maryland College Park receiving the Hillman Entrepreneurs Scholarship Award. His experience in human resources and non-profit management have allowed him to train ministry and marketplace leaders for positive cultural impact. Pastor Reeves is passionate about establishing healthy structures and strategies for organizations and institutions to thrive in an ever-changing environment. He is married to the delightful Lady Niesha Reeves and they have two wonderful children Adonis and Nyazia whom are both musically gifted. Recently he has established a new platform called “The Table of Brotherhood” to foster racial healing and create a safe space for Christians to address race issues and solutions from a Kingdom perspective. He sums up his life’s work reminding himself “Only what you do for Christ will last”.

Description: CW Allen from Sunshine Gospel Ministries shares about the Bridge Builders program he leads. Mission teams come to listen, learn, serve, and then return to be “bridge builders” for the gospel in their own communities. We talk about how to leverage the urban mission trip, not just to assist the ministry you’re serving, but to equip participants to impact their communities afterwards too.

Notes:

@bridgebuildchi

www.sunshinegospel.org

www.bridgebuilderschicago.com

Bio:

CW Allen was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio where he grew up listening to Hip Hop music and fell in love with heart-pounding drums and bass lines. He began rapping his senior year of high school and never looked back. By that time he had already fallen deeply in love with God and His word so his music was just an expression of his heart and surroundings.