New year, new name. The Missions Podcast is now The Missions Show.

Why the change? We’re stepping into a video-first world. The show is now on NRBTV, with Lighthouse TV launching soon in central Pennsylvania. We’ve been on YouTube for some time, and this rebrand reflects a move beyond audio-only podcasting to serve a wider audience.

What hasn’t changed is the heart of the show. We’ll keep the same format and the same purpose—answering hard questions in missiology, theology, and practice to help goers think and thinkers go.

Thanks to everyone who’s been with us since we launched in October 2017. We’re grateful for the last eight years and excited for what’s ahead.

In this week's episode, Alex and Scott welcome pastor Aaron Menikoff (Atlanta, USA) and pastor Harshit Singh (Lucknow, India) to discuss how evangelism and missions function through the local church, particularly in the Indian context. Drawing from their book Prioritizing Missions in the Church, Menikoff and Singh argue that missions should not be treated as a side program but as an outflow of ordinary, faithful church life.

They emphasize that preaching, prayer, discipleship, and the ordinances—when practiced consistently—form the foundation through which God raises up and sends missionaries to the nations. The conversation highlights how this church-centered approach applies across cultures, including settings with limited resources and growing opposition to Christianity.

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The Missions Show is powered by ABWE. Learn more and take your next step in the Great Commission at abwe.org.

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In this episode of The Missions Podcast, Alex welcomes returning guest Matt Rhodes—missionary, church planter among Muslims, and author to discuss his new book Persecution in Missions: A Practical Theology. Together they discuss that persecution is not an anomaly but a normative feature of Christian life and global missions, especially in unreached contexts.

While Western Christians may experience lesser forms of opposition, believers in Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist-majority regions often face severe social, legal, and physical threats. Rhodes emphasizes that persecution profoundly shapes missionary strategy, discipleship, and the lived faith of new believers, often acting as a major barrier to people even hearing the gospel. Drawing from Scripture and church history, Rhodes cautions against both romanticizing martyrdom and avoiding suffering altogether.

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The Missions Show is powered by ABWE. Learn more and take your next step in the Great Commission at abwe.org.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email [email protected].

Come celebrate another year of The Missions Podcast!

In this special end-of-the-year episode, Alex and Scott recall their favorite discussions from 2025 and important takeaways from each. They also discuss how they are using this holiday season to celebrate the incarnation of Christ.

Become a Missions Podcast Premium Subscriber and get access to our exclusive Overtime episode where Alex and Scott talk about their LEAST favorite episodes from the past year.

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The Missions Show is powered by ABWE. Learn more and take your next step in the Great Commission at abwe.org.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email [email protected].

What's the spiritual climate like in Bangladesh?

In this week's episode, Scott interviews Pastor Prodip Das, a Bengali church planter in New York City with ABWE's EveryEthne ministry. Together, they discuss the unique nature and conflict of Christianity and Islam within Bangladesh.

Prodip tells his personal testimony and what it is like growing up in a Christian family in the country. Prodip also talks about his ministry within New York City and discipling Muslim-background believers.

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The Missions Show is powered by ABWE. Learn more and take your next step in the Great Commission at abwe.org.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email [email protected].

Why is Japan the graveyard of missionaries?

In this episode, Alex talks with veteran ABWE missionary Bill Petite, who reflects on 35 years of ministry in Japan. Bill gives an honest look at the spiritual, cultural, and emotional realities of serving in one of the world’s least-reached nations.

Bill Petite also speaks candidly about the emotional and spiritual toll of long-term missions, sharing seasons of deep depression, discouragement, and even suicidal thoughts—contrasted with stories of God’s surprising providence.

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The Missions Show is powered by ABWE. Learn more and take your next step in the Great Commission at abwe.org.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email [email protected].

How does the gospel transcend cultural understandings like guilt/innocence, honor/shame?

In this episode, Alex is joined by longtime friend of the show, Dr. E.D. Burns, a missionary, author, and ABWE’s Executive Director for Training & Development. E.D. argues that many modern missionary methods fall into error by beginning with culture rather than Scripture. When missionaries adapt the message to perceived cultural needs: fear of spirits, desire for honor, community belonging, they risk redefining the gospel according to those felt needs instead of the Bible's central categories of sin, wrath, substitutionary atonement, and the imputed righteousness of Christ.

Dr. Burns illustrates how hyper-contextualized approaches can subtly blend works and faith, especially in cultures comfortable with karmic or performance-based religion. True gospel communication, he argues, must highlight penal substitution, justification by faith alone, and the supernatural transformation of the heart.

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The Missions Show is powered by ABWE. Learn more and take your next step in the Great Commission at abwe.org.

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In this episode of The Missions Podcast, Alex Kocman and ABWE President, Paul Davis, interview Ted Esler, president of Missio Nexus, on the global state of Christian missions. Esler explains that although the global church is experiencing slow and steady growth, many evangelical churches lack a strong understanding of lostness which has contributed to a decline in missionary sending and passion. Cultural pressures, including accusations of colonialism and a general decrease in missions literacy, have also shaped a generation of believers who are less aware of the biblical and historical urgency of reaching the nations.

Ted emphasizes that missions is woven throughout the entire biblical narrative—from Genesis to Revelation—and that God’s heart for diverse peoples should dismantle misconceptions of missions as cultural imperialism.

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The Missions Show is powered by ABWE. Learn more and take your next step in the Great Commission at abwe.org.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email [email protected].

What's happening with persecuted Christians in Nigeria?

In this episode of the Missions Podcast, Alex and Scott talk with Larry Alex Taunton, an author and apologist, who shares his firsthand experience witnessing Christian persecution in Nigeria. Taunton recounts his journey to the country’s northern region, where he saw the devastating effects of what he calls a “genocide against Christians.” He describes traveling through burned villages, military checkpoints, and communities living in constant fear of attacks by Boko Haram and Fulani militants.

Through personal experience, Taunton highlights the courage of Nigerian Christians who remain steadfast in their faith despite extreme danger. His central message is that the Western church has largely ignored this persecution, and that believers in safer nations must recognize their responsibility to speak out and advocate for action. Alex and Scott end with a call to combine compassion, truth, and courage—to both confront injustice and advance the mission of Christ.

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The Missions Show is powered by ABWE. Learn more and take your next step in the Great Commission at abwe.org.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email [email protected].

Is it true that the "blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church"?

In this episode, Alex and Scott challenge the popular belief that persecution is inherently good for the church. Drawing from Ronald Boyd-MacMillan’s article Does Persecution Always Bring Growth?, they argue that while persecution can refine believers, history shows it often destroys the local church entirely. They distinguish between short, intense persecution that may spark renewal and long-term systemic persecution that weakens or eliminates the church altogether.

Alex and Scott discuss that Christians should not romanticize suffering and realize that persecution is a valuable tool that Satan uses against God's people. They stress the importance of religious freedom, both for evangelism and human dignity, urging Christians to defend it globally, and ultimately, they conclude that while God can bring good from persecution, it should never be desired or celebrated.

Do you love The Missions Show? Have you been blessed by the show? Then become a Premium Subscriber!

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The Missions Show is powered by ABWE. Learn more and take your next step in the Great Commission at abwe.org.

Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email [email protected].