The Missions Show

By Alex Kocman and Scott DunfordSociety & Culture Religion & Spirituality Christianity Education Philosophy

The Missions Show episodes

January 22, 2025Essential Lessons From Pastors to Missionaries
The Missions Podcast goes on the road! This week Alex talks with Tom Ascol and Graham Gunden from Founders Ministries in their studio to talk about essential lessons and traits of pastors that translate to missionary work.
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Supporter ($5/month): weekly bonus shows with more in-depth conversation, behind-the-scenes content, and spiritual insights
Insider ($10/month): the weekly bonus shows, plus a private Signal group with the hosts, quarterly live chats with Scott and Alex, and a thank-you gift for first-time subscribers
Join at patreon.com/TheMissionsShow.
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].
1 min
January 20, 2025Telling Effective Missionary Stories with Tim Keesee
How do you effectively tell Christian stories from around the world? In this episode of The Missions Podcast, Alex sits down with Tim Keesee, founder of Frontline Missions and Writer/Producer of several Christian documentaries. Together, they talk about how Dispatches From The Front got started, the importance of building trust in telling stories of believers, and why missionaries have the greatest story to tell.
Tim Keesee is founder of Frontline Missions International. He is the Writer/Producer of Dispatches From The Front, a docu-series on Christian believers around the world. Tim has traveled to over 100 countries in his quest to tell compelling stories of the gospel breaking through in tough places.
Want more of the conversation? Become a Premium Subsciber and get access to our bonus Overtime episode where we discuss key components of missionary storytelling and the importance of crafting your message. Get access at patreon.com/TheMissionsShow.
With over 3 billion people in the world who have never heard of Jesus, the global need is tremendous for workers to go into the harvest fields (Matthew 9:37-38). Is God calling you to missions? We'd love to have a conversation with you on how you can use your gifts and talents to advance the Great Commission at home and abroad. Visit abwe.org/SendMe for more information and to take your next step in missions.
Want more of The Missions Show? Our premium content now lives on Patreon.
Supporter ($5/month): weekly bonus shows with more in-depth conversation, behind-the-scenes content, and spiritual insights
Insider ($10/month): the weekly bonus shows, plus a private Signal group with the hosts, quarterly live chats with Scott and Alex, and a thank-you gift for first-time subscribers
Join at patreon.com/TheMissionsShow.
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].
36 min
January 15, 2025Missionary Stories the Church is Hungry for
In this week's episode of The Missions Podcast, Alex sits down with Tim Keesee, Writer/Producer of Dispatches From The Front docu-series and founder of Frontline Missions International to talk about the necessity of effective storytelling in missions.
Want more of The Missions Show? Our premium content now lives on Patreon.
Supporter ($5/month): weekly bonus shows with more in-depth conversation, behind-the-scenes content, and spiritual insights
Insider ($10/month): the weekly bonus shows, plus a private Signal group with the hosts, quarterly live chats with Scott and Alex, and a thank-you gift for first-time subscribers
Join at patreon.com/TheMissionsShow.
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].
2 min
January 13, 2025Top 10 Missions Books to Read in 2025 with Chris Howles
What missiology books belong on your bookshelf? In this week's episode of The Missions Podcast, Alex and Scott sit down with Chris Howles for the 2025 edition of essential reads in global missions. Chris offers a knowledgeable, diverse, and thought-provoking list of books that any serious missions-minded person should be reading.
Top Missiology Books.
10. The Sending Church Applied by Bradley Bell, Mike Easton, Larry McCrary & Nathan Sloan (Upstream Collective, 2024)
9. People Vision - Reimagining Mission to Least Reached Peoples by Leonard Bartlotti (William Carey Publishing, 2024)
8. Africa Bears Witness: Mission Theology and Praxis in the 21st Century by Harvey Kwiyani (Langham Global Library, 2024)
7. Window on the World - An Operation World Prayer Guide by Jason Mandryk and Molly Wall (IVP, 2018)
6. People On The Move by Sam George (Lausanne Movement, 2024)
5. Knowing God To Make Him Known by Ed Scheuerman (Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2021)
4. Why Evangelical Theology Needs The Global Church by Stephen Pardue (Baker Academic, 2023)
3. Women in the Mission of the Church by Leanne Dzubinski and Anneke Stasson (Baker Academic, 2021)
2. Apologetics In Africa: An Introduction by Kevin Muriithi Ndereba (Hippobooks, 2024)
The Mission of God and the Witness of the Church by Justin Schell (Crossway, 2024)
Chris Howles is the Director of Cross-Cultural Training at Oak Hill College. He is a former missionary in Uganda.
Want more of the conversation? Join our Premium Subscribers and get access to the Overtime segment where we discuss what makes a good missiology book and what were Chris's honorable mentions to this year's list. Get access at patreon.com/TheMissionsShow.
Missionaries are being raised up to reach the nations, but many are unable to get to their field because of funding. Support a Prefield Missionary and help those that God has called to bring the gospel to the world get there faster. Go to abwe.org/Prefield.
Want more of The Missions Show? Our premium content now lives on Patreon.
Supporter ($5/month): weekly bonus shows with more in-depth conversation, behind-the-scenes content, and spiritual insights
Insider ($10/month): the weekly bonus shows, plus a private Signal group with the hosts, quarterly live chats with Scott and Alex, and a thank-you gift for first-time subscribers
Join at patreon.com/TheMissionsShow.
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].
46 min
January 08, 2025Essential Books on Missions
In this week's episode of The Missions Podcast, Alex and Scott sit down with returning guest, Chris Howles, as he talks about the must-read books for any missions-minded reader in 2025.
Want more of The Missions Show? Our premium content now lives on Patreon.
Supporter ($5/month): weekly bonus shows with more in-depth conversation, behind-the-scenes content, and spiritual insights
Insider ($10/month): the weekly bonus shows, plus a private Signal group with the hosts, quarterly live chats with Scott and Alex, and a thank-you gift for first-time subscribers
Join at patreon.com/TheMissionsShow.
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].
1 min
January 06, 2025The Best of 2024 – Year End Wrap Up
What have we learned from studying giants of the faith in 2024? In this special episode of The Missions Podcast, Alex and Scott analyze key takeaways from their favorite guests and topics in 2024. They discuss important figures in missions history, impactful guests on the show, and reveal their 2025 theme for the podcast.
Episodes featured:
Medieval Missions Explored: Boniface, Patrick, and More With Glenn Sunshine
More Modern Lessons From Medieval Missions With Glenn Sunshine
Andrew Fuller and Combating Hyper-Calvinism With Jared Longshore
Who Was John Nevius? Joshua Bowman on the Missionary to China and Three-Self Missiology
What You Didn’t Know About D.L. Moody
The Gospel Worth Dying for - The Testimony of John and Betty Stam With Andrew Montonera
Why Have the Missionary Conference? Brooks Buser | Missionary 2024
The State of Christianity in Africa With Conrad Mbewe | Missionary 2024
The Truth About the Crusades and ‘Radical’ Islam With Raymond Ibrahim
What’s Going on in Nicaea? | Missionary 2024
Defining the Missionary Call and Training With E.D. Burns
Are you curious about global missions but not sure where to start? ABWE's 24-Hour DEMO is designed to help you find, explore, and encourage you to take your next step in missions. Find out more and register for the next event at demo.abwe.org.
Want more of The Missions Show? Our premium content now lives on Patreon.
Supporter ($5/month): weekly bonus shows with more in-depth conversation, behind-the-scenes content, and spiritual insights
Insider ($10/month): the weekly bonus shows, plus a private Signal group with the hosts, quarterly live chats with Scott and Alex, and a thank-you gift for first-time subscribers
Join at patreon.com/TheMissionsShow.
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].
39 min
January 01, 2025What We Learned This Year
In this week's episode, Alex and Scott reflect on the theme for 2024 of "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants" and all of the things they've learned by talking about heroes of the faith.
Want more of The Missions Show? Our premium content now lives on Patreon.
Supporter ($5/month): weekly bonus shows with more in-depth conversation, behind-the-scenes content, and spiritual insights
Insider ($10/month): the weekly bonus shows, plus a private Signal group with the hosts, quarterly live chats with Scott and Alex, and a thank-you gift for first-time subscribers
Join at patreon.com/TheMissionsShow.
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].
1 min
December 30, 2024The Gospel Worth Dying for – The Testimony of John and Betty Stam With Andrew Montonera
Would you be prepared to die for the gospel? In this week's episode of The Missions Podcast, Alex and Scott sit down with Andrew Montonera, author of a new missionary biography on John and Betty Stam. They discuss the tragic story of the Stam's martyrdom in China (1934), the ordinariness of their lives, and the impact that their story has on Chinese Christians today.
Andrew Montonera is the great grand nephew of John Stam. Upon finding a collection of old books owned by John and Betty Stam, Andrew felt called to write a new missionary biography, "By Life or By Death", about their incredible life and death.
Want to hear more of the conversation? In this week's Overtime episode for Premium Subscribers, Alex, Scott, and Brian dive into how stories of martyrs have affected their lives and what those stories do for the global church. Become a Premium Subscriber and listen to that conversation and more at patreon.com/TheMissionsShow.
With over 3 billion people in the world who have never heard of Jesus, the global need is tremendous for workers to go into the harvest fields (Matthew 9:37-38). Is God calling you to missions? We'd love to have a conversation with you on how you can use your gifts and talents to advance the Great Commission at home and abroad. Visit abwe.org/SendMe for more information and to take your next step in missions.
Want more of The Missions Show? Our premium content now lives on Patreon.
Supporter ($5/month): weekly bonus shows with more in-depth conversation, behind-the-scenes content, and spiritual insights
Insider ($10/month): the weekly bonus shows, plus a private Signal group with the hosts, quarterly live chats with Scott and Alex, and a thank-you gift for first-time subscribers
Join at patreon.com/TheMissionsShow.
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].
32 min
December 25, 2024 The Martyrdom of John and Betty Stam
In this week's episode of The Missions Podcast, Andrew Montonera, author of a new missionary biography on John and Betty Stam, talks about how their life and death impacted the Chinese church and a whole generation of Christians.
1 min
December 23, 2024Making House Churches Work With Matt Lynskey
How does the house-church model work? What about a whole network of house churches? In this week's episode of The Missions Podcast, Alex and Scott talk with Matt Lynskey, a pastor and church planter in a network of house churches. Together, they talk about the Biblical model for house churches, how house churches can fit within the culture of a city, and how house churches can serve an evangelical and pastoral purpose.
Matt Lynskey is a church planter and pastor of Noble City Church in York, PA. He's a former missionary to East Africa, has done translation work, taught at Lancaster Bible College, and founded Noble Collective, a church-based missionary society that plants churches, does pioneer evangelism, and trains ministry leaders.
Want more of the conversation? Join our Premium Subscribers in the exclusive Overtime episode to talk over some of the challenges and logistics of running house churches. Become a Premium Subscriber at patreon.com/TheMissionsShow.
Help missionaries get to the field. God has called and trained individuals and families to answer the Great Commission, but they need supporters to get there. Encourage and hold the rope for those on Prefield by generously giving to those that God has called to cross-cultural missions. Find a partner in ministry at abwe.org/Prefield.
Want more of The Missions Show? Our premium content now lives on Patreon.
Supporter ($5/month): weekly bonus shows with more in-depth conversation, behind-the-scenes content, and spiritual insights
Insider ($10/month): the weekly bonus shows, plus a private Signal group with the hosts, quarterly live chats with Scott and Alex, and a thank-you gift for first-time subscribers
Join at patreon.com/TheMissionsShow.
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].
38 min

About The Missions Show

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The Missions Show answers hard questions about theology, missions, and practice to help goers think and thinkers go. We are conservative, evangelical, and gospel-centered.