The Missions Show

The generation now coming of age is fraught with anxiety and feeling isolated. What will it take for missionaries and church leaders to motivate Generation Z towards cross-cultural missions? We explore this fascinating question with Dr. Jolene Erlacher , author, speaker, consultant, leadership coach, and teacher. Dr. Jolene Erlacher founded Leading Tomorrow in 2014 with the aim of equipping church...

This week, researcher Dr. Jolene Erlacher shares the differences between mobilizing Millennials for cross-cultural missions and motivating Generation Z. Support this podcast  and impact God’s mission. Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email  alex@missionsshow.com .

Steven Chmil serves as a surgeon and church-planting missionary in  Togo . Now returned from his first term overseas, Steven shares the unique challenges, blessings, and opportunities of ministry in an Islamic context where precision—theological and medical—matters. Learn more about Steven’s ministry or support him and Bethany  here . Watch the video version of this episode on the ...

What does healthcare have to do with theology? Missionary surgeon Steven Chmil shares why having surgical precision is essential in both domains. Support this podcast  and impact God’s mission. Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email  alex@missionsshow.com .

Where are the leaders in the church—much less the mission field? Pastor Joel Wayne of  bethechurch.org  and Chapel Pointe weighs in this week on how churches and missionaries can solve the leadership pipeline and raise up leaders when it counts. Joel’s is also the founder and executive director of Be the Church, a movement to revitalize the local church through authentic leadership development. Jo...

Pastor Joel Wayne shares a stirring challenge for Christians on the mission field and at home in changing days. Tune in this upcoming Sunday night to hear the full episode. Support this podcast  and impact God’s mission. Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email  alex@missionsshow.com .

Globalization has made the world smaller and smaller. Increasingly, cities are overtaking suburban and rural areas as the center of society. What does all this mean for church planting? Is the ethnolinguistic people group definition itself outdated? Missiologist Dr. Michael Crane unpacks the implications of what he calls “glurbanization.” Michael and his wife moved to Southeast Asia working in a v...

Coming up in this week’s episode: missiology Michael Crane explains why missiology’s outdated views of ethnicity need to change. Support this podcast  and impact God’s mission. Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email  alex@missionsshow.com .

In this tenth and final exclusive from the Radius Missiology Conference , Alex Kocman and Scott Dunford discuss their favorite takeaways from their conversations with Kevin DeYoung, Ian Hamilton, Brad Buser, Brooks Buser, Wayne Chen, Chad Vegas, Jonathan Master, and Steve Meister. Watch the video version of this episode on the  ABWE YouTube channel . Listen to all of our RMC22 exclusives&nbsp...

Right now, two controversies are brewing. In the world of theology, conservative evangelicals are torn over classical theism and pre-modern hermeneutics. And in the missions world, Bible translation methodologies remain a lightning-rod issue. In this meaty conversation from the  Radius Missiology Conference , Steve Meister, pastor and board member for Bible Translation Fellowship , explains why th...

What does it mean for a Christian on mission to “grow in grace”? Dr. Jonathan Master, president of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, explains at the recent  Radius Missiology Conference . Learn more about GPTS’s new partnership with Radius at gpts.edu/radius-partnership . Watch the video version of this episode on the  ABWE YouTube channel . Listen to all of our RMC22 exclusi...

What is the state of the church in Asia? And what makes Asian missions so unique? We talk to Wayne Chen , director of Radius Asia, at the recent Radius Missiology Conference . Watch the video version of this episode on the  ABWE YouTube channel . Listen to all of our RMC22 exclusives  here . Support this podcast  and impact God’s mission. Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? E...

Before helping found Radius International, Brad Buser served among the Iteri people of Papua New Guinea. Continuing our theme of finishing well, we ask him how he instills endurance in the missionaries he trains in this interview from the recent Radius International Missiology Conference . Watch the video version of this episode on the ABWE YouTube channel . Listen to all of our RMC22 exclusives h...

How can missionaries serve in the midst of difficult, spiritually-dry seasons? And did Jesus himself ever feel like all his labors were for nothing? Dr. Ian Hamilton—theologian, minister, author, and president of Westminster Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Newcastle, England—shares some surprising answers at the recent Radius International Missiology Conference . Watch the video version of th...

Missions done well means staying the course. So how do you know when it’s time to transition off the field and entrust local believers with leadership? Brooks Buser, president of Radius International, discusses his experience among the YembiYembi people in Papua New Guinea at the recent Radius International Missiology Conference . Watch the video version of this episode on the ABWE YouTube channel...

What is the church’s mission? Better yet, what isn’t her mission? Alex and Scott talk to pastor, author, and theologian Kevin DeYoung at the recent Radius International Missiology Conference . Watch the video version of this episode on the ABWE YouTube channel . Listen to all of our RMC22 exclusives here . Support this podcast  and impact God’s mission. Want to ask a question or suggest a top...

For some Christians, missions is out of sight and out of mind. For others, it’s the absolute center of the Christian life. Is it possible for us to make an idol out of missions? If so, how would we know we’ve done so? We ask Chad Vegas, co-founder of Radius International and pastor of Sovereign Grace Church in Bakersfield, CA in this second RMC22 exclusive. Watch the video version of this episode...

We recently attended the 2022 Radius International Missiology Conference to capture some exclusive content. Here’s the first in a series of exclusive, behind-the-scenes episodes from RMC. Enjoy! Watch the video version of this episode here. Support this podcast  and impact God’s mission. Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email  alex@missionsshow.com .

Watch the video version of this episode here. Thanks to modern technology, our every move is tracked and recorded. What does this mean for missionaries living and serving in parts of the world where evangelism is illegal? And what might it soon mean for Christians in the Western world facing an increasingly hostile environment? This week, Alex and Scott talk to Andrew, executive director for Live...

Risk is right… or is it? In this week’s upcoming episode, we talk to an IT security expert about the best, most secure ways to communicate with missionaries in restricted-access fields. Subscribe now  to never miss an episode when it drops. Support this podcast  and impact God’s mission. Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email  alex@missionsshow.com .

Watch the video version of this episode here. In the US, being a Christian used to be a prerequisite for popularity as a politician or social influencer. That hasn’t been true for a while. But why? And, what can analyzing the state of Christianity in America teach us about the state of Christianity in other nations? Aaron Renn weighs in with some penetrating insights from his First Things article...

What changed in the Western mind to make biblical Christianity suddenly so abhorrent in the public eye? Social researcher Aaron Renn shares his “three worlds” explanation in this week’s upcoming interview. Subscribe now  to never miss an episode when it drops. Support this podcast  and impact God’s mission. Want to ask a question or suggest a topic?  Email us .

Watch the video version of this episode here. Joshua Sherif grew up Muslim, escaped from Egypt, and found Christ in the US. In The Stranger at Our Shore , he shares his remarkable testimony, Chicago pastor Joshua Sherif calls the Western Church to reconsider the plight of the modern day sojourners in our land—the strangers at our shore and the ones living right next door—and to return wholehearted...

Joshua Sherif wasn’t always a Christian. But he wrote The Stranger on Our Shore: How Immigrants and Refugees Strengthen the Church not to critique the church, but to praise the church for the way experienced God’s love when he was leaving his Muslim background. Hear more in this Sunday’s interview. Subscribe now  to never miss an episode when it drops. Support this podcast  and impact Go...

Watch the video version of this episode here. Western culture has made a radical shift. How should Christians respond? What does the gospel have to say about sexuality? How can we approach a culture of pride as bold, humble missionaries? Alex and Scott talk to Josh Teis , pastor of Southern Hills Church in Las Vegas, N.V., and founder of Idea Network . To purchase and replay the EveryEthne LGBTQ w...