Immigration is not a new topic, but its place in a global missions worldview comes to the forefront due to politics in the USA. What role does the movement of peoples have in the making of disciples in all nations? Is it Biblical or moral to have borders and to restrict immigration? How should a Christian engage illegal immigrants? Guest Alex Kocman addresses these questions and more in a conversation with Matthew Ellison and Ted Esler in this episode of The Mission Matters.

In a recent survey (to be published in 2025, stay tuned) of pastors, those with seminary or divinity school degrees were significantly more likely to report passion for those in their community and little toward cross-cultural work or missionaries. Is this the result of a marginalization of missions in theological education? If so, how can seminary education be refined to present missions as worthy of a pastor's or church's passion? Matthew and Ted seek answers with J. D. Payne who serves as professor of Christian Ministry at Samford University.
https://www.jdpayne.org/about/
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.

We cannot be successful in gospel obedience without an element of risk. What is a Biblical theology of risk, and how can mission leaders manage risk so that missionaries thrive in their contexts?  Scott Brawner is co-founder and President of Concilium, a non-profit organization that builds capacity and resilience into Christian missionary orgs. Join Ted, Matthew, and Scott as they discuss risk and the role of the security professional in a ministry organization.
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.
www.concilium.us
Book: Anna Hampton Facing Fear: The Journey to Mature Courage in Risk and Persecution

Reflejo are a group of Latin-American missionaries called to be forerunners to Gospel movements among the unreached. What are the pathways for Latinos to be sent and what are their unique advantages being sent to the unreached? Dave Matthews is president of Reflejo (https://reflejo.org), a missions sending agency based in Latin American. Dave joins Matthew and Ted to talk about the need for sending agencies outside the USA and how Latinos can help fulfill the Great Commission.New boost

SIM has a long history in Nigeria. As a teen, Joshua Bogunjoku became a follower of Christ and was discipled by an SIM missionary. Years later he became the first non-western International Director of SIM. Eleven years later he has retired. Join Ted and Matthew as they listen to Joshua's interesting story and to some of his reflections from his time as International Director.

God has equipped Gen Z with a unique set of gifts for our time and culture. Gen Z are inclusive, empathetic, collaborative, and individualistic. How can we contextualize our mobilization efforts towards these talented young people? Jolene Erlacher (author of Mobilizing Gen Z and founder of http://leadingtomorrow.org) talks with Matthew and Ted about how to steward our relationships with this generation.

How can the global missions community address the challenge of reaching the nations? In this episode of The Mission Matters podcast, Matthew and Ted speak with David Bennett, Global Associate Director of the Lausanne Movement, about the upcoming Fourth Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, also known as Seoul-Incheon 2024 in Seoul Korea. David addresses Lausanne’s goal of fostering ‘collaborative action teams’ for the purpose of accelerating global mission.

https://lausanne.org/gathering/seoul-2024New boost