Unconventional Ministry

In this episode, learn how Kerri Steele, married with three young children, struggles through her husband's passing at only age 32 with a rare cancer diagnosis. Widowed with no job and three young children, she did not know where to go for help. Amazingly, in the US, 1 in 2 women and 1 in 3 men will develop cancer in their lifetime. With cancer the second most common cause of death in the US, why do so few churches have a church cancer ministry?

Learn how God set in Kerri's heart that while she could not keep her children from pain, she could walk with them through the pain and hardship of the passing of Will, their father. That experience has led Kerri to establish the Little Hearts of Hope ministry and help others going through cancer and the death of a spouse.

Kerri determined to teach her children how to turn to God in the midst of hard times instead of trying to pretend like it's not as bad as it is or being on the opposite end, completely overcome with grief that they can't do anything. #cancer #church #ministry  

In this episode, understand how AI (Artificial Intelligence) can be used by the Church and other ministries. Jon Hirst with SIL International explains some of the advanced tech tools being used and how AI adds value.

Jon explains the premise of AI having a computer do something that a human would have normally done. "Narrow intelligence" is a type of AI that is specific to a certain task it does for you. On the other hand, there is what's called "artificial general intelligence," which is what most people are talking about today when they talk about AI. It's the ability of a computer to do things that humans would do in a variety of areas of life. It feels real even though it's not something that is real or sentient. How can AI help ministries?

Learn how ministry's innovators are coming together to discuss the ethics of AI as well as the proper role of it. Learn how they can work together in intentional AI model training to have trusted AI models for ministry without embedded biases, unbiblical ideologies, and prejudices. 

In this week's episode, learn how Dennis Wiens found his retirement hobby. As Dennis approached retirement age, various people had numerous suggestions of various hobbies he could consider doing in his retirement. None seemed to appeal to or fit his skill set and experience.

One aspect of his work with SAT-7 USA is the opportunity to travel and do networking. He enjoys meeting new people, hearing their stories, and learning from them. During his travels, he has found it inspiring to see how God works through so many people across America in fun, engaging, innovative, and creative ways! After hearing so many stories, Dennis decided to share his encounters through podcasting.

Each Tuesday, there is a new episode of the Unconventional Ministry Podcast hosted by Dennis. The podcast is a conversation about fresh ministry ideas, new approaches, and collaborative efforts.

Dennis also is the host of the SAT-7 USA's Beyond Borders Prayer Zoom, a monthly meeting connecting ministry partners and friends of the ministry with on-the-ground SAT-7 staff from the Middle East and North Africa. It is a time to hear firsthand about the challenges of ministering in a region where 97% of people are non-Christian and how to pray more effectively to make God’s love visible. Here is a link to register for the monthly Beyond Borders Prayer Zoom.

Check out all of the past Unconventional Ministry Podcast episodes here.

In this episode, learn why today’s culture listens better to artists than to preachers. The guest Rev. Dr. Byron Spradlin, Founder and CEO of ACT International. The American Church has not always adequately understood and embraced artistic people, strategies, and methods; consequently, there are few places that integrate innovative and artistic ministry people into the life and ministry of the Church. A biblical definition of the term "craftsman" is a person unusually wise at imaginative design or expression. The Church needs imaginative expression specialists and ministerial strategists.

The Church is losing the assets of some of the Church’s most powerful and effective servants.

In this episode, hear about the inspiring work of Simple Charity and their mission to inspire Christian college students to live in solidarity with people experiencing poverty and injustice. Words are not enough – Gen Z needs an apologetic of action! Featured in the podcast episode is co-founder Brian Grasso who discusses the organization's approach to living out six practices of trust, gratitude, prayer, fasting, giving, and service.

Learn valuable insights into how to evaluate charity nonprofits that are truly making a difference in serving the poor and advancing God's Kingdom by sharing the criteria that Simple Charity uses to select their partner organizations. Simple Charity believes that, as Christians, we are responsible for serving those in need and working towards a more just society. We do this by partnering with organizations that are making a real difference in the lives of the poor and by providing opportunities for students to get involved in service projects and advocacy efforts.

In this episode, learn about the war being waged on our children. They are being negatively influenced in school, at home, and on the internet. This is especially true of the 1,200,000 million military children of active-duty members worldwide and the nearly 2 million “total-force dependent children.” Military children struggle with 3 things: depression, loneliness, and bullying.  

My guest is Mitchell Aguirre, the founder of a unique approach to changing these statistics. Mitch founded the Keeping Kids Connected ministry as the nonprofit arm of Adventures Of, his for-profit company that helps adults stay connected to kids long-distance.

Their initial campaign is targeting 840,000 military kids between the ages of 3 – 11. They use personalized and customized adventure stories where a child and parent become the main characters. Instead of the child receiving a complete book at one time, they receive one chapter every three weeks for an entire year.

The Christian-themed stories teach kids godly principles and lessons while experiencing adventures, challenges, and fun. This brings them closer to their parent and Jesus Christ.

In this episode, learn how Teddy Caputo, Digital Media Director, and Mars Hill Network is modernizing through digital technology. Hear about how blending the established radio with new digital media expands their impact and reach to new audiences and meets the needs of their growing audience.

Learn what their challenges are in establishing digital media for a traditional radio ministry. Their multi-faceted digital media approach, like their Faith Feature video series, brings hope to the journey from wherever you are. Teddy interviews Christian community members about their faith & personal testimony in Jesus Christ, how their faith helps them get through their life challenges, and how God is leading His followers in ministry.

In this episode, Dr. Jules Glanzer shares insights from his many years of experience in leadership, both in the Church as well as in Christian higher education. Looking at the 7 basic sectors of society: family, entertainment, media, business, religion, education, and government, Dr. Glanzer shares his thoughts on:

• Where is leadership in America today?

His book Sound of Leadership shares his kingdom notes to fine-tune your life and influence. Available at https://www.inviteresources.com/lp/sound-of-leadership-landing.

In this episode, my guest Kayla Bradham shares how the Sports Philanthropy Network works with professional athletes. Their mission is to assist athletes, teams, leagues and other sports organizations in harnessing the power of sports to create hope and possibility. Kayla shares how many of the athletes have great faith, and most people will never hear about the great work they are doing or WHY they are doing it.

Learn why Kayla thinks she has the best job in the world. If it’s your vision, it’s your mission!

#sportsphilanthropy #sports #hope #purpose #unconventionalministry

In this episode, learn how Digital Missions Display, a ministry providing technology solutions for churches, is revolutionizing church display boards with an engaging, interactive experience.

This ministry helps bring missionary engagement in the local church into the 21st century by using touchscreen technology that allows church members to interact with the information, and access emails, websites, videos, QR codes, and more, all at their fingertips in real-time.

For far too long, an overwhelming number of church congregants were unable to identify the missionaries they support, let alone know their names and missions. To transform this disheartening reality, Paul Douglas explains his interactive touchscreen display that features world and continental maps, allowing church members to easily access information on their supported missionaries with just the touch of a finger. Through this innovative approach, they aim to cultivate deeper connections and foster a greater understanding of the church’s global missions.