RAW Mission

Will is a young man, excited to take the gospel to tough places where there are very few believers. He spent 2 years in Albania, riding the highs and lows of life on the field, before doing an internship with Frontiers in the UK and preparing to go long-term overseas. But he was suddenly floored by Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, causing him to be bedridden for a whole year, then housebound for another...

In this episode we meet 'Joanna' who has been living in a post-conflict Middle Eastern country for almost a decade. She talks about working as a nurse with refugees and internally displaced people and shows the power of the gospel to tackle various forms of shame and stigma. Caring for disabled kids and their families in a war-torn country, so many questions arise. Where does human value...

That’s how it starts. A step of obedience, a door cautiously pushed open, a ‘yes’ to God’s nudge to consider serving him amongst the least and the lost.  David Small ended up working for the Free Burma Rangers, living in a war zone, helping victims of genocide, hiking mountains and hacking through jungles to reach places where the NGOs don’t even go. If the army had caught him, they would probably...

What's the value of a short-term trip? Can there be any realistic impact on locals or is it all about what God is doing in hearts and lives of those who go? In this episode we hear from Zack and Hannah, who (along with various other young people) went on a week-long trip to Pakistan with Matt over the summer. You'll hear about what it's like to share about Jesus on the streets and o...

In this episode we hear from Pastor Sulaiman, who shares about the incredible difficulties of life as a Christian under Sharia Law in Northern Nigeria, as well as the constant threat of violence from the terrorist organisation called Boko Haram. His personal stories are as troubling as his godly wisdom is inspiring, as he details the extreme persecution that so many have faced in his country. NB....

What exactly is Christian mission? Is it inevitably linked to empire, to neocolonialism, to power dynamics? Do missionaries inevitably trample on the host culture with ethnocentric arrogance? Shouldn't we just leave others alone, with some kind of detached pluralistic indifference or vague anthropological notion of 'pristine' tribal people who ought not to have contact with or influ...

In this episode Matt interviews Andy, a straight-talking northern guy who loves Jesus and loves sharing the gospel with Muslims.  He and his wife spent several years in a tough surveillance state in Central Asia, learning the local language and figuring out how to communicate God's love to local Muslims. It was a tough environment and eventually they and various others were forced to leave th...

In this episode we meet a young German missionary, called Micha, who has spent years working with Sudanese across East Africa.  It's been a rough ride in many ways for his family: a nasty motorbike accident, a cancer diagnosis, a military coup, an attack on the foreigners' compound. But through it all, Micha and his wife have sought the Lord and asked for wisdom about whether to stay or...

In this episode Matt talks to Layla and Stephen, a young couple who moved to the Middle East a few years ago to join one of our teams, but very quickly had a major setback to their plans, hopes and dreams.   We discuss various disappointments and challenges (including how to cope with sexual harassment and severe physical limitations). And, of course, there are the usual light-hearted moments and...

Not many people realise that India , in spite of being a majority Hindu country, is also the world's 3rd most populous Muslim country (with over 200 million Muslims ). Moreover, in spite of dynamic church growth and movements to Christ in some parts of the country, it remains the nation with the largest number of unreached people groups in the world.  The Joshua project estimates that 95 out...

In this special celebratory episode, Matt looks back over the first 4-5 years of Raw Mission and our 99 interviews. He reflects on the main themes of the podcast (the cost, the miracles, the fruit & lessons learnt) and shares clips from some of his most memorable interviews. If you're new to the show, this will give you a great feel for the kind of experiences, stories and themes that we...

In this episode Matt hears the testimony of a well-known ex-Muslim from Yemen, called John Ghanim (aka Yemeni John).   John came to faith in Jesus as a refugee in Greece a decade ago, but he had already abandoned Islam years earlier while walking around the Kaaba in Mecca, Islam’s holiest place.  John is full of infectious joy and he’s a passionate evangelist who loves to share the good news of th...

Lena has spent the last few months teaching kids in East Africa, serving a long-term team who live there. Just a few years ago she was a student, learning about God's heart for the nations, working with international students on campus and taking various short-term mission trips. Now she's doing a placement in the desert and looking at teams that she might join. She shares about life in...

In this episode Matt talks to Dr. Aweis Ali from Somalia, who grew up in a Muslim home in and around Mogadishu, the son of a Muslim cleric and preacher. After coming to Christ and finding some other believers, Aweis' small church suffered a brutal and violent persecution in which most of the believers lost their lives.  This is a story of remarkable faith, perseverance and courage in one of t...

In this episode we meet Tom O'Brien who has spent more than 40 years living and serving in South East Asia with his family, making disciples and planting churches. Tom shares some extraodinary stories of twenty years or so in the Southern Philippines, during which he was specifically targeted by extremists multiple times.  We also hear about black magic practices and the culture of blood feud...

In this episode we meet Nate who taks about his 13 years living in the Middle East, sharing stories of healing, spiders, poisoned fish, expulsion and much more.   How can workers deal with burnout and betrayal? Are there benefits of going to the field in one’s later years?  What are some of the options for scientists to be involved in cross-cultural mission? Send us a message! Support the show ___...

In this episode Matt talks with an old friend and mentor, Dr. Tim Green .  Tim and his family lived in Pakistan, Jordan, the UK and South East Asia for many decades. He is a trainer, an educator, a writer and friend of many Muslims who have come to Christ in many different contexts. He's particularly interested in the global church listening to and learning from the voices and experiences of...

This is the testimony of Esther, an Iranian lady who grew up as a Muslim under the Ayatollah's Islamic regime. Her story is a powerful one - of religious rituals and rules, of strict segregation, of being silent and unseen. She had only 8 hours to flee the country at one point because of a particular threat of being reported to the government. Her husband got caught and imprisoned on that day...

In this episode we meet Ron, who spent decades with his family living in South Asia with nomadic peoples - shepherds and goatherders who spend the winters on the plains and the summers up in the mountains. We'll hear about the many dangers that they face and the many tragedies they endure. We also learn about how the nomadic life and mindset can teach us much about the various cultures and hi...

In this episode Matt hosts Dick Brogden , a missions leader with decades of experience of church planting amongst Muslims in various countries across Africa and the Middle East.  Topics include the power of indirection and compassion, the theology of suffering & survivor’s guilt, and effective global partnerships. Questions Dick addresses include: What are some of the key factors that help wor...

In this episode Matt interviews Peter who spent years working in the Sahara desert amongst one of the most populous unreached Muslim people groups in the world, the Fulani.  It's an amazing story of dreams & discipleship, baptisms & betrayal, polygamy, malaria, imprisonment and death threats. But in spite of all the troubles, the church is born and begins to grow in remarkable ways. S...

In this episode Matt interviews a Revival historian called Mathew Backholer about the connection between the great revivals of church history and global mission. Enjoy a brief overview of several hundred years of missions history in which we talk about the Nestorians, the Moravians, the Welsh Revival, the martyrdom of Robert Jermaine Thomas in Korea and much more.   "If my people, who are cal...

In this episode we meet a young ex-Muslim called Shahriq Khan, who grew up in New York to immigrant parents from Pakistan and India.   Shahriq in many ways embodied the American dream, the son of immigrants who achieved great success in education and business. But then he began to question the faith he had been raised in. And his searching led him to Jesus.  His story has not been without many tri...

In this episode we meet Yasmeen, a lady from rural Switzerland who has spent more than twenty years in Africa.   You’ll hear about bold African evangelists forced to dig their own grave for preaching in a certain village, the beginnings of a movement to Christ in Darfur (in the midst of years of horrific violence and civil war), the smuggling of bibles in peanut sacks, and how Yasmeen’s husband wa...

In this episode Matt & Mike do some myth-busting, challenging many of the half-truths and misunderstandings about mission in today's world.  Here are the 10 myths that they tackle: 1. There are churches all over the world. Our task is done. 2. There are too many needs around us.  3. Mission is everything we do. (Everyone is a missionary.) 4. We should just send money to local evangelists,...