Great Commission Conversations

In our last program Bro. Brad Wells, pastor of Graceway Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. related the story of his call to our nation’s capital while deployed in missions to the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea. It’s a fascinating and enlightening story, if you missed, you’ll certainly want to go back and catch that program. Today, we pick right up where we left off last time with the arrival of the Wells family in Washington, D.C. Once we finish unpacking this new calling, Bro. Brad provides a bit of contrast between these two fields of service, including an analysis of the different spiritual climates. We proceed to discuss some of the doors of utterance and ministry the Lord has opened unto the Wells family on Capitol Hill and some of the progress and prospects for Grace Way Baptist Church.

Your feedback is welcome. You can contact Bro. Lee at [email protected].

My guest today is Bro. Brad Wells, one-time veteran missionary to the country of Papua New Guinea and now for the past several years a church-planter in Washington, D.C. Brad is the founder and pastor of Graceway Baptist Church on Capitol Hill. He and I were recently in a conference together in Northern Ohio and he graciously agreed to sit down and talk about the ministry in New Guinea and D.C. and it proved to be a very enjoyable conversation.

In this first part of a two-part interview, Bro. Brad walks us through his call to Papua New Guinea and some of the primary labors that he undertook in that country over a period of 17 years, and then he traces the call and transition to our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. That is, from the poorest country in the Southern Hemisphere to one of most elite, educated, and affluent cities in the Western World. I assure you, it is every bit as interesting as it sounds.

Your feedback is welcome. You can contact Bro. Lee at [email protected].

Missions Reading List

Indigenous Church Planting

“The Planting and Development of Missionary Churches” by John Nevius

https://www.amazon.com/Planting-Development-Missionary-Churches-ebook/dp/B00SUMNRDM/ref=nodl_

“The Indigenous Church” by Melvin Hodges

https://www.amazon.com/Indigenous-Church-Missionary/dp/0882438107/ref=nodl_

“Ten Men and One Book” by Duane Cleghorn

https://victorybaptistpress.com/product/ten-men-and-one-book/

Culture

“Bruchko” by Bruce Olson

https://www.amazon.com/Bruchko-Astonishing-19-Year-Old-Adventures-Christianizing/dp/159185993X/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=bruchko+by+bruce+olson&qid=1629032554&sprefix=bruchko&sr=8-3

“Foreign to Familiar: A Guide to Understanding Hot - And Cold - Climate Cultures” by Sarah Lanier

https://www.amazon.com/Foreign-Familiar-Understanding-Climate-Cultures/dp/1581580223/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=sarah+lanier+missions&qid=1629032622&sr=8-2

“The 3D Gospel: Ministry in Guilt, Shame, and Fear Cultures” by Jason Georges

https://www.amazon.com/3D-Gospel-Ministry-Guilt-Cultures/dp/0692338012/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=shame+honor+cultures&qid=1629032697&sr=8-7

“Peace Child” by Don Richardson

https://www.amazon.com/Peace-Child-Don-Richardson/dp/0764215612/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=peace+child&qid=1629032766&sr=8-1

“African Friends and Money Matters: Observations from Africa” by David Maranz

Missions General

“The Challenge of Missions” by Oswald J. Smith

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0934445087/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1629147243&sr=8-3

“World Missions: Total War” by L. E. Maxwell

https://www.amazon.com/World-Missions-Total-Spiritual-Warfare/dp/1937428354/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?dchild=1&qid=1629147168&refinements=p_27%3AL.+E+Maxwell&s=books&sr=1-8&text=L.+E+Maxwell

Biography

“To the Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson” by Courtney Anderson

https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Shore-Life-Adoniram-Judson/dp/0817011218

“C.T. Study: Cricketer & Pioneer” by Norman P. Grubb

https://www.amazon.com/C-T-Studd-Cricketer-Pioneer/dp/0875082025

“Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret” by Dr. And Mrs. Howard Taylor

https://www.amazon.com/Hudson-Taylors-Spiritual-Secret-Howard-ebook/dp/B00D0ST9BU

“William Borden of Yale ’09” by Mrs. Howard Taylor

https://www.amazon.com/Borden-Yale-Mrs-Howard-Taylor/dp/1781398216

“Through Gates of Splendor” by Elisabeth Elliot

https://www.amazon.com/Through-Gates-Splendor-Elisabeth-Elliot/dp/0842371516/ref=asc_df_0842371516/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312154644197&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3812639734124774369&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9011620&hvtargid=pla-562761387266&psc=1

Your feedback is welcome. You can contact Bro. at [email protected].

On today’s program we resume our interview with missionary B. J. Cormier. A good bit of the conversation in part one of this interview centered on language-learning. Language acquisition is always an important and challenging element of effective cross-cultural mission work. But for Bro. Cormier, in addition to acquiring the Swahili language to communicate verbally to Kenyans, he also had to learn a new variety of sign-language to communicate with the deaf that he was seeking to minister to. In this program we pick up right where we left off as Bro. Cormier recounts his education in Kenyan Sign Language as well as how their church’s deaf ministry got a jump start in a very unexpected way.

This is the second part of a two-part interview on deaf missions in Kenya.

Your feedback is welcome. You can contact Bro. Lee at [email protected].

My guest today is missionary B.J. Cormier, missionary to the deaf and hearing of the East African country of Kenya. In today’s program, Bro. Cormier relates his call to foreign missions, including ministry to the deaf, and also relates some of the diverse foreign language exposure that he had that helped to prepare him to learn Swahili and KSL once in Kenya.

This is the first part of a two-part interview on deaf missions in Kenya.

Your feedback is welcome. You can contact Bro. Lee by email at [email protected].

Our guest today is Bro. Ken Kraich with Seaport Ministries. Bro. Kraich has been taking the gospel to the seaman docked at the Port of Mobile since 2009, and it is a fascinating and fruitful door of ministry and evangelism that the Lord has opened unto him. He tells us about it on today’s program, including some of the outstanding stories of his interaction with these men that go down to the sea in ships and do business in great waters.

Your feedback is welcome. You can contact Bro. Lee by email at [email protected]. 

What is an evangelist? And what role does the evangelist play in the great commission? This is the subject addressed in today’s Great Commission Conversation with Evangelist Bill Smith. Bro. Bill’s understanding of the office of the evangelist has matured over the years and in this conversation he and I have a candid discussion concerning some of the misconceptions of full-time evangelism and how he sees the role of the evangelist in scriptural and practical terms.

Your feedback is welcome. You car reach Bro. Lee by email at [email protected],

Today's guest is Evangelist Bill Smith. Bro. Bill has been in full-time evangelism for nearly thirty years, and that has included extensive international ministry. In today’s program Bro. Bill relates the heartbreaking story of his wife’s unexpected death back in 2006 in a tragic automobile accident. That trial left Bill with seven children under the age of 14 and some very difficult decisions to make. The Lord has enabled him to continue his work in full-time evangelism with his children, both stateside and abroad. It's a truly powerful story of God’s grace.

Your feedback is welcome. You can reach Bro. Lee by email at [email protected].

One of the critical needs for virtually any mission work anywhere in the world is printed literature, such as Bibles, Bible portions, and gospel tracts. In this program Bro. Allen Johnson, director of Wings Bearing Precious Seed, tells us about his efforts to get the incorruptible seed of God’s word from stateside storehouses to needy foreign fields. 

Your feedback is welcome. You can reach Bro. Lee by email at [email protected].

In part two of this interview on ministering in Israel, we discuss the often frustrating and difficult logistical hurdles involved in securing legal entry and residence in Israel. Bro. Mo also provides us with some insight into the actual work of the ministry in Israel, including some of the firstfruits that his family has been able to see in their efforts in the Jezreel Valley.

Your feedback is welcome. You can reach Bro. Lee by email at [email protected].