The Coworkers Podcast

When preparing to move overseas, choosing a missions sending organization is a big decision. What factors should be considered? What are essentials, and what are matters of personal preference? Listen in as we share pros and cons of different models, particularly the support-raised vs. fully-funded models. 

How's your heart? Do you fall into doing work and ministry "half-heartedly?" Are you fully showing up with your whole self in your relationships? How much do your coworkers and friends trust your genuine love for them? If you need to grow in any of these areas, then please join us in this discussion, as we share 3 tips for expressing genuine love and trustworthiness to your people.  And may the loving heart of Jesus Christ be formed more and more in all of us! 

Contextualization is incredibly important because it’s about people having meaningful access to the Gospel. As we think about contextualization, we need biblical guidelines for what can be adjusted for different cultures, and what is unchanging. Listen in as Jesse shares biblical, practical principles for good contextualization.

Keller: Contextualization is “giving people the Bible’s answers, which they may not at all want to hear, to questions about life that people in their particular time and place are asking, in language and forms they can comprehend, and through appeals and arguments with force they can feel, even if they reject them.” Center Church, 89.

Newbigin: “Hence the horrendous word “contextualization” was born. The word is unattractive, but the thing sought for is essential.” 

The Gospel message is the unchanging CORE of all contextualization efforts. 

CORE—Crucified, Ordained, Risen, Evidenced

1. Acts 2:31-36: Crucified—v. 36; Ordained—v. 31; Resurrected—v. 32; Evidenced—v. 32—(“of that we are all witnesses”); Response: Repentance/belief—v. 38.
2. Acts 3:13-21: Crucified—v. 13-15; Ordained—v. 1; Resurrected—v. 15; Evidenced—v. 15—“To this we are witnesses”; Response: Repent/belief —v. 19.
3. Acts 4:8-20: Crucified—v. 10; Resurrected—v. 10; Evidenced—v. 20.
4. Acts 5:29-32: Crucified—v. 30; Ordained—v. 30—God of our Fathers; Resurrected—v. 30; Evidenced—v. 32; Response: Repent/Belief 31
5. Acts 10:34-43: Crucified—v. 39; Ordained—v. 43; Resurrected—v. 40; Evidenced—v. 39,41; Repentance/Belief—v. 43. Also 11:18: Then to the Gentiles also God has granted the repentance that leads to life.
6. Acts 13:16-41: Crucified—v. 28-29; Ordained—v. 23; Resurrected—v. 30; Evidenced—v. 31; Repentance/Belief—v. 38-39
7. Acts 17—famous, often-cited about contextualization. But before the Areopagus, he was already preaching in the marketplace: “he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection”—v. 18; Repentance—v. 30.
8. Acts 20:21—Repentance: "testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
9. Acts 26:19-23: Crucified—v. 23; Ordained—v. 22; Resurrected—v. 23; Evidenced—v. 16, 22; Repentance/Belief—v. 20.

Join in on part 2 of our interview with Troy and Rachel, NPL church planters that saw over 40 new churches and over 1200 baptisms in their ministry based out of So Cal! They share house church principles, the importance of church feeling like family, the need for more pathways to send out as missionaries, and more.

Troy and Rachel have been doing disciple-making and church-planting work in the US with the NPL network for over 11 years. They have a passion for the Lord and the lost that is contagious! They have 7 kids, aged 6-20, who love the Lord and regularly share the gospel with their friends and join their parents in training others. In the last 5 years through their ministry in So Cal, over 43 churches have been planted and over 1200 people have been baptized! Listen in as they share how they have instilled a heart for the lost in their children and incorporated their children into their ministry. Also, check out their website coopersonamission.com for a ton of helpful tools, videos, and resources!

How can we turn a Bible study group into a church? What are the things we do on the front end to help the believers begin identifying as a church? What are the barriers, and how do we overcome them? Listen in as Brother Kiran shares key practices from his years of church planting experience. 

What are the most important principles for raising up leaders in the missionary task? How do you identify which disciples to invest in? How can Westerners in particular be best used by God in raising up local leaders on the mission field? Listen in as Kiran L, a seasoned, fruitful church-planter in South Asia, shares with passion on the necessity of laying down our lives for our disciples. 

How do we women find and develop female national ministry partners? Listen in as Terri N from East Asia and Elle R from South/SE Asia share keys for developing and encouraging our sisters in the missionary task.

Terri has over 20 years on the field, and has served as a single, married, and currently with kids in high school. Elle has been serving around 6 years and has a toddler and a baby. They both share proven principles, and a contagious joy and love for the Lord and the work. 

All believers, and particularly those in full time ministry, must be convinced of the inerrancy and authority of Scripture. Listen in as Dr. Danny Akin, President of Southeastern Baptist Theology, teaches with such clarity and conviction on this topic. We were already "convinced" on this topic, but Dr. Akin taught us new things and deepened that conviction.

"This book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this book."

People have many different ideas of "mission work," so we must define missions according to the Bible. Listen in as Andy Kampman, a passionate missions leader with Launch Global, shares a biblical definition of missions, why disciple-making and church-planting must always be primary work, how the church should also fulfill "Matthew 25 ministries" such as social justice work, and how goers should respond to anti-Christian governments. Andy is an experienced mobilizer, so be careful, you might feel called to mission work by the end of the episode!