Heart of Mission

S8E06 - Dan and Marg serve in the Middle East at a unique Christian international school. In a country where Christians make up only a small minority, this school provides a rare environment for children from more than twenty nationalities—many from families serving with NGOs, churches, and community organisations. Dan, the school principal, shares what it’s like to lead a deeply multicultural tea...

S8E05 - Brett is a CMS leader whose life and ministry have stretched across continents, cultures, and seasons of profound change. Raised in Zimbabwe during a period of spiritual revival and civil war, he reflects on formative years shaped by a vibrant Christian community, the far-reaching influence of Scripture Union, and the sobering realities of conflict. His teenage move to Australia brought bo...

S8E04 - Join us as we hear powerful stories from life and ministry among refugee communities in the Middle East. Through Stu and Mary’s faithful presence, hope is shared both in the words of Jesus and through practical care for those experiencing deep poverty. They reflect on the people they have met and how, through patient, relational evangelism, they have seen God gently at work in individual l...

S8E03 - What happens when local church leaders are given the time and space to step back from the demands of ministry and engage deeply with global mission thinking? In this episode, we hear from Ben Woodd and Shane Ellery, two Adelaide Senior Ministers who took part in a week-long intensive at St Andrew’s Hall, Melbourne. This intensive became a unique opportunity for Australian ministry leaders...

S8E02-In this episode, we explore what God is doing in Namibia through the work of Dan and Liv. Liv is using her skills as a physio and Dan teaches at NETS (Namibia Evangelical Theological Seminary). They share stories that reveal both the beauty and the challenges of ministry in a country marked by strong nominal Christianity, deep spiritual need, and significant social and economic contrast...

S8E01- “They really do cry out to our Father in heaven because they have no one else to cry out to” – Keith Birchley  Keith, and his wife Marion, have   spent ten years serving university students in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea .   The people of PNG live with a trust in God that is both humbling and deeply instructive for the average Aussie...

S7E06 - Chris and Stef Overhall, have been serving in Chile for seven years. They share the challenges and joys of cross-cultural ministry, from learning a new language to raising children in a foreign context. Chris discusses his work teaching theological education in Spanish through the Center for Pastoral Studies (CEP), highlighting the value of slow, humble service in gospel training. Stef ref...

S7E05 - Meet David and Jenny, serving with CMS in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Despite the region’s ongoing conflict, instability, and poverty, they paint a picture of vibrant faith, rich community, and deep thankfulness among the Congolese people. Jenny shares her ministry with women—widows and church groups—where relationships, prayer, and practical service flourish even amidst hardsh...

S7E04 - For the past 15 years, Ben and his wife Sally have been living and serving among Muslim communities in South-West Sydney—sharing the hope of Jesus and walking alongside believers from Muslim backgrounds. In this episode, Ben shares some incredible stories from his ministry, showing how God is at work in unexpected ways - through refugee movements, the internet, and everyday friendships - d...

S7E03 - Kellie Nicholas, has served for over 13 years with KGK, Japan’s IFES-affiliated student movement. Kellie shares about the joys and challenges of student ministry in Japan, where many students have never seen a bible or heard of Jesus beyond vague Western Christmas references, even confusing him with Santa. There is a long, relational nature of evangelism in Japan, where spiritual journeys...

S7E02 - Tim and Olivia Mulherin share their life and ministry at Mercy Medical Center (MMC), Christian hospital in Cambodia. MMC has the dual purpose of training Cambodian Christian doctors and providing holistic, gospel-hearted healthcare. Through mentorship, spiritual care, and medical training, they are empowering local doctors, and their families, to have strong faith and leadership skills.&nb...

S7E01 - In this episode, we sit down with long-term gospel workers Josh and Susannah Apieczonek serving in Lyon, France, to explore the complexities and joy of ministry in a post-Christian European context. After 10 years in France, they reflect on the spiritual concerns of those around them, adapting to French culture, and the unique challenges of sharing Jesus in a secular society.  France...

S6E06 - In this episode of The Heart of Mission, we shift our focus from distant mission fields to the vibrant multicultural communities right here in Australia. With nearly a third of Australians born overseas, our neighbourhoods are filled with rich cultural and linguistic diversity—but are our churches reflecting this reality? Mark chats with Tamara, a former CMS missionary who spent 10 years o...

S6E05 - Meet Daniel, Tamie and Michelle – three Mission Mobilisers from three different CMS branches - all deeply invested in journeying with people as they consider their role in God’s global mission. Considering mission service can seem daunting, but in this episode Daniel, Tamie and Michelle seek to share their life, clarify the inquiry process, and show us what sort of people CMS is looking fo...

S6E04 - Malcolm and Leanne open up about the "second window of availability"—that phase when God throws up new opportunities, even when they may seem impractical. They share their early stirrings towards mission work, the preparation required to go overseas, and the challenges of adjusting to a vastly different culture and learning a new language in their fifties. They also discuss the joys they'v...

S6E03 - Many parents grapple with the question of whether they should they take their children overseas as missionary kids (MKs)? Is it responsible to uproot them from their home culture, away from family, to a place that may have limited medical care, educational opportunities, or stability? What does it really mean to raise a "Third Culture Kid" (TCK), and how does this impact their identity and...

S6E02 - How much focus on global missions is too much? As followers of Christ, we're called to engage in local communities while also embracing God's global purpose. But how do we strike the right balance between local and global mission in our everyday lives and ministries? Rowan Kemp is a long-serving staff team leader of the Evangelical Union (EU) at Sydney University. Rowan, who has spent deca...

S6E1 - In this powerful episode of Heart of Mission, we sit down with Mila who has been serving in the Middle East for the past six years. Mila shares the challenges, blessings, and lessons learned from her time working among refugees in a region deeply affected by conflict. Through her work as both a medical professional and a disciple-maker, she has gained a unique perspective on the intersectio...

"Once upon a time..." Stories are a staple part of childhood; whether true or made up, they capture and grow our imaginations and bring joy and - at times - challenges to our worldview. The Bible itself is full of stories that contribute to the overarching story of God in action in our world. How can missionaries tell this better story effectively? Is it a necessary skill for evangelism? David Wil...

S5E6-Frances Cook first arrived in Chile in 1988 with little theological education, and no Spanish whatsoever. Now, 35 years later, she is on her final Home Assignment as a CMS missionary. For many of those years she was teaching the at the Anglican Diocese Centre of Pastoral Studies (CEP) where she has seen whole generations of clergy pass through to be trained. From humble beginnings, the CEP ha...

S5E5-Ten years is a long time. So, how do our missionaries stay supported for the long-term? How do we know what opportunities there are across the world so we can place missionaries? Well, it’s because every year our missionaries have an in-person pastoral visit from their Regional Mission Director who spends time on the ground supporting missionaries but also having eyes and ears for what is goi...

S5E4 - God is at work in the Middle East and L has been part of that story for decades. Nearly 40 years ago, he and his wife packed up their lives and the kids and stepped out in faith and obedience to head to the Middle East. L has seen how God opens doors and hearts to bring people to himself in some of the most gospel poor and restricted places in the world. When they returned to Australia, L a...

S5E3 - Kylie Zietsch is the Women’s Dean and member of the teaching staff at Johannesburg Bible College (JBC) in South Africa. She opens our eyes to the ministry and lives of women training at JBC. Women who have a profound impact to bring healing and hope to their communities and who are serving God in extraordinary ways. Kylie never saw herself as an academic, but with a background in teaching a...

S5E2 - The Jacobsons love Cambodia – they have been many times over the past 10 years. What started as visiting missionary friends for five weeks turned into many regular visits with their kids. Now Maurice and Amanda are long-term CMS missionaries at a rural bible college in the north of Cambodia. This Tasmanian farming couple have traded in cold grassy pastures for humid rice paddies. But their...

S5E1 - Welcome back to season 5! We are kicking off with someone who is a ‘not yet’ missionary. M is currently studying at St Andrews Hall, CMS’s mission training facility in Melbourne, to go and serve in a secure location among Muslim peoples. M has a heart for the gospel-poor and speaks candidly about his journey into mission, singleness, risk and potential danger and how God has encouraged him...