In this episode, Dr. Todd Johnson shared his journey from a child loving mathematics to using his gift in math to help the body of Christ better understand the trends and status of world religions, including Christianity. Growing up in Minnesota, USA, in a Christian family, Todd had the heart for evangelism since the beginning of his ministry. As he served Cambodian refugees in Thailand, he witnessed people who’ve never heard about Christianity accepting Christ and their lives being transformed, and as a result he was increasingly concerned for people who have no opportunities to hear the gospel. God used this experience as a turning point and led Todd to a different path in mission, becoming the author of the World Christian Encyclopedia, the most extensive survey of Christianity and world religions. In addition to sharing the findings and trends in Mission and global Christianity, Todd also emphasizes the importance of diversity. As the world is getting more diverse, both in ethnicity and in religion, we now have a lot more opportunities to meet and interact with people coming from different cultural and religious backgrounds without the need to travel far, far away. This opens the door for Christians to understand different people groups and eventually share the gospel with them. We should all be encouraged by Todd’s care and concerns for people who’ve never had the opportunity to hear about Christ in their entire lifetime, and as we devote ourselves into the Great Commission, God can use the unique talents that He gives each of us to advance the gospel to more corners around the world. About Todd Johnson and his work Todd M. Johnson is Eva B. and Paul E. Toms Distinguished Professor of Global Christianity and co-Director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Johnson is visiting Research Fellow at Boston University’s Institute for Culture, Religion and World Affairs leading a research project on international religious demography. He is co-editor of the Atlas of Global Christianity (Edinburgh University Press) and co-author of the World Christian Encyclopedia (Edinburgh University Press, 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, 2nd ed.) and World Christian Trends (William Carey Library). He is editor of the World Christian Database (Brill) and co-editor of the World Religion Database (Brill). He is married to Tricia and has three daughters. https://www.amazon.com/Todd-M.-Johnso... More about Center for the Study of Global Christianity The Center for the Study of Global Christianity is an academic research center that monitors worldwide demographic trends in Christianity, including outreach and mission. They provide a comprehensive collection of information on the past, present, and future of Christianity in every country of the world. The data and publications help churches, mission agencies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to be more strategic, thoughtful, and sensitive to local contexts. https://www.gordonconwell.edu/center-... Powered by Firstory Hosting
“If you want to change the world, start with the university” - Martin Luther Raised in Wales by his grandmother who is a devout Christian, Lindsay experienced first-hand the life of a believer. He himself came to know the Lord through his local youth group. He shares of his enriching cross-cultural exposures at university and then at OM Logos, a mission vessel, where he spent 1 year in the continent of Africa. His enriching campus life prompted him to experience the importance of student ministry, to nurture the next generation, and the significant impact of the gospel to international students. In the pandemic-affected world, new technology arises quickly, replacing ‘traditional’ methods of advancing the gospel. However, Lindsay warns his listeners to stand firm on keeping personal connections with another, personal witnessing and public proclamation is vital, in conjunction with the use of technology. This episode is sure to leave you with gems from the open and honest conversations with Lindsay and Ray. About Lindsay Brown Lindsay Brown is a native of Wales. He studied European history at Oxford (MA) and theology at the Free Faculty of Theology at Vaux-sur-Seine, near Paris, under Henri Blocher. He has been involved in student ministry with IFES since 1981 and served as General Secretary from 1991-2007. He has been secunded part time to the Lausanne Movement since 2008 and spends the rest of his time running the IFES-FEUER (Fellowship of Evangelists in the Universities of Europe) network which seeks to stimulate the public communication of the gospel in universities across Europe. He is convinced of the strategic importance of student work for the continuing health and strength of the worldwide church. Lindsay also serves as the International Director for the Lausanne Movement and is the author of ‘Shining like Stars’ – a collection of student stories from the 20th century. He also has a doctorate from the Caribbean Graduate School of Theology in Jamaica. More about IFES IFES shapes lives and develops student leaders all around the world. We support locally-led student movements in over 180 different countries. We are committed to seeing a student witness established in every university in the world. Official website: https://ifesworld.org Powered by Firstory Hosting
This episode is filled with interesting stories of Greg sharing the life of him as mission-mobilizers, where they began the journey when mobilization was not very much heard of. His love for mission resources is evident in his excitement as he speaks of the different materials available. He encourages his listeners to pray for the diasporas and the unreached daily with use of prayer guides. He invites his listeners to engage in missions as a mobilizer, or as an ‘along-sider’, through helping other people walk into their global mission. The field is ripe and ready. About Greg Parsons Greg and Kathleen joined the staff of the U.S. Center for World Mission (USCWM) in 1982, now called Frontier Ventures.Greg was the Director of the USCWM from 1990-2010. Now his role as Director of Global Connections takes him around the globe to meet, learn from and serve leaders. Greg also serves as the Chancellor and Associate Professor of Intercultural Studies at William Carey International University. He teaches and speaks in churches and in the course, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. He also writes a regular column in Mission Frontiers magazine, the bulletin of Frontier Ventures. He is working on several books and serves on several boards including Missio Nexus. More about Frontier Ventures Formerly known as the U.S. Center for World Mission founded by Dr. Ralph Winter, FV is the birth place of the Perspectives course, Global Prayer digest, Mission frontiers Magazine, and many more. In 2015 The U.S. Center for World Mission and the Frontier Mission Fellowship were joined together again as one entity, known today as Frontier Ventures. https://www.frontierventures.org/ Powered by Firstory Hosting
This episode tells of a unique way of mobilization - starting with children. Carrisa herself caught on the fire of God to missions at a young age and stood out as salt and light within her circle of friends. Carissa continues to carry her passion into adulthood and commenced mobilizing children as a Sunday school teacher. She currently works with Weave by CMM who provide and publish resources to encourage the concept of thinking ‘smaller’, that kids are important in the picture of mission mobilization. This begins within the family unit. As parents support their children to use their gifts to pursue their God-given dreams, they may get a paradigm shift as they find meaning and role in their part of the picture. About Carissa Potter Carissa is a fun-loving, world-traveling, truth-sharing, friend of Jesus. She loves to lead and teach, and never misses an opportunity to talk about the amazing story God is writing throughout all of human history. She desires to see every family find their place in God’s big story. She is the founder and the director of Weave. About Weave ministry https://weavefamily.org Weave is a ministry of the Center for Mission Mobilization. Together we are engaging, equipping, and connecting believers worldwide to their most strategic role in completing the Great Commission. Weave exists to align the hearts of families with God’s global purposes by equipping them to define, embrace, and live out their unique role in advancing the Kingdom, growing to their fullest potential in Christ. Powered by Firstory Hosting
Having experienced the peaks and valleys of being in the mission field with his family, David now serves as the director of the Center for Missionary Mobilization and Retention in Ellendale, North Dakota. Plenty of resources are available on their website to support churches and missionaries worldwide into mobilizing and importantly supporting longevity of missionaries in the field. He dissects the often-confusing terminologies of mission, missions or being a missionary, bringing clarity based on the Word of God. Hear of interesting discussions on how we can partner with God to mobilize people, the beauty and challenges of diversity and cross-cultural collaborations. Cancelling out the mindset of “passing the baton” in missions, David warns his listeners against complacency- Do not stop running. Let us run and learn together. Keep our eyes on the end goal: Jesus. About David Jacob Since 2008, David P. Jacob has been an Assemblies of God missionary to a sensitive country in Northern Asia. He currently serves as the missionary in residence and chair of the intercultural studies department at Trinity Bible College and Graduate School in Ellendale, ND. David is the author of It’s Your Call: To a Missional or Missionary Life. More about The Center for Missionary Mobilization and Retention https://www.missionarymobilization.org/ The Center for Missionary Mobilization and Retention aims to resource the Christian community to increase and retain the number of long-term missionaries sent around the world. The Center was officially launched in October 2018 and aims to resource the Christian community by researching missionary mobilization and retention, publishing various articles and academic papers, and training local church leaders and missionaries on various topics impacting the missionary call and missionary care. Powered by Firstory Hosting
Today, we dive into the vision and heart of Daniel for the West Africans to become a ‘sending’ church. Despite having a statistically high number of Christians, Ghana remains a partly unreached nation with 19 tribes still yet to know God. There is a lot of work to be done in the area of discipleship, especially amongst the youth. Daniel emphasized intentional discipleship of the youth with a shift in worldview to bring missions into different spheres of society wherever they go. He sees the need for local resources to be produced, to ‘tell their own stories’ and doing research by and with the local people. He stresses the importance of collaboration as truely “team work makes the team work”! About Pastor Daniel Appiah Daniel lives and serves in Accra, Ghana as the National Director for Fullstature Missions International ministering among the Konkomba. For over two decades he has been mobilizing in Ghana and West Africa. He is Training Director of the Ghana Evangelical Missions Association (GEMA). Since 2012, he has been engaged with Simply Mobilizing (Kairos) and also Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Pastor Daniel Hyde Appiah is also serving on the Executive Leadership team and the prayer coordinator of the GMN. About FullStature mission international https://www.fullstature.net/ About GEMA (Ghana Evangelical Missions Association) https://www.gemagh.org/ Powered by Firstory Hosting
Today, we tune into an in depth discussion and reflection on the Encountering the World of Islam (EIW) course with Keith. He refers to the 3D model to Discover, Develop, Deploy when unravelling this mobilisation tool at the same time reminding the listeners to contextualise the tools to suit global needs and cultures, with the emphasis of including the non-Western world. As a mobiliser, Keith is strongly convicted of supporting the local church with evangelism and discipleship. Rather than sending students directly to the field, Keith urges the listeners to first focus on honouring and building the students to the local church. Revival happens in the church through hardships and threats, which could be poverty, authoritarianism, wealth and/or materialism. However, threats are not obstacles to mobilisation, rather prerequisites. About the special guest: Keith and his wife Ethel, a university professor teaching English as a second language, have been married for over thirty years and have two daughters: Margaret and Charis. In addition, their family has often included international students hosted for up to two years at a time. From 1993 until 2002, Keith was on staff with the U.S. Center for World Mission (now Frontier Ventures) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A focus of Keith’s ministry since 1992 has been the development of the Encountering the World of Islam (EWI) course. After September 11, 2001, EWI became his main ministry focus. In the summer of 2002, the Swartleys joined Caleb Project in Littleton, Colorado, to further develop EWI, which subsequently came under the ministry of Pioneers in 2007. For the last twenty-six years, the EWI course has trained over 25,000 participants to express the love of Christ and to plant reproducing churches among Muslims. EWI has been translated into Chinese, Korean, Russian, Portuguese, and Spanish, empowering Christians to love and effectively share the hope of the gospel with Muslims in 29 countries. https://www.encounteringislam.org/ Powered by Firstory Hosting
Stay to the course of our calling and things will be less complicated when the vision is clear. The conversation with Ross in this episode has surely prompted a lot of self-reflection. He followed his calling, lived amongst the Chinese and speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese. It is a power-packed half-hour with insights into Ross’ journey into mission-mobilization, cross-cultural concepts, the ‘three keys’ to church, and using stories to bring principles to life. The significance of working together was illustrated as putting all the puzzle pieces together to work out what God is saying to the team. More about Our guest: Ross and Christine Paterson have spent over 40 years of their lives on the mission field serving the Lord and His Church in China. They are currently based in Taiwan, serving as mission consultants with a global ministry. They have decades of experience in cross-cultural mission, which has fueled their passion to help others navigate cultures well and live healthily on the field. Further info Field Partner https://www.fieldpartner.org/ An online portal of resources for Christian missionaries working across cultures. Through FieldPartner, they join with other experienced missionaries to share decades worth of wisdom in cross-cultural mission to encourage and equip the next generation. 禾場夥伴(中文宣教培訓網站)https://fpinter.org/ Powered by Firstory Hosting
Born of a diverse, multi-ethnic nation, Nosa breaks out of cultural norms to follow the calling of God, standing firm as a woman, a leader, and a beloved daughter of God. Africa now has a large number of evangelical Christians, and this is the time for Africa to take up the baton to mobilise workers into the field. Nosa shares of many heart-moving testimonies on committed believers who had not wavered in the face of persecutions. Our African brothers and sisters encounter various challenges when professing their faith, priming them into a nation of resilience compared with their Western counterparts. These stories of immense bravery speak of something important – that in every circumstances, God’s grace is sufficient for us. Nosa encourages the church to walk together despite our differences in age, gender, tongue and colour, recognising that each member adds a special value to the table. About the special guest Nosa Edokpolo Tukura is the Deputy International Director, Resource Development, at Missions Supporters League (MSL) based in Abuja, Nigeria. She has been involved in children’s ministry for over 2 decades and serves as one of the Pastors at Mana Evangel Faith Assembly, Jubilee Centre in Jos. She also serves as a leader on the continental team of the Movement for African National Initiatives (MANI). She is the Executive Coordinator of the African Women in Missions Network (AWIMN) and Coordinator of the Children in Missions Network (CIMN); a member of the Facilitating Team of Ethne; WEA Mission Commission and the Global Children’s Forum (GCF). Her passion is to see women and children restored and active in God’s mission. She is married to Victor Maigida Tukura and they are blessed with children and grandchildren. She lives in the city of Jos, Nigeria. Further reading and information: Movement for African Initiatives (MANI) https://maniafrica.com/ MANI is an African movement, a network of networks and African National Initiatives, focused on catalyzing African National Initiatives and mobilizing the resources of the Body of Christ in Africa for the fulfillment of the Great Commission. MANI’s stated purpose is to affirm, motivate, mobilize and network Christian leaders by inspiring them with the vision of reaching the unreached and least evangelized in Africa, and the wider world, through the communication of up to date research, reports and models; consultations and prayer efforts focusing on the unfinished task. MOBILIZING WOMEN FOR MISSIONS (Nosa Tukura) https://www.academia.edu/33577397/MOB... We live in a kairos moment, a time where we have more educated, entrepreneurial and professional women than ever before. We have several young women studying in our institutions of higher learning in various fields including the hitherto designated 'male dominated fields'. Many women have proved their mettle in academia, science, medicine, engineering, arts, etc. Many have broken the proverbial 'glass ceiling' by becoming heads of institutions previously headed only by men. AfirGo Magazine https://afrigo.org/ AfriGO was launched in 2016. This quarterly magazine celebrates this history while encouraging the church's increasing participation in God's global mission. As the Global South provides new leadership and workers for Gospel proclamation, AfriGO is here to tell the stories, report on the developments, and share news and information to support both pastors and the mission workers they send. Powered by Firstory Hosting
Prayer is an essential part of a Christian’s life. It’s a two-way communication between us and our heavenly Father. It happens so often and naturally in our daily lives that sometimes it becomes a routine. And most of the time, we pray for the needs for ourselves, our families and people close to us. How about people who are beyond our communities, those in need or being persecuted, those who don’t know how to pray or are too fearful to pray, or those who have never heard of Jesus in their entire lives - the unreached people? In this episode, we’re pleased to interview Jenny Oliphant from the Ethne Prayer Team. Born in the United Kingdom, Jenny served in missions for many years in multiple locations, including Israel, Bolivia and Argentina. After spending 15 years in Argentina, Jenny and her family followed God’s calling to return to the UK in 2012, and started her involvement in the prayer movement, focusing on mobilizing prayers globally for unreached people groups. Through partnership with Joshua Project, Mission Frontiers Magazine and other organizations, Jenny and the Ethne Prayer Team can bring first-hand information collected from the field workers to the global body of Christ who are ready to pray, which helps those prayer warriors to not only pray for specific struggles but also to celebrate their breakthroughs as well. Are you ready to pray for the unreached? If you find it too hard to keep up the commitment, Jenny has a brilliant suggestion - find another person or a group of people to pray with you! Praying with others helps us stay focused and keeps us accountable, and better than that, we’re building relationships with God and with our brothers/sisters at the same time by praying together. Read more about the ministry: https://ethneprayer.org/ The Ethne Prayer team is a relational community which catalyses and connects prayer strategists to pray and mobilise the body of Christ to see God's Kingdom preached and demonstrated amongst all people groups particularly among the least reached peoples and places. More prayer resources for UPG and missions: Join us October 24 – November 27 2021 in 15 days of prayer for Hindus all over the world! https://pray15days.org/ Powered by Firstory Hosting
In the studio today, Joshua provides an informative session as he shares of his experience with mobilizing persons in the Philippines through Project Ablaze. At a young age, the seed for missions has been planted through reading various biographies of the early-day missionaries, more notably Hudson Taylor. Joshua is deeply convicted of the importance of inspiring commitment to the next generations, and of particular relevance, utilizing social media to mobilize mission, reaching the ends of the earth. Joshua encourages fellow believers to bring their talents and skills to the network to serve the Lord together. A common response being “I am not ready”, however, as Joshua emphasized “Peter is also never ready to walk on water; and Hudson Taylor never ready for China”. One may not ever feel “ready”, but should instead be “prepared”, as apostle Paul wrote “in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2a) About the special guest Joshua Chew, the founder of Project Ablaze, a missions network movement of young people and missions organizations that seeks to partner and work together for the purpose of mobilizing, equipping, training, and sending missionaries. About Project Ablaze: https://projectablaze.weebly.com/ We are a network movement seeking to catalyze efforts in mobilization, training, equipping and sending cross-cultural workers for the urgent evangelization of the Gospel deprived peoples. Powered by Firstory Hosting
It has been almost 2000 years since we received the Great Commission from Jesus Christ. With modern knowledge and latest technologies, combined with entrepreneurship spirit, it seems like there is nothing that the brilliant human brains can’t solve. Then why has not the Great Commission been fulfilled by now? In this episode, Steve Shadrach, global ambassador of Center of Mission Mobilization (CMM), shares an eye-opening initiative in CMM, Mobilization Index, and explains the importance of sending “mobilizers” instead of “missionaries” to countries with the largest gaps between the number of evangelicals and the number of missionaries. Steve started his journey serving God as a young church pastor. Right out of seminary, he once thought that he knew everything until taking the Perspectives class, which completely changed Steve’s plan, and he went on to the path of mission mobilization. Since then, he developed Perspectives courses in the Southern United States, started “Student Mobilization” to mobilize college students to the nations, and eventually founded CMM in 2000 to equip organizations to send out more Great Commission workers to the 2 billion unreached people. Steve has also been involved in other mobilization efforts including the US Center for World Missions and the formation of the Global Mission Networks to serve frontier mobilizers. About Steve Shadrach Dr. Steve Shadrach has a passion for developing laborers for Christ to reach the world. He has been involved with many different collegiate ministries and has served as Pastor of Students and Missions at University Baptist Church (1983-1986) in Fayetteville, AR. He is also the founder of three organizations. In 1986, he founded Student Mobilization, which focuses on evangelizing and discipling college students in the U.S. and abroad. In 1999, he co-founded The Traveling Team, which focuses on mobilizing college students throughout the country, with Todd Ahrend (who pioneered the ministry). In 2001, he turned these two ministries over to the next generation of leadership to launch the Center for Mission Mobilization (formerly The BodyBuilders), which seeks to “engage, equip, and connect believers worldwide to their most strategic role in completing the Great Commission.” From 2004 to 2012, in addition to leading the CMM, he was the Mobilization Director for the US Center for World Mission, which included leadership of the Perspectives Study Program Dr. Shadrach has a Master’s in Biblical Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary and a Doctorate of Ministry in Church and Parachurch Executive Leadership from Denver Seminary. He has written four books, The Fuel and the Flame: Ten Keys to Ignite Your Campus for Jesus Christ, Brown Like Coffee: For Students Who Think Outside the Box, The God Ask: A Fresh, Biblical Approach to Personal Support Raising, Viewpoints: Fresh Perspectives on Personal Support Raising. Steve and his family reside in Fayetteville, Arkansas. More about CMM https://www.mobilization.org/about/our-story/ Powered by Firstory Hosting
Currently based in the UK, Molly sheds light on the works inside the small but efficient team at Operation World (OW). Her areas cover research in missions and mobilizing prayer and missions. Both Ray and Molly like-mindedly assured the audience that there are no such thing as outdated prayer points. ‘Old’ prayer items are often relevant in the current time and may need years of prayers for breakthrough to happen. Molly stresses the importance of faithful, steadfast, continual prayer for transformation in the church. Molly also shares of her struggles being a worker behind the scenes, with a lack of connectedness being a major aspect. ‘To walk the talk and not just talk the talk’- the OW team spends time regularly in prayer over items that they publish, as well as maintaining relationship with stakeholders to stay connected. OW, in book format, has had seven editions published. The most recent is from 2010, which is a complete update of the 21st century edition, released in 2001 and revised in 2005. The original edition was produced in 1964, from South Africa. This version was only 32 pages of basic information about 30 countries. More info about Operation World https://operationworld.org OW has been translated into several other languages: German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, Korean, Chinese, Russian, Indonesian, and in part into Czech, Italian, Thai, and Urdu. The cumulative number of copies printed in all languages exceeds 2.2 million. OW has collaborated with the Lausanne Movement since 2019 to produce Praying for the World, a weekly prayer bulletin freely available for churches and individuals, to raise awareness about various nations and global issues for prayer mobilization purposes. https://lausanne.org/pray What is God doing among the nations today? What are the challenges and opportunities we face in global mission? How can we pray in an informed way for the world? Start a mission-minded movement in your church this year with Praying for the World, a free weekly prayer guide to inspire and inform the whole church to pray for the whole world. Powered by Firstory Hosting
What would you do, if your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents are all missionaries? Would you follow their legacy and become a missionary, or do you go after a totally different path? In this episode, Ryan Shaw from Global Mission Mobilization Initiative (GMMI), as the 4th generation in a missionary family, shares his journey becoming a mission mobilizer, as well as his passion of helping local churches bring the Great Commission back to the center. Ryan grew up in a family with generations of missionaries, but Ryan didn’t just assume himself as a missionary when he was a young, dedicated Jesus follower. It was through asking and searching and listening to the words from the Lord, and finally obeying what the Lord had revealed to him, Ryan confirmed his calling as a mission mobilizer at age 22. Throughout these years, God has prepared many mentors to guide Ryan and opened his eyes to see the need in mission mobilization, and he followed God’s direction closely, no matter it’s the region he lives or the focus of his ministry. There is so much energy and excitement when Ryan talks about how he encounters God and His words in the Bible, which fully exhibits his love for God. It also touches my heart to hear Ryan’s burning desire to pursue what pleases the Lord, and I hope this would motivate more of us to long for a closer relationship with God. More info: https://www.globalmmi.net/ GMMI serves the global church by providing a blueprint for multiplying mission mobilization movements at every level Read more: WHAT WE MEAN BY “MISSION MOBILIZATION?” July 27, 2021 by Ryan Shaw https://www.globalmmi.net/what-we-mea... Powered by Firstory Hosting
In this episode, we’re pleased to have Alain and Rita Haudenschild in Switzerland, who were long-time missionaries in Taiwan, share how they were called by God to minister the Chinese, as well as their journey transitioning from front-line missionaries to a mobilizer (Alain) and a missionary coach (Rita). Rita, growing up in a traditional Catholic home, committed her life to Jesus at age 21. Only a few months later she read a book about Hudson Taylor, and immediately God uplifted the passion inside her heart to follow Taylor’s footstep and serve in the Chinese land. Separately, God put similar seeds in Alain’s mind when he took a Chinese lesson taught by a Taiwanese lady in his church in South German. Suddenly he had a huge interest in Chinese culture that he never had before. Even before knowing each other, Alain and Rita had been prepared by God, separately, to minister in Chinese-speaking people, while there were almost no Chinese in their own communities. About the guests After dedicating 25 years in Taiwan for church planting and mission movement development, Alain and Rita Haudenschild returned to Switzerland in 2016 and began a new phase in their ministry. Currently, Alain serves in the Association of Evangelical Missions (AEM) of Switzerland, and focuses on building an infrastructure to help mission leaders and mission organizations send out more missionaries. On the other hand, Rita ministers as a SEND coach and mentor for Asia and in Europe, and she enjoys guiding and encouraging other missionaries using her many years of cross-cultural missionary experience. More info https://aem.ch The Association of Evangelical Missions (AEM) represents Swiss Mission Organizations in predominantly German-speaking Switzerland, yet with some members located in the French speaking part of the country. Thus they actively support the francophone mission movement. AEM functions as an umbrella organization of its members who are united in the common concern of spreading, teaching and implementing the Good News across all cultural barriers, locally and globally. Currently it represents 38 mission organizations and 6 theological training centers. https://www.dmgint.de/ DMG is a Christian charity that aims to provide holistic help and introduce the message of the Bible to others. DMG is based in Sinsheim near Heidelberg, Germany. International cooperation, faith in Jesus and prayer are of central importance to us. We help local churches to send their workers to other peoples and cultures and are committed to ensuring that God's love is given hands and feet. Our work is based on the missionary mandate of Jesus; so people meet God... Powered by Firstory Hosting
Against the muddy waters of being known as a ‘third culture kid’, Bevin has found his roots and identity in Christ. Today, Bevin brings to the studio his relaxed and approachable demeanour as he shares of his journey into mobilising, starting from a vision based on Isaiah 58. Discipleship is fundamental to mobilisation. Bevin stresses the importance of the role of mentors with supporting missionaries into the field, such as the relationship between Barnabas and Saul (Paul). He emphasises the transformation of mission field into mission force, changing worldviews so local churches would realise both local and global work are equally needy, identifying and equipping more mission advocates to engage in the Great Commission. Bevin urges the viewers to worship Jesus as priority, not to give up as we are not alone in this journey. About Bevin Bevin is the co-founder of GlobalCAST Resources and loves to connect, equip, and coach missions leaders, mobilizers, and advocates. Further reading and resources: https://globalcastresources.com/ Powered by Firstory Hosting
Africa, once being a “mission field”, now is becoming a mission force in God’s Kingdom. In this episode, Sam Ngugi, director of Mission Campaign Network (MCN), a mission mobilization agency in Kenya, shares the transition of Christianity in Africa, as well as his perspectives on how African churches can play a significant role in God’s Mission in the future. Sam’s mission journey started in 2006 when he and his wife Harriet took the Kairos class. Through the class, God opened their eyes to see the unreached people groups in the world and set the foundation in their hearts to devote themselves in the mission field. Instead of being missionaries, they received God’s calling to become mobilizers, and founded Mission Campaign Network in 2010 to mobilize local churches in Kenya, conduct mission seminars and develop full-time mobilizers. Africa used to be the field where the world’s mission forces send missionaries to. In 2018, for the first time, there were more Christians in Africa than in any other continent in the world. This shows God’s work and also His plan. With such excitement, African Christians are awakening to their own responsibility; they need to start participating in sending and supporting missionaries, especially to unreached groups. But the next question is: how to make this happen? Sam talks about the concept of “Total Mobilization”. In addition to the three layers of mobilization, from “discovering” God’s mission to being “developed” and equipped, and finally to “deploy” mission results in the field, there are more elements in building the complete infrastructure, such as reflecting on existing mission practices, identifying the gaps and looking for ways to fill such needs. Finally, Sam shares the importance of collaboration between African churches in the continent and African diaspora churches, so that together they can be a blessing to the least reached people groups in the world. Indeed, Africa, once the mission field, is now becoming a mission force in the world. About Samuel Ngugi Sam is the Director of Mission Campaign Network (MCN), a mission mobilisation agency in Kenya. Sam and his wife Harriet are passionate mobilisers. They are currently in the UK where he’s pursuing PhD studies at Trinity College, Bristol. Read more Send Africa Network: https://www.facebook.com/SendAfricaNetwork Send Africa Network seeks to be a facilitation partner and platform to allow for the “Total Mobilisation” of the Church to become vitally engaged in God’s Mission. MOBILISATION: Meet men and women who are mobilising the African Church into missions (AfriGo Magazine) https://issuu.com/afrimissions/docs/afrigo_vol_4_issue_4-hr ( Published on Dec 9, 2019 ) #Africansinmissions #Africatothenations Powered by Firstory Hosting
"I will mobilize for global frontier missions, or I will die trying!" In his recent quote on Facebook, we could sense his passion as a mobilizer is as sincere as anyone. In this episode, Pastor Kachala (Reuben) joins us in the studio to deliver a power-packed half hour of experiences and insights into his mobilization journey. Reuben brings us back to 1995 where he received revelation to move on from pastoring the local church in Malawi, East Africa to being a missionary in India, where the gospel is less known. In 2014, he was led to return to Malawi where he commenced on mobilizing the locals into a mission force, not just a mission field. There, Reuben and his wife set up the Frontier Missions International. Challenges that Reuben faces include lack of like-minded persons in partnership and the means of livelihood. He emphasizes prayer, developing mission-mobilizers, and developing indigenous mobilization tools as vital steps towards reaching the ‘unreached’ people groups. Finally, he encourages his viewers to develop inter-agencies and international partnership- to complement, not compete with another. This episode shouts ‘Here I am. Send me!’ - Isaiah 6:8. Truly an uplifting testimony of one with a simple faith-filled life. About our special guest Pastor Reuben Kachala is the National Director for Frontier Missions International in Malawi and founded and led Mission Agency. He is also the Interim Chairman of the newly founded missions association in Malawi, which is called Malawi Evangelical Missions Association. Powered by Firstory Hosting
What is the "niche" for a female leader in the missionary sub-culture? What needs to be changed? As a mission sending agency, how do we consider the importance of working together with others? In the studio today, we have Mary Ho (All Nations) from Kansas, U.S.. Growing up as an ambassador’s daughter, Mary has lived an adventurous life spanning four continents during her childhood to teenage years. Having observed peace-making efforts between leaders of the world again and again, Mary is deeply convicted that “Jesus is the hope of the nations”. We also took the opportunity to highlight and celebrate the roles of women in leadership. Mary encourages all women to explore our God-given gifts, and develop the feminine attributes (such as nurturing and caring) as well as in leadership. She visualizes of an ethnic colorful collaboration in mobilizing missions, the importance of awakening the church and worshipping Jesus as the most important mission above all other ‘missions’ or agendas we may have. About the special guest Mary is the International Executive Leader of All Nations. She is passionate about finishing the Great Commission in this generation by making disciples in every remaining unreached people group of the world. Born in Taiwan and raised on four continents, Mary has lived in Swaziland, Taiwan, Indonesia, New Zealand, Philippines, Hong Kong, and the U.S., and traveled extensively. She received her Doctor of Strategic Leadership from Regent University, VA in 2017. She is married to John and has two boys. Further reading about Mary Ho and her work The Transcendent Culture of Servant Leadership: Principles for 21st Century Global Mission Article printed in the March 2020 issue. (Lausanne Global Analysis) Link: https://www.lausanne.org/content/lga/2020-03/transcendent-culture-servant-leadership Global Leadership for Global Missions Article printed in the November 2016 issue. Reprinted in Great Commission News (GCN), Spring 2017. Link: https://www.lausanne.org/content/lga/2016-11/global-leadership-for-global-mission Powered by Firstory Hosting
We are delighted to have Ivy in the studio with Ray today. Having involved in several missions with Operation Mobilization (OM) including traveling with the OM ship (LogosHope) and a South African mission discipleship training, Ivy has found her heart in Africa. Petite yet with a bold voice, Ivy shares confidently of her experiences being in the field in Zambia, and how her college study in journalism has supported her work in missions. To “think of your audience” is a great tip from Ivy when creating social media content. Ivy saw the potential and vibrancy of people in Africa above all cultural and communication barriers and continues to serve her 4th year in Zambia. Ivy’s story brought to mind an encouragement from a God-fearing elderly person I met. This person told me that “you will NEVER regret walking in the perfect will of God”. The roles that God puts us in may be very different, but when you start living that life of obedience it rewards and fuels us with joy. About our special guest Ivy Chiu, a young Taiwanese lady who has been involved with global missions since graduated from University. Majored in Journalism, she has been maximizing her expertise during her time serving overseas, using social media as a means to mobilize more people to explore God's work around the world. On her own blog, she introduced herself - "previously a city girl rushing into the Taipei metro everyday, now enjoys walking around beautiful villages at Lake Tanganyika, Zambia. She likes to listen to people's stories and write newsletters (really a rare species). Her dream is to become the shortest giant in the world." Let's keep it that way. Powered by Firstory Hosting