Ajith Fernando and Graham Joseph Hill discuss Jesus-driven ministry, reclaiming friendship, and sharing the truth in love. Ajith Fernando is an inspiring spiritual leader, who has spent his life serving among some of the most vulnerable and marginalized people in the world, and who shows us what true servant leadership looks like.

This video (and its associated podcast) was made possible through the generous sponsorship of The Refuge – Oran Park Baptist Church.

Ajith Fernando (ThM, DD) is teaching director of Youth for Christ, Sri Lanka, a ministry he led for 35 years. In addition to teaching and preaching, he spends his time mentoring and counseling younger Christian leaders and pastors. His latest book is Discipling in a Multicultural World (Crossway).

Soong-Chan Rah and Graham Joseph Hill discuss the next evangelicalism, releasing the church to cultural diversity, & freeing the church from western cultural captivity.

Soong-Chan Rah served as the founding pastor of a multi-ethnic, urban ministry-focused church, committed to living out the values of racial reconciliation and social justice in the urban context. Today, Soong-Chan Rah teaches and writes about church planting, church growth, leadership, and evangelism.

Soong-Chan Rah shows how evangelicalism has long been held captive by its predominantly white cultural identity and history. He calls the North American church to escape its captivity to Western cultural trappings and to embrace a diverse and multiethnic future. Spiritual renewal is happening within the North American church, from corners and margins not always noticed by those in the centre.

Daniel Bourdanné and Graham Joseph Hill discuss renewing humility, mission, discipleship & passion in the church.

Daniel Bourdanné was born in Chad. He has served IFES in Francophone Africa since 1990, including overseeing IFES ministry throughout the region, which encompasses 20 French-speaking countries.

Daniel Bourdanné is General Secretary of IFES, and Deputy Director of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. Over the past few years he has led a number of significant training initiatives designed to bring theologians and local churches together in mission and theology.

Daniel Bourdanné challenges Christians to give their whole lives to God in discipleship and service and mission. He urges us to think about our life and who it belongs to. “Life is not granted,” he says, “it belongs to God.”

Ruth Padilla DeBorst and Graham Joseph Hill on pursuing integral mission and practicing hospitality.

Ruth Padilla DeBorst is the General Secretary of Latin American Theological Fellowship, director of IFES’s Spanish-speaking publishing house, Ediciones Certeza Unida, and team leader of Christian Reformed World Mission’s work in El Salvador. For many years, she worked with the growing Christian student movements of Latin America under the umbrella of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES), of which InterVarsity is a member movement. She has an MA in Interdisciplinary Studies from Wheaton College Graduate School and is pursuing a doctoral degree at Boston University School of Theology.

Jayakumar Christian and Graham Joseph Hill discuss “Following the God of the Empty-Handed.”

Jayakumar Christian is an internationally recognised leader in Christian faith and development. The former National Director of World Vision India, he is currently serving World Vision International as their leader for Faith & Development.

Jayakumar Christian has authored numerous articles and books on poverty issues, community transformation, and the kingdom of God. His book “God of the Empty-Handed” has received wide acclaim. Jayakumar lives in Chennai, India, with his family.

Lamin Sanneh and Graham Joseph Hill discuss engaging Islam & our Muslim neighbours, & engaging with the post-Western Christian awakening.

The late Lamin Sanneh was born in The Gambia. He was descended from the nyanchos, an ancient African royal line. He served as a professor of Missions and World Christianity and history at Yale Divinity School. He’s the author of more than a dozen books and scores of articles. Lamin Sanneh converted from Islam to Christianity, and writes extensively on the relationship between the two world religions. He also explores the emerging shape of World Christianity.

Lamin Sanneh taught and conducted research at many prestigious universities: including Yale, Harvard, Cambridge, and the University of London. He was also a Commander of the National Order of the Lion, Senegal’s highest national honour.

Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Graham Joseph Hill discuss how we might learn from the wisdom and experiences of immigrant women and communities.

Grace Ji-Sun Kim is a prolific writer, having published more than 10 books and 70 book chapters and journal articles. She challenges the church to engage with issues to do with the Asian-American Christian experience, and the faith-stories of Asian-American women. Her work on the social and religious experiences of Korean women immigrants to North America has received wide acclaim.

Grace Ji-Sun Kim unpacks the theological and cultural riches to be found in Asian-American and Asian-American-feminist approaches to faith and theology. She shows how Asian notions of Wisdom and the spirit can communicate with Christian ideas today. And she challenges the North American church to move beyond patriarchal and colonial and repressive forms of faith and theology.

Melba Padilla Maggay and Graham Joseph Hill discuss approaches to transforming society.

Melba Padilla Maggay is an acclaimed Asian theologian, based in the Philippines. A writer and a social anthropologist, she’s considered a leading authority on intercultural communication. Melba Padilla Maggay has served as a Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge, applying intercultural communication theories to questions on mission and culture and theology. She’s lectured on these topics worldwide.

Melba Padilla Maggay explores how the church can transform society, drawing on her experiences in the Philippines during the rise and fall of the Marcos regime. She challenges the church to get involved in struggles for social justice, and to resist becoming embedded in the power structures of the world.

Miroslav Volf and Graham Joseph Hill discuss the topics of exclusion and embrace, expressing a public faith, and Muslim-Christian relations. How do we overcome hatred & conflict & indifference, & embrace the “other”?

Professor Volf is the founding Director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture.

His books include Allah: A Christian Response (2011); Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace (2006), which was the Archbishop of Canterbury Lenten book for 2006; Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation (1996), a winner of the 2002 Grawemeyer Award; and After Our Likeness: The Church as the Image of the Trinity (1998), winner of the Christianity Today book award.

A member of the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. and the Evangelical Church in Croatia, Professor Volf has been involved in international ecumenical dialogues (for instance, with the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity) and interfaith dialogues (on the executive board of C-1 World Dialogue), and is active participant in the Global Agenda Council on Values of the World Economic Forum. A native of Croatia, he regularly teaches and lectures in Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, and across North America. Professor Volf is a fellow of Berkeley College.

Welcome to Faith Across Borders: with Graham Joseph Hill. A Christian podcast catalyzing innovative Christian faith through global conversations and local initiatives. Tune into empowering conversations about growing your faith and embarking along your spiritual journey.