Great Commission Conversations

Americans are sometimes tempted to think that money is the solution to just about everything. And wherever we apply our financial solutions, we bring with us certain conceptions of economy, such as thrift, i.e. the determination to get the most bang for our buck. Is the missionary enterprise ever ill-effected by this mindset? In this podcast we return to the subject of supporting nationals, but this time we set out to address some of the problems and complexities associated with pouring foreign dollars into national leadership. Helping us think through this topic is missionary to Zambia, Damon Matacchiera. 

If you'd like to learn more about Bro. Matacchiera's efforts in Eastern Zambia, you can visit his website at hopezambia.com. 

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

Christian radio is among the tools that has been used to great effect to get the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. In this interview we talk with Gene Sharp, founder of Independent Baptist Media, about the medium of radio and how it continues to be an asset to the work of worldwide missions.

To learn more about the ministry of Independent Baptist Media you can visit their website at ibmradio.com.

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

One of the hot-button topics in the realm of missions is the role of humanitarian efforts. There are plenty of examples of how these efforts become a distraction to the larger goal of evangelism, discipleship, and church-planting, but that is not to say that the Lord cannot open up some amazing doors utilizing 'humanitarian-type' tools. The motto of Baptist Drillers is “for the furtherance of the gospel". In this interview, veteran missionary to Papua New Guinea, Jason Russell relates how this arm of their ministry developed and how it fits in with his more pressing gospel objectives.

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

Communist China has never been open to career missionaries, as such, and the access of western missionaries to the country of China seems to be growing more and more complicated all the time. Be that as it may, today's guest is approaching thirty years of gospel ministry in China and this tremendous door has not opened by working around government officials, but working with them.

Bro. Eddie mills has been enabled of the Lord to take his experience in the U.S. military and deploy this for the sake of the gospel by working closely with Chinese officials to coordinate English instruction in China. This has not only allowed him to remain in the country, but it has given scores of American college students the opportunity to export their English skills and Christianity to atheistic, communist China. 

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

What might it look like if we purposed to make use of web-based communication tools to get the gospel into closed-countries and even to facilitate more traditional in-person evangelistic and discipleship methods? In the second part of our interview on technology and creative access countries, Bro. Daniel explains how he has used digital communication to build relationships with young men in "closed-countries" in the interest of evangelism and discipleship... and even how he followed up on some of these contacts in person. 

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

A significant part of the unevangelized population of the world resides in countries that are formally closed to western missionaries. In order to gain access to these regions, foreigners must have some other stated purpose for being in the country. Simultaneously, large portions of the population of these unreached and under-reached countries have internet access. Can web-based forms of communication be employed in reaching into these regions for great commission purposes? This is the question that we engage in this two-part interview with Daniel (last name withheld for security purposes). We begin with a look at what Daniel calls "the forgotten circle" - a region of the earth with an unprecedented concentration of unevangelized peoples. If you would like to view a short video explaining the forgotten circle, you can do so here.

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

A significant part of the unevangelized population of the world resides in countries that are formally closed to western missionaries. In order to gain access to these regions, foreigners must have some other stated purpose for being in the country. Simultaneously, large portions of the population of these unreached and under-reached countries have internet access. Can web-based forms of communication be employed in reaching into these regions for great commission purposes? This is the question that we engage in this two-part interview with Daniel (last name withheld for security purposes). We begin with a look at what Daniel calls "the forgotten circle" - a region of the earth with an unprecedented concentration of unevangelized peoples. If you would like to view a short video explaining the forgotten circle, you can do so here.

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

Local evangelistic zeal should invigorate global gospel engagement. In this second part of the interview with Pastor James Knox we talk about some of the ways he and his church have been involved in sowing the seed far beyond their Jerusalem and how God has provided for those outreach efforts as well as the church's local needs. 

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

The Great Commission is NOT an either/or proposition. Obedience to our Lord's command to preach the gospel to every creature demands engagement in evangelization BOTH in our Jerusalem AND in the uttermost part of the earth... and everything in between. Pastor James Knox has been engaged in sowing the seed of the word of God in his Jerusalem and beyond for more than forty years. In this interview we discuss the importance of local evangelism and we also interact with the question of whether public ministry "does any good". 

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

Where do missionaries come from? This is the question taken up in this interview with Missionary Jeff Williams. Bro. Williams has served in New Zealand for the past thirty years. He likens local churches to greenhouses in which to incubate the future missionary labor force and in this interview he explains this strategy biblically and practically.