Unconventional Ministry

In this episode, learn from Dr. Don Hawkins why it is important for grandparents to be empathetic listeners, ask cultivating questions, and have compassionate communication with their grandchildren. Cancel culture, sexual distortion, and other cultural shifts have penetrated our public education system and our society. Clearly, we live in a post-Christian era. But there is hope … godly grandparents.

Among the local church ministries, resources for the grandparents are the most overlooked and neglected segment of the local church. Dr. Hawkins is now changing the statistics! Through The Master Life Coach Training Institute's GrandCoaching™ course – an easy-to-use multimedia presentation that you can take at your own pace – grandparents can bond with their grandchildren, set a godly example, communicate biblical truth to them to help shape their worldview, and perhaps lead them to personal faith in Christ. For more information, visit https://grandcoaching.org/.

Dr. Don Hawkins is a veteran conference and seminar speaker with pastoral experience, former president of a Bible College, former Vice President and Executive Director of the Minirth Meier Clinic, author or co-author of over 20 books. He served at Back to the Bible as co-host and was producer of the Back to the Bible radio program. He has also hosted the live nationwide call-in program, Life Perspectives, and was also President/CEO of Encouragement Communications and General Manager of The Worship Channel. Now he is the host of “Encouragement Live” heard on Saturday evening at American Family Radio. The SAT-7 ministry is a regular guest on the program.

Here are several recent podcasts episodes you may find interesting:

• #141 Telling Stories That Shape One’s Imagination - Heather Pubols. How does telling stories shape one’s imagination? What is the storytelling role of the ministry nonprofit? Heather shares about the lack of funding for good storytelling in mission agencies and churches, emphasizing the importance of stories in transforming people's imagination and involvement in missions.  Learn how to revitalize global ministry and engage the Church with stories!
  

In the episode, learn from Dr. Terrence Ascott, a pioneering innovator in Middle East Christian media who founded SAT-7. Learn how what was thought to be impossible was made possible – a broadcast media ministry aiming to make the gospel available across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Dr. Ascott shares his epiphany moment when he realized the power of television in making the Gospel available to people who are not functionally literate, the poor, women, and children.

Learn how SAT-7's (SAT-7 USA) unique model differs from traditional Christian television stations by giving a platform to local churches and focusing on culturally appropriate programming. Over the past 27 years, SAT-7 has witnessed significant changes in media technology and societal attitudes in the Middle East and North Africa, presenting both challenges and opportunities for sharing the Christian faith. Learn more by visiting www.terenceascott.com for more ministry information about Dr. Ascott's captivating book "Dare to Believe."

“Dare to Believe! Stories of Faith from the Middle East” is the memoir of SAT-7 Founder and President Dr. Terrence Ascott. The book combines his exciting personal story of living through civil wars, kidnappings, detentions, and deportation with the courageous witness of Middle East Christians and the birth and growth of SAT-7 into a media network that today broadcasts to millions in Arabic, Turkish, and Persian.

You can download a sample chapter of the book or receive a downloadable PDF and ePub version of the complete abridged book as a thank-you for a gift of any amount. Visit http://sat7usa.org/daretobelievebook/ to learn more.

In this episode, learn from guest Heather Pubols as we discuss the role of the Christian nonprofit in telling stories that shape one’s imagination.

Heather Pubols is an experienced nonprofit communications leader, a passionate storyteller, the founder of Le Motif, and editor of Missio Nexus’ Evangelical Missions Quarterly (EMQ).

How does telling stories shape one’s imagination? What is the storytelling role of the ministry nonprofit? Heather shares about the lack of funding for good storytelling in mission agencies and churches, emphasizing the importance of stories in transforming people's imagination and involvement in missions.

Learn how to revitalize global ministry and engage the Church with stories!

Several recent podcasts focused on the Middle East. Here are the links:

• EP #139 Resiliency in the Midst of Crisis – A Holy Land Update with Pastor Hanna Massad. In this episode, Dr. Hanna Massad discusses the challenges faced by Christians in Gaza, including limited resources and persecution. He emphasizes that despite these difficulties, the Christian community remains strong in their faith and support for one another.

In this episode, learn from Mike Morris, founder of Children's Evangelistic Ministries (CEMI) and creator of the multicolored soccer ball. Mike’s goal was to energize the world's children with the Gospel message. Learn how God put an innovative idea in their mind, resulting in a multicolored soccer ball in their hand to reach their goal.

The multicolored soccer ball was inspired by Mike’s 20 years working for CEF and using The Wordless Book. The Wordless Book works as a powerful evangelism tool, using colored pages to share the Gospel with children – even with no words! Evidence points to it being invented by the famous London Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon in a message given on January 11, 1866, to several hundred orphans regarding Psalm 51:7.

To order multicolored soccer balls, hacky sack balls, soap, and handmade bracelets, visit the website Energia Products to learn more and order products. Energiaproducts.org is the product arm of CEMI, developed to make it easier to obtain Energia products.

Please consider ordering some soccer balls for your church, ministry, kids club, or Sunday school class. If you type into the discount code at checkout SAT723 you will receive a 10% discount on all products until the end of the year. 

Pastor Hanna Massad was born and raised in Gaza and is the first from Gaza to pastor Gaza Baptist Church. In this episode, Dr. Hanna Massad discusses the challenges faced by Christians in Gaza, including limited resources and persecution. He emphasizes that despite these difficulties, the Christian community remains strong in their faith and support for one another.

Pastor Hanna, Founder and CEO of the Christian Mission to Gaza, provides practical and spiritual assistance to persecuted Christians, refugees, orphans, and widows, not only in Gaza, but also in the West Bank, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, and Lebanon. For more information on the Christian Mission to Gaza, contact Dr. Hanna Massad via email at [email protected]​

Check Out Previous Podcast Episodes:

• EP #135 The New Center in Global Christianity – Now What? with Dr. Allen Yeh. In this episode, learn about how the global center of Christianity has shifted away from America and is now represented by young, female, black, or brown individuals from the Global South who are poor and uneducated. This shift impacts how missions should be approached, with a focus on equipping and training rather than traditional evangelism.
  

In this episode, listen to Rev. Tat Stewart masterfully and humorously tell the story of how God wove the details of his life together and raised him up to become an influential part of the spiritual awakening in Iran in the 1970s. At a time when few foreigners could observe the impact of the Iranian Revolution, Tat, being no stranger to the people of Iran, was given a unique window to see firsthand how the Gospel spread like wildfire there. Learn how his experience of living among Iranians prepared him to be an effective shepherd for a whole new generation of Iranian Christians as an influential leader and teacher in the Iranian Church. Rev. Tat Stewart recently published his new book "No Stranger: to Iran, its People, and its Church," available on Amazon.

Rev. Stewart has a weekly Farsi language program, answering viewers' questions on the SAT-7 PARS Farsi satellite channel.

Rev Stewart is also the Founder and Editor of SHABAN MAGAZINE, a Farsi pastoral journal for Farsi-speaking ministers. You can reach Rev. Tat Stewart through his email [email protected].

Recent Unconventional Ministry podcast episodes you will enjoy: 

• S4 EP #131 The Social Media Phenomenon in the Asbury 2023 Revival - Dr. Mark Elliot. Hear Dr. Mark Elliot's firsthand perspectives on what he personally observed and learned during the Asbury University revival in February 2023. Learn about the social media phenomenon that was unique in the Asbury 2023 Revival.

In this episode, Gary Brumbelow shares about his journey to write a novel, sharing helpful hints as well as some challenges. He discusses why many books are abandoned by readers, emphasizing the importance of crafting believable and relatable stories. Gary also reveals his passion for outdoor adventures and rural upbringing that inspired his own novel, "Someplace North, Someplace Wild," set in Canada's wilderness. The story follows a protagonist who faces suspense, love, and false murder charges who must decide whether to submit to an unjust system or prove his innocence. Gary interweaves his biblical values into this suspenseful tale.

Gary Brumbelow spent ten years in ministry in four Canadian provinces. He has a master’s degree from Wheaton College. He worked for fifteen years as the executive director of a missionary-sending organization, and for the last 12 years he held the role of a local church pastor.

Recent podcast episodes you will enjoy:

• Ep #128 Retirement – Moving from Conventional to the Extraordinary Learn why retirement is not a finish line but a starting point: a moment to transition from the conventional to the extraordinary, from passive years to a period of active service in God's Kingdom. My guest is Bruce Bruinsma, Founder and CEO of The Retirement Reformation.
  

In this episode, learn about how the global center of Christianity has shifted away from America and is now represented by young, female, black, or brown individuals from the Global South who are poor and uneducated. This shift impacts how missions should be approached, with a focus on equipping and training rather than traditional evangelism.

Dr. Allen Yeh, Professor of Intercultural Studies and Missiology at Biola University, discusses this shift in global Christianity and emphasizes the importance of understanding world Christianity as a subject. The trends that led to this change include the separation of colonialism from missions and the three-self movement, which promotes self-sustaining, self-propagating, and self-governing local churches.

Dr. Yeh explains how the Western Church should think differently about missions in light of this new paradigm.

Recent podcast episodes you will enjoy:

• EP #126 Six Practices to Healthy Venting  In this podcast, you will learn six practices to healthy venting. Venting your feelings can be healthy and helpful, but it does not always work this way. While sweeping emotions under the carpet is not healthy in our personal or professional lives, neither is the toxic environment of oversharing and venting our feelings.

• EP #127 Building Blocks for a Culture of Trust  In nearly all industries, over the last few years, research shows there's been a decline in trust. In this episode, learn from TrustCentric Consulting Founder and CEO Cory Scheer about the building blocks of trust. With proven strategies to help you build back trust and thrive in a trust-declining culture.

In this episode, CJ Callahan, a volunteer worship leader with Thrive Ministry, discusses the purpose and unique aspects of the organization. Thrive Ministry aims to provide spiritual resources and support for North American women doing ministry overseas. The ministry offers retreats that focus on spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being through various activities like counseling and self-care services. CJ shares her personal experience as a worship leader at these retreats and highlights how they have positively impacted the missionary women. She also mentions the importance of volunteers in running the organization and explains their fundraising process.

Additionally, she mentions her involvement with Paraclete, an organization that supports older missionaries in encouraging those currently serving abroad. Listeners are encouraged to visit Thrive Ministry's website for more information about their mission and opportunities to get involved.

Previous podcast episodes you will enjoy:

Episode #77 The Trauma of Unforgiveness with Pastor Mark Sowersby

Episode #76  Christian FM Radio in Beirut – A Country Desperate for Hope with Johnny Jalek

Episode #75 The Third Culture Kid (TCK) Cultural Adaptability in a Multicultural World with Brooke Wiens

Episode #74 Practicing a Customer Service Mentality in an Unfriendly World with Dr. Ron Johnson

In this episode, Brian Dix shares about the Horizon Education Network, a Christ-centered learning community of theological educators from around the world that is changing the future of theological education today! Brian has 35 years of experience as a global church worker and speaks Portuguese.

The Horizon Education Network is an associate member of the International Council for Evangelical Theological Education (ICETE), established by the World Evangelical Alliance.

Imagine a network of sustainable and culturally appropriate global centers for theological education. These centers create contagious learning environments where students, faculty, and administrators are continually growing in their faith.

Previous podcast episodes you will enjoy:

• Episode #83 When Change-Makers Don’t Fit Traditional Ministry Models with John Barcanic