The Missions Show

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

The Missions Show episodes

January 19Do You Believe in Miracles? What Acts Says With Dr. Darren Carlson
Do you believe miracles can still happen?
In this episode of The Missions Show, Scott is joined by Dr. Darren Carlson—pastor, author, and founder of Training Leaders International—to discuss the ongoing work of God as revealed in the book of Acts and experienced around the world today. Drawing from Carlson’s new book, Witness: Missional Devotions from the Book of Acts, the conversation explores whether Acts should be viewed merely as a historical account or as an invitation to expect God’s continued unusual activity through the church.
Scott and Darren wrestle honestly with the tension between miracles and the “grind” of everyday ministry. Through global mission stories, pastoral experiences, and personal encounters, Carlson emphasizes that God is actively at work—often beyond our narrow expectations. By telling true stories of God’s work, the church is strengthened, believers are made glad, and hope is restored even amid suffering, persecution, and apparent setbacks.
Key Topics
The book of Acts as a model for ongoing Christian mission, not just past history
Balancing expectation for miracles with ordinary faithfulness in daily life
Discernment amid exaggerated or false miracle claims
Forced migration and persecution as catalysts for mission in Acts
Storytelling as a means of encouraging believers and strengthening faith
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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].
33 min
January 12Paris – A City of Light and Mission With Billy Bean
What does missions look like in a global city like Paris, France?
In this episode of The Missions Show, Alex and Scott are joined by pastor Billy Bean to discuss A City of Light, a short documentary exploring gospel work in Paris, France. Often overlooked as a missions field, Paris is presented as a strategic global city, shaped by history, migration, and secular ideology, whose influence extends far beyond Europe.
Billy explains how missionaries and pastors in Paris seek to connect with deeply held French values—such as beauty, freedom, identity, and intellectual rigor—while confronting their limits and fulfilling their deepest longings through the gospel.
View the film and learn more at https://christcovenant.com/acityoflight
Key Topics
Why Paris and Western Europe remain vital mission fields
Global cities as strategic hubs for gospel influence
The legacy of secularism and expressive individualism in French culture
Contextualization: connecting, confronting, and fulfilling culture with the gospel
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].
31 min
January 09 New Name, Same Show
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.
2 min
January 05Evangelism and Missions in India With Aaron Menikoff and Harshit Singh
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.
Key Topics
Missions as the beating heart of the local church, not a side program
The role of ordinary means of grace (preaching, prayer, ordinances) in global missions
A biblical definition of missions as crossing cultural, linguistic, and geographic barriers
Practical ways churches can embed missions into regular church life
Discipleship and long-term theological training for future missionaries
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].
31 min
December 29, 2025A Practical Theology of Persecution With Matt Rhodes
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.
Key Topics
Persecution as a normative (but varied) aspect of the Christian life
How persecution shapes missions in unreached and restricted-access regions
Biblical guidance on when missionaries should stay versus flee
The danger of romanticizing martyrdom in missions culture
Historical and biblical examples of faithful suffering and prudent withdrawal
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].
29 min
December 22, 2025Holiday Special! Our Favorite Episodes from 2025
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.
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].
29 min
December 15, 2025Church Planting From Bangladesh to NYC With Prodip Das
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.
Key Topics
The history of ABWE ministry in Bangladesh
Prodip's personal testimony of growing up a Christian in Bangladesh
The nature of persecution of Muslim-background believers in Bangladesh
Prodip's church planting ministry in New York City
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].
29 min
December 08, 2025The Reality of Missions in Japan With Bill Petite
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.
Key Topics
The paradox of Japan’s high morality and deep spiritual lostness
Cultural barriers to understanding sin and truth
Challenges of contextualization and discipleship in Japanese culture
Japan as a “graveyard of missionaries” and the emotional cost of ministry
Japan’s critical need for pastors, church planters, and long-term missionaries
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].
30 min
December 01, 2025The Transcultural Gospel With E.D. Burns
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.
Key Topics
The danger of culture-first vs. Bible-first missionary methods
How methodology reveals underlying theology on the mission field
The insufficiency of presenting the gospel only through honor/shame or fear/power lenses
The centrality of penal substitutionary atonement and imputed righteousness
The perennial battle to preserve faith alone in cultures predisposed to works-based religion
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
November 24, 2025Behind the Numbers: What’s Really Happening in Global Missions With Ted Esler
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.
Key Topics Covered
The need for a renewed understanding of lostness in evangelical churches
How cultural narratives about colonialism affect missions engagement
The redemptive arc of Scripture as essential for missions literacy
A biblical theology of the nations and God’s purpose for cultural diversity
The importance of knowing the current global state of 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].
29 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.