Inside Mission

Feeling like a foreigner in your home country is something that missionaries face when they return from serving overseas. In this episode Jonny Burgess and Jamie Read talk about their experiences of returning from the mission field. They discuss some of the challenges and unique things they found themselves missing and what churches can do to make sure they care for their returning missionaries.

How do you reach a nation with the gospel when the majority of people view evangelical Christianity as a cult? This is the question that Graeme Innes has to tackle in Moldova. Graeme shares the ways he has adapted his ministry in order to share the gospel of grace to a country that is gripped by a religion based on fear and works.

How do you know if God is calling you to the mission field? In this episode, Andy and Rachel Symons talk us through their decision to leave parish ministry in the UK to teach at a bible college in Zambia. They also tell us what has kept them in Zambia despite significant challenges. Their answer is a huge encouragement to all of us when we face setbacks in ministry, wherever we are. It's also a great reminder of the huge impact friends and supporting churches can have in keeping mission partners in the field.

100 years ago 82% of Christians were living in Europe and North America – and so thousands of missionaries were sent out to reach the unreached. Today just 33% of the world's Christians live in Europe and North America, so do we need to send missionaries overseas? In this episode, Chris Howles chats to Jamie about 21st Century mission. Chris challenges us to think about mission as more than just 'sending' but an interaction with the world Church that depicts God's vision of people from every nation working together for his glory.

We want to know what impact short-term mission has – both locally and on the individuals themselves. In this episode, Jonny Tilford talks about his short-term experience: from a five-week stint during a summer break to spending two years working alongside a new church plant in Belgium. Jamie also finds out what got Jonny first thinking about overseas mission and why it's worth serving abroad over staying in the UK.

Following the first democratic election in 1994, post-apartheid South Africa was dubbed the 'rainbow nation'. Change happened rapidly and dramatically as a multitude of ethnic groups, tribes and languages found each other. In this episode, Jamie asks Glenn Lyons what makes ministry unique in this diverse context and finds out what churches in the UK and Ireland can learn from this. Glenn is the Presiding Bishop of the evangelical angelical church in South Africa (REACH-SA).  

In this episode, we find out what it's like being a mission partner mum in rural Africa. Harriet Algeo speaks about what was running through her mind before she made the move, what the day-to-day school run looks like, how she's benefitted from knowing Gambian mothers and much more. Watch the video version here or get involved in God's mission today.