What can churches and missions leaders learn from Barnabas in today's rapidly changing global missions landscape?

In this episode of the Mission Matters Podcast, hosts Matthew Ellison and Ted Esler sit down with Josh Irby, author of The Barnabas Factor: How Cross-Cultural Partnership Amplifies Global Mission, to explore the future of missions in a world where the gospel is moving from everywhere to everywhere. Josh shares insights from interviews with 60 global mission leaders and explains why Barnabas may be a more relevant model for modern missions partnership than we realize.

The Mission Matters Podcast is a place to talk about the importance of our Mission as Christians. The Mission Matters is a partnership of Missio Nexus and Sixteen:Fifteen, who have a shared passion to mobilize God’s people to be a part of His mission.

00:00 Introduction

01:01 Meet Josh Irby & The Barnabas Factor

03:38 Why Barnabas Matters for Missions Today

06:06 The Shift to “From Everywhere to Everywhere” Missions

08:22 When Western Churches Become Discouragers Instead of Encouragers

12:42 Money, Methods, Materials, and Meetings

13:05 The Challenge of Money in Global Partnerships

17:31 Capacity Building vs. Dependency

19:47 Making Yourself Dispensable as a Leader

25:24 Barnabas, Paul, and Being Called Out

29:50 Josh's Biggest Leadership Reversal

33:15 Faithful Farmers, Not Spiritual Engineers

35:37 Final Thoughts & The Barnabas Factor

𝙇𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙨Book: The Barnabas Factorhttps://www.amazon.com/Barnabas-Factor-Crosscultural-Partnership-Amplifies/dp/1514015765

Women make up the majority of the global missionary workforce, yet their voices and leadership experiences are often overlooked in conversations about missions.

In this episode of The Mission Matters Podcast (with hosts Ted Esler and Matthew Ellison), SEND U.S. CEO Michelle Atwell shares her personal journey into missions leadership, the unique challenges women face in mobilization and church-planting organizations, and the vital contributions women bring to advancing the Great Commission. From cross-cultural ministry among unreached peoples to leadership development, collaboration, and discipleship, Michelle offers practical wisdom for aspiring missionaries and leaders while reminding listeners that God has always used women to help build His Church and expand His Kingdom.

The Mission Matters Podcast is a place to talk about the importance of our Mission as Christians. The Mission Matters is a partnership of Missio Nexus and Sixteen:Fifteen, who have a shared passion to mobilize God’s people to be a part of His mission.

Links:

https://send.org

00:00 Video Introduction
00:39 Introduction: Michelle Atwell and SEND International
03:00 What SEND International Does and Why It Exists
04:43 Women in Missions: Unique Leadership Challenges
06:03 Why Many Women Hesitate to Step Into Leadership
10:40 Navigating Theology, Leadership, and Gender Expectations
13:03 The Unique Strengths Women Bring to Global Missions
16:43 How Missions Organizations Are Supporting Women Better
18:27 Vulnerability and Trust in Leadership
22:04 Building Your Personal Leadership Board
25:32 How Men Can Champion Women in Missions
26:40 Advice for Young Women Exploring a Missionary Calling
29:55 Why God Continues to Use Women in Missions
30:44 Final Thoughts

In this episode of the Mission Matters Podcast with hosts Ted Esler and Matthew Ellison, guest Jim Harries challenges traditional Western missions models through the concept of “vulnerable mission.”

Drawing from decades of ministry experience in East Africa, he argues that missionaries often maintain power through the English language and financial resources, unintentionally creating barriers to authentic relationships and contextualized ministry. Instead, he advocates for missionaries to operate using local languages and local resources whenever possible, allowing deeper trust, humility, and genuine partnership to develop. 
The conversation explores how language, money, and cultural assumptions shape ministry effectiveness around the world. Through stories from Bosnia, India, and Africa, the discussion highlights the difference between ministry done from positions of control versus ministry rooted in dependence, listening, and long-term relational presence. Harries also challenges mission agencies to create space for missionaries willing to embrace slower, more vulnerable approaches that prioritize contextual understanding over visible metrics of success. 
The Mission Matters Podcast is a place to talk about the importance of our Mission as Christians. The Mission Matters is a partnership of Missio Nexus and Sixteen:Fifteen, who have a shared passion to mobilize God’s people to be a part of His mission.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬
00:00 – Intro
00:40 – Introducing Jim Harries and Vulnerable Mission
01:58 – What Is Vulnerable Mission?
03:15 – How English and Money Create Power Dynamics
07:22 – Why Language and Resources are Tied Together
08:01 – Should Missionaries Stop Funding Local Ministry?
10:03 – The Biblical Case for Vulnerable Mission
12:16 – Lifestyle, Simplicity, and Living Among the People
14:12 – Vulnerable Mission as True Contextualization
15:45 – How to Train Missionaries for Cross-Cultural Ministry
18:50 – Why Some Missionaries Resist Vulnerable Mission
20:42 – What Sending Agencies Should Do Differently
25:40 – The Hidden Cost of Generosity in Missions
27:17 – Resources for Learning More About Vulnerable Mission
𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒
• Vulnerable Mission website: vulnerablemission.org
• Book - 𝙑𝙪𝙡𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙋𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨
https://www.amazon.com/Vulnerable-Mission-Practitioners-Challenging-Guide-Cross-cultural/dp/B0F8J9Z5ZN

Why are so many Gen Z students turning to tarot cards, crystals, mindfulness, and alternative spirituality while walking away from the church? In this thought-provoking conversation, Mark Matlock, Executive Director of Urbana and Senior Fellow at Barna Group, unpacks what younger generations are really searching for and why many are asking not just “Is Christianity true?” but also “Is it beautiful?” From global missions trends to the church’s discipleship crisis, this episode explores the spiritual hunger shaping Gen Z, the future of missions mobilization, and what it will take for Christians to authentically reflect the transforming beauty of Jesus in a skeptical culture.
Mark Matlock joins Ted Esler and Matthew Ellison on the Mission Matters Podcast to discuss Gen Z, discipleship, and the future of global missions through the lens of decades of ministry experience and research.
 
The Mission Matters Podcast is a place to talk about the importance of our Mission as Christians. The Mission Matters is a partnership of Missio Nexus and Sixteen:Fifteen, who have a shared passion to mobilize God’s people to be a part of His mission.𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬•Book: Faith for the Curioushttps://shop.barna.com/products/faith-for-the-curious?srsltid=AfmBOoq6DPY3x6LRWjJfMpobny3NW8WMklDY9jOKvz6xxgzDqZ3jMNfY•Urbana https://www.urbana.org/Chapters00:00 — Intro
 00:37 — Introducing Mark Matlock and His Ministry Journey
 03:05 — From Missionary Aspirations to Youth Ministry
 06:07 — Why Youth Ministry Matters in Global Missions
 10:08 — What Global Research Reveals About Gen Z
 11:10 — Gen Z, Spiritual Curiosity, and Practical Faith
 14:01 — Boomers Ask “Is It True?” Gen Z Asks “Is It Beautiful?”
 15:55 — Revival, Retreat, and the Spiritual Hunger of Gen Z
 19:55 — The Church’s Discipleship Crisis
 20:22 — Why Real Discipleship Takes Time
 22:28 — “Discipleship Doesn’t Scale”
 25:04 — Lessons from the Decline of the Student Volunteer Movement
 28:30 — Mid-Z, AI, and the Search for Wisdom
 31:09 — What God Did at Urbana
 34:53 — Building a Global Missions Movement Through IFES
 36:14 — Beautiful Christianity and Reaching the Next Generation
 37:35 — Orthodoxy, Orthopraxy, and Orthocardia
 39:17 — Moving from Defending Jesus to Introducing Jesus

Matthew Ellison and Ted Esler sit down with Aaron Abramson, CEO of Jews for Jesus, to explore the organization’s mission of reaching Jewish people with the gospel while honoring their cultural and historical identity. Abramson explains how Jews for Jesus operates globally by prioritizing local, indigenous believers rather than relying on traditional sending models, creating long-term, culturally rooted ministry.  There is a perceived tension between Jewish identity and faith in Jesus, which often requires thoughtful, contextual conversations that connect the message of the gospel to Jewish history, tradition, and Scripture. 
Jews for Jesus has had some significant strategic shifts recently, particularly moving from a one-size-fits-all approach to an “audience-first” model shaped by listening, empathy, and cultural understanding. Abramson shares how this shift has led to greater innovation and effectiveness in ministry, as well as deeper engagement with Jewish communities worldwide. Drawing from personal experience, including his time in the Israeli military, he emphasizes the transformative power of the gospel in fostering reconciliation, even in deeply divided contexts. Amid rising global anti-Semitism and instability, Abramson points to a growing spiritual openness and underscores that true hope and lasting change come through the message of Jesus, which has the power to heal identity struggles and restore broken relationships.
The Mission Matters Podcast is a place to talk about the importance of our Mission as Christians. The Mission Matters is a partnership of Missio Nexus and Sixteen:Fifteen, who have a shared passion to mobilize God’s people to be a part of His mission.
Aaron's book Mission Design https://a.co/d/08Gcsf0x
Jews for Jesus https://jewsforjesus.org/

In this episode of the The Mission Matters Podcast, Matthew Ellison and Ted Esler sit down with  Dennis Martin (of One Challenge's Sexual Wholeness Initiative) to address a largely unspoken issue in global missions: sexual sin/brokenness. Drawing from both personal experience and global research, Dennis explains how silence, shame, and isolation have allowed struggles like pornography, abuse, and other sexual challenges to persist among missionaries. He highlights that these issues are far more widespread than many assume, often intensified by the pressures of cross-cultural ministry and lack of safe, honest community. 
The conversation points toward a different path forward—one centered on grace, honesty, and restoration rather than punishment. Dennis shares how mission agencies are beginning to shift their culture by creating safe environments, equipping leaders, and walking alongside individuals through long-term healing processes. Through practical examples and real stories, he emphasizes that freedom is possible when people are no longer alone. The episode challenges churches and mission leaders to break the silence, rethink their approach, and build communities where confession leads to healing, not exit.
OC’s Sexual Wholeness Initiative (SWI), spearheaded by Dennis Martin, seeks to change the culture of silence and shame and, by bringing these secret struggles to light, offer freedom and restoration to those whose lives have been shackled by sin. By equipping our staff to create a climate of openness, safety, and redemption and integrating sexual wholeness into our ministry efforts, OC envisions a future in which generations of laborers live and minister out of sexual wholeness and relational health in Christ.
The Mission Matters Podcast is a place to talk about the importance of our Mission as Christians. The Mission Matters is a partnership of Missio Nexus and Sixteen:Fifteen, who have a shared passion to mobilize God’s people to be a part of His mission.

[email protected]
Register for the MissioNexus Mission Leaders Conference 26
https://web.cvent.com/event/654a1d2b-f757-4491-a480-fc3f68a2ccc5/websitePage:42fd7167-2fba-4de5-9c38-1540ddbaed85?RefId=events

Matthew and Ted's conversation with Dr. Ed Stetzer explores the meaning and history of missio Dei (the idea that mission originates from God, not the church). He traces how missions thinking has shifted over the past century, from “the Church has missions” to “God’s mission has the Church,” and highlights both the biblical strength and the theological risks of that shift. While affirming that God is actively at work in the world and invites His people to join Him, the discussion emphasizes that mission must remain grounded in Scripture, with the church playing a central role in proclaiming the gospel.
The episode also addresses a growing tension in evangelical missions today: the pull between a broad, holistic view of mission and the need to prioritize evangelism and reaching unreached people groups. Stetzer warns that when everything is labeled “mission,” the urgency of gospel proclamation can fade. The conversation calls for a balanced approach-one that embraces both gospel demonstration and proclamation, while ensuring that the church does not lose focus on its core calling to make disciples among the nations. 
The Mission Matters Podcast is a place to talk about the importance of our Mission as Christians. The Mission Matters is a partnership of Missio Nexus and Sixteen:Fifteen, who have a shared passion to mobilize God’s people to be a part of His mission.

In this episode of the Mission Matters Podcast, Sarah Breuel shares her experience as a Brazilian missionary serving in Rome and leading a university student movement across Europe. With nearly 20 years in cross-cultural missions, she discusses the growth of the Global South in missions, the rise of Brazilian missionaries, and what it looks like to reach secular, post-Christian contexts like Italy. Sarah also shares her personal calling story and how the gospel reached her family through earlier missionaries, highlighting the ongoing importance of sending and going.
The conversation addresses key questions many church and missions leaders are asking today: Are Western missionaries still needed? Has missions become outdated or harmful? Sarah offers a clear, biblical perspective on the continued need for cross-cultural missions and challenges leaders to call the next generation to sacrificial obedience. Drawing from her work with university students, she explains why Gen Z is more open to missions than many assume and why churches must raise the bar in discipleship, calling, and global engagement.
The Mission Matters Podcast is a place to talk about the importance of our Mission as Christians. The Mission Matters is a partnership of Missio Nexus and Sixteen:Fifteen, who have a shared passion to mobilize God’s people to be a part of His mission.

What is really happening inside Iran right now, and how should the Church respond?
In this episode, Ted and Matthew sit down with Sasan Tavassoli, an Iranian pastor and leader who came to faith in Christ after being raised in a Shiite Muslim home. Now serving the Iranian underground church, Sassan shares firsthand insight into one of the most significant spiritual movements in the world today.
Despite decades of oppression, suffering, and unrest, many Iranians are searching for truth—and encountering Jesus in powerful ways. This conversation is a needed reminder: God is at work in places we often overlook—and the Church must learn to listen before it speaks.
The Mission Matters Podcast is a place to talk about the importance of our Mission as Christians. The Mission Matters is a partnership of Missio Nexus and Sixteen:Fifteen, who have a shared passion to mobilize God’s people to be a part of His mission.
https://www.instagram.com/drsasantavassoli/?hl=en
www.youtube.com/@pastorsasan
https://sasantavassoli.com/
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:34 Sassan’s journey from Islam to Christ
05:01 Why many Iranians are disillusioned with the current regime
08:30 The surprising growth of the underground church
08:46 The role of media and discipleship in reaching a closed nation13:19 How Iranian believers view the current conflict
18:58 What the global Church often misunderstands
22:12 How we can pray, support, and stand with our brothers and sisters in Iran
23:48 Challenges to the Iranian Church in a regime change
28:21 How to get connect with Sasan

In this episode of the Mission Matters podcast, Ted and Matthew talk to Dave Jacob from Gospel Mobilization and Katy White from GoCorp. They unpack findings from the 2025 Launch Survey, a North American study of 2,400 new and aspiring missionaries.

The survey explored what motivates people toward long-term missions and what barriers hold them back. Across generations, the strongest motivators were God’s guidance through Scripture and prayer, concern for the personal salvation of others, and the desire to use specific skills and gifts to meet practical needs. For Gen Z in particular, healthy teams and organizational culture mattered deeply.
The most significant barrier across all generations was a lack of clear calling or direction, followed by role ambiguity and financial support concerns. Gen Z also expressed heightened concern about spiritual preparedness and loneliness.

The conversation challenges churches to disciple young people early, clarify a biblical understanding of calling, and actively mentor those exploring missions. For mission agencies, the findings highlight the need for organizational health, transparency, strong team environments, and intentional spiritual formation throughout the mobilization pipeline.
https://gospelmobilization.org/launchsurvey
The Mission Matters Podcast is a place to talk about the importance of our Mission as Christians. The Mission Matters is a partnership of Missio Nexus and Sixteen:Fifteen, who have a shared passion to mobilize God’s people to be a part of His mission.