Missions Pulse

Mark Mittelberg is a bestselling author, international speaker, and the Executive Director of The Lee Strobel Center for Evangelism and Applied Apologetics at Colorado Christian University (StrobelCenter.com), which offers accredited online BA and MA degrees, as well as certificate courses.

Mark recently completed the all-new book and training course, Contagious Faith: Discover Your Natural Style for Sharing Jesus with Others. Prior to that, he was the primary author of the Becoming a Contagious Christian training course (with Lee Strobel). This course was translated into more than twenty languages and helped nearly two million people around the world share Christ in natural ways. He then wrote the leadership-oriented book, Becoming a Contagious Church, which presents an innovative blueprint for church-based evangelism.

Mark’s published materials also include the Making Your Case for Christ training course, and The Case for Christ Daily Moment of Truth devotional (both with Lee Strobel). His book Confident Faith was the winner of Outreach Magazine’s apologetics book of the year. His smaller evangelistic book, The Reason Why Faith Makes Sense, is an update of a classic that touched millions of lives — recreated by Mark for a new generation. He also wrote The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask (with Answers), which addresses the ten spiritual questions believers most want to avoid. Prior to that Mark collaborated with Strobel to produce The Unexpected Adventure, a story-based book designed to encourage Christians to seize everyday opportunities to talk about Jesus. Mark’s published pieces have sold a total of some three million copies.

Mark was the original evangelism director at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago, and then served as Executive Vice President of the Willow Creek Association. He was also an editorial consultant and periodic guest for Lee Strobel’s television show, Faith Under Fire. He and Strobel have been ministry partners for more than thirty years.

After receiving an undergraduate degree in business, Mark earned an MA in Philosophy of Religion, graduating magna cum laude from Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois. In addition, he received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mark and Heidi live near Denver, Colorado, and are the parents of Emma Jean and Matthew, both of whom serve in ministry roles.

Find Missions Pulse episode #94 on our website at https://davidjoannes.com/094markmittelberg/

A Tennessee native, Carol Ghattas earned an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, after serving two years in Ivory Coast, West Africa. She met and married her late husband, Dr. Raouf Ghattas, while attending an Arabic-language church in Texas, where he served as pastor. They were appointed by the International Mission Board in 1991 to serve in the Middle East and North Africa. With thirty-plus years in missions, Carol Ghattas has made her home in over six countries and among a wide variety of peoples. She’s also had to rediscover what home looks like after returning from the field. Carol has lived what she writes, reflected in this book, her other non-fiction work, and her novels, which she wrote under the pen name of Um Daoud. A sought-after speaker on Islam, missions, and other topics, you can connect with Carol through her website lifeinexile.net.

Carol is the author of numerous books, including her recent Not in Kansas Anymore: Finding Home in Cross-Cultural Service.

Find Missions Pulse episode #93 on our website at https://davidjoannes.com/093carolghattas/

Ryan Martin (Doctor of Ministry, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) serves as Director of Missions for Lightbearers Ministries. He is also the author of Holding the Rope. He previously served for 13 years as a missions pastor after earning an MDiv in Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Ryan lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with his wife, Rebekah, and three children. Ryan has spoken and written on the topic of member care at the local church level, having been featured on The Missions Podcast and The Missions Pulse Podcast, as well as having written for the Biblical Recorder (Baptist State Convention of North Carolina publication), Center for Great Commission Studies at SEBTS, and serving as a regular contributor to the Upstream Collective‘s blog.

Find Missions Pulse episode #92 on our website at https://davidjoannes.com/092ryanmartin/

Darin Dunn, the Multimedia Specialist at Helps Ministries, has a passion for using media to help connect people in the West to the work God is doing throughout the world. Darin and his wife Staci are both “MKs” (missionary kids) with a heart to serve those ministering on the “front lines.”

Darin was born in Germany and Staci in Brazil, but had to travel all the way to Chiang Mai, Thailand, to meet each other! As a videographer and video producer, Darin has spent the past 20 years on staff at his church in Texas and then in South East Asia. Darin married Staci in 2009 and currently lives and serves in Chiang Mai, Thailand, with Staci and their two kids, Milo and Poem.

Find Missions Pulse episode #91 on our website at https://davidjoannes.com/091darindunn/

Steve Richardson has served as President of Pioneers-USA since 1999 and is the author of Is the Commission Still Great?: 8 Myths About Missions & What They Mean for the Church.

Steve was raised in Indonesia, where his parents planted churches in a jungle tribe. He witnessed the impact of the gospel on their war-like society, a story documented in his father’s missionary classic, Peace Child. Steve and his wife, Arlene, also spent eleven years planting churches among an unreached people group in Southeast Asia. (Learn more about Don Richardson in The Mind of a Missionary.)

Is the Commission Still Great? dismantles the myths that obscure God’s beautiful plan to make disciples of all nations. Misperceptions discourage God’s people from joyfully participating with Him in reaching the world. Yet, deepening our understanding of the call to missions restores perspective and motivates us to participate in God’s grand design.

Find Missions Pulse episode #89 on our website at https://davidjoannes.com/090steverichardson/

Tim Harris and his wife, Miriam, are the authors of Loving Your Muslim Neighbor, a riveting book that helps you understand God’s heart for people who adhere to the Islamic religion. They have a passion for sharing Jesus with Muslims and go where Muslims are in their area: university campuses, restaurants, gas stations, fruit and vegetable markets, homes, barber shops, and mosques. They have also traveled extensively throughout the Middle East (Jordan, Lebanon, Israel/Palestine, Egypt, Qatar, the UAE, Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq, etc).

Find Missions Pulse episode #89 on our website at https://davidjoannes.com/089timharris/

Jason Poling is the Lead Pastor of Cornerstone Church in Yuba City, CA, and a pastor in the metaverse. We talk about the value of churches getting involved in the metaverse and what this virtual space means for the future of missionary work. Will people stop buying plane tickets and merely visit the Great Wall of China with an ocular headset? How can we impact unreached people groups in the 10/40 Window? Is metaverse ministry meant to link people to IRL (in real life) Christian settings? We talk about all this and more.

Find Missions Pulse episode #88 on our website at https://davidjoannes.com/088jasonpoling/

Michael Niebauer is the pastor of Incarnation Church in State College, a Teaching Fellow at Trinity School for Ministry, and the author of Virtuous Persuasion. Michael talks about how virtue ethics impact global missions.

Find Missions Pulse episode #87 on our website at https://davidjoannes.com/087michaelniebauer/

Christians who are engaged in missions undoubtedly face ethical challenges. But the approaches and standards of modern missions often further complicate, rather than alleviate, matters.

Modern missiology debates what actions constitute mission work, how to measure growth, and the difference between persuasion and coercion.

Niebauer proposes a theology of mission grounded in virtue. Becoming a skilled missionary is more about following Christ than mastering techniques. Christian mission is best understood as specific activities that develop virtue in its practitioners and move them toward their ultimate goal of partaking in God's glory.

Get Virtuous Persuasion: A Theology of Christian Mission at https://lexhampress.com/product/219560/virtuous-persuasion-a-theology-of-christian-mission

Geoffrey Breedwell is the narrator of The Mind of a Missionary by David Joannes and Director of Family Discipleship at Epworth United Methodist Church. Get The Mind of a Missionary audiobook here: https://amzn.to/3bAE78X

Geoffrey talks about he brought The Mind of a Missionary to life, incarnational ministry, and how your testimony impacts people for eternity.

See the full article here:
https://davidjoannes.com/086geoffreybreedwell/

Make sure to subscribe to the audio version of Missions Pulse podcast on iTunes or Stitcher. Visit https://davidjoannes.com/missionspulse/ for direct links.

Steve Schirmer is the Founder/President of Silk Road Catalyst, a non-denominational multi-national family of disciple-makers working among Silk Road Peoples and gospel-deprived communities.

Steve talks about why Christians must rethink going to places with superfluous gospel access, how Silk Road Catalyst aided Afghan war refugees, and how the church must respond to the great imbalance of gospel access.

See the full article here:
https://davidjoannes.com/085steveschirmer/

Make sure to subscribe to the audio version of Missions Pulse podcast on iTunes or Stitcher. Visit https://davidjoannes.com/missionspulse/ for direct links.