The Missions Show

What is the mission of the people of God in the world? Christians often get this basic question wrong. Are the people of God primarily called to social work, church planting, evangelistic campaigns, or all three somehow? This week, Scott Dunford explains why Romans 15 establishes a paradigm for the whole body of Christ to follow.

This episode features a message that was originally preached at Community Evangelical Free Church in Harrisburg, Pa.

Remember to share, rate, leave a review, and subscribe. Together we can bridge the gap between the worlds of theology and missions.

Want to ask a question for a future episode? Email [email protected].

This show is powered by ABWE International and the Global Gospel Fund.

When we consider unreached and unengaged people groups, we typically think of them as knowing nothing at all of God. But a biblical theology of natural revelation and common grace drives us to a deeper understanding of the fact that all human beings are surrounded by the visible glory of God—and it’s precisely this fact that makes them accountable before their Creator.

In this conversation, Scott Dunford and Alex Kocman explore the ways in which a healthier understanding of general revelation and natural theology can add depth to our cross-cultural evangelism. We also tackle presuppositional apologetics, the priority of special revelation, and end with some encouragements for us all to slow down more and respond to God’s majesty with adoration.

Remember to share, rate, leave a review, and subscribe. Together we can bridge the gap between the worlds of theology and missions.

Want to ask a question for a future episode? Email [email protected].

This show is powered by ABWE International and the Global Gospel Fund.

When we think “missions,” we tend to think jungles, tribes, animism, strange languages, and thatched roofs. That impression isn’t always accurate. But for veteran missionary and legendary mobilizer Brad Buser, that’s exactly what he experienced. In this episode, we pick Brad’s brain about the importance of tribal missions and long-term, patient language acquisition and contextualization. We also dive into the topic of faithful methods of disciple-making and how the desire to do things quickly can sometimes come at the expense of long-term impact.

Brad lives in San Diego, California where he is Director of Radius International, a training program in Tijuana, Mexico. He started church planting in Papua New Guinea from 1979-1999, living among the animistic Iteri people, serving under New Tribes (now Ethnos 360). You can read Brad’s dramatic story and his articles for Radius.

Remember to share, rate, leave a review, and subscribe. Together we can bridge the gap between the worlds of theology and missions.

Want to ask a question for a future episode? Email [email protected].

This show is powered by ABWE International and the Global Gospel Fund.

In our impatient, have-it-now society, it’s difficult to think long-term about serving in one field of ministry for decades—much less healthy church planting and multiplication over the long haul. In this episode, ABWE veteran Bob Trout shares the blessings of and keys to longevity and endurance in a field where he saw over 40 Colombian churches planted or grown in the course of his career.

Bob and Lynne Trout served for many years in Colombia as church planters and then Regional Director for Spanish Speaking South America. He currently directs ABWE's Member Care department.

You can learn more about how ABWE shepherds and cares for its missionaries through our Member Care portal.

Remember to share, rate, leave a review, and subscribe. Together we can bridge the gap between the worlds of theology and missions.

Want to ask a question for a future episode? Email [email protected].

This show is powered by ABWE International and the Global Gospel Fund.

Too often in pursuit of full-time ministry abroad or at home, ministry applicants simply email a church or missions agency their resume and leave the rest of the hiring process to chance. Whether you’re fresh out of seminary or transitioning to ministry after a full career in the outside workforce, such a haphazard approach is bound to fail. Maybe we need to learn more about how to conduct ourselves professional during the the onboarding processes into pastoral or cross-cultural ministry.

Benjamin Vrbicek returns to the show to discuss his newest book, Don’t Just Send a Resume: How to Find the Right Job in a Local Church. He believes that the typical pastor or missionary, while fully equipped to do his job, is not equipped to transition effectively when God calls him to move to another ministry context. The book also features short contributions by 12 published authors and ministry leaders including David Mathis, Jared C. Wilson, and others. In the interview, Scott and Alex catch up with Benjamin on a personal level and explore the similarities and dissimilarities between hiring in the ministry world and the secular world, and wrap up with some wisdom on transitioning well.

Benjamin is a teaching pastor at Community Evangelical Free Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Brooke, have six children. He earned an M.Div. from Covenant Theological Seminary. Benjamin blogs regularly at Fan and Flame and is also the author of Struggle Against Porn, about which he was interviewed on the podcast in January 2019. You can follow him on Twitter.

Remember to share, rate, leave a review, and subscribe. Together we can bridge the gap between the worlds of theology and missions.

Want to ask a question for a future episode? Email [email protected].

This show is powered by ABWE International and the Global Gospel Fund.

In the West, we tend to think in terms of law, justice, guilt, and innocence. Our gospel presentation naturally picks up this flavor. But in many Eastern cultures, honor and shame are the dominant values—and in tribal contexts, it’s fear and power that take center stage. Has the Western church focused too much on a “legal” gospel and missed out on critical components of the biblical message? And if so, how do we avoid overcompensating and leaving out critical parts of the gospel such as the doctrine of justification?

This week, Scott Dunford and Alex Kocman interact with the core ideas from books like Rolland Muller’s Honor and Shame: Unlocking the Door (2001) and discuss the advantages, disadvantages, and biblical wisdom surrounding the cultural lenses of guilt and innocence, honor and shame, and fear and power.

Want to ask a question for a future episode? Email [email protected].

This show is powered by ABWE International and the Global Gospel Fund.

Is it biblical for a missionary to change sending churches or agencies? Is there a right or wrong way to do it? How often should pastors visit their missionaries? Is it worth it to start a family on the field? Is missions easier or harder as a single?

We’ve been soliciting your questions and feedback since episode 1, and in this episode we finally dig into the mailbag and tackle some of our listeners’ most insightful inquiries. We also discuss other pressing matters including fried chicken restaurants and signs of the apocalypse.

We also recommended Benjamin Vrbicek’s latest book, Don’t Just Send a Resume. If you purchase a copy, be sure to let Benjamin know.

Remember to share, rate, leave a review, and subscribe. Together we can bridge the gap between the worlds of theology and missions.

Want to ask a question for a future episode? Email [email protected].

This show is powered by ABWE International and the Global Gospel Fund.

How are Christian women to respond to the onslaught of lies barraging them from the surrounding culture about who they are and the basis of their identity? And how is motherhood a “mission field” for the Christian woman? This week Rachel Jankovic, pastor’s daughter and author based in Moscow, Idaho, tackles these questions with whit, flare, and deep biblical wisdom that’s rare.

Be forewarned—Scott and Alex were a bit punchy for the recording of this episode.

Rachel Jankovic is a wife and mother of seven children. She is author of You Who? Why You Matter and How to Deal With It and Loving the Little Years and has been featured on sites including Desiring God. She is heavily involved with the Christ Church Ladies Bible Reading Challenge and invites you all to join in that great movement of Christian women becoming women of the word. You can follow her on Twitter or Instagram.

Remember to share, rate, leave a review, and subscribe. Together we can help bridge the gap between the worlds of theology and missions.

Want to ask a question for a future episode? Email [email protected].

This show is powered by ABWE International and the Global Gospel Fund.

What are the non-negotiables of how we do missions? Is it possible to reverse-engineer what’s “working” on the field to build our methodology, or are we locked in to a finite set of prescriptions from Scripture about how to do ministry—thinks like preaching the word training elders? Andy Johnson (Ph.D., Texas A&M), Associate Pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. and contributor to 9Marks, is unafraid to answer these weighty questions. Andy joins us this week to discuss his short book Missions: How the Local Church Goes Global and why faithfulness beats modern North American pragmatism any day of the week.

Andy was born and raised in a believing family in Texas. He worked both on church staff and managing a small, family cattle operation. After completing degrees at Texas A&M, Andy moved to Washington, DC in 1997. Andy earned a living as an agricultural advisor for the US Congress while serving CHBC as an elder. In January of 2006, Andy joined CHBC as an Associate Pastor. Andy also gives special attention to the discipling and international missions efforts of CHBC. Andy loves reading, gardening and, most of all, spending time with his wonderful wife, Rebecca, and their children, Andrew, Evelyn, and Samuel.

Remember to share, rate, leave a review, and subscribe. Together we can help bridge the gap between the worlds of theology and missions.

Want to ask a question for a future episode? Email [email protected].

This show is powered by ABWE International and the Global Gospel Fund.

What is it like for a Christian living in the Middle East? What do believers usually get wrong about Islam and how to share Christ with Muslims? These questions are especially pressing during the month of Ramadan. This week Fouad Masri shares his personal conversion account and weighs in on these issues.

Author and lecturer Fouad Masri was born and raised in the war zone of Beirut, Lebanon. As a third-generation ordained pastor, he has a passion for sharing the love of Christ with Muslims and has been reaching out to Muslims and inspiring others to follow his example since 1979.

After coming to the United States to attend seminary, Fouad realized the urgency for teaching American Christians to reach out to the growing population of internationals, particularly Muslims. In 1993, he founded Crescent Project to nurture transformational relationships between Christians and Muslims and to rally the Church to reach out to Muslims to share Christ. You can follow him on Twitter.

Remember to share, rate, leave a review, and subscribe. Together we can help bridge the gap between the worlds of theology and missions.

Want to ask a question for a future episode? Email [email protected].

Powered by ABWE International.