The Great Commission Today

Ordinary Faithfulness: How Harvest Church Cultivates a Culture of Outreach In this episode of The Great Commission Today, host Daniel Vos sits down with Adrian Crum, Pastor of Youth and Evangelism at Harvest Church in Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan. Harvest is a Dutch Reformed congregation with deep roots in the community — and a growing conviction that every believer, not just the pastoral staff,...

When Robert Knuth arrived in Ann Arbor in the fall of 2019 to plant Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) at the University of Michigan — the first RUF chapter in the state — he had no idea a global pandemic was six months away. Seven years later, what’s grown out of that uncertain start is one of the larger RUF ministries outside the Southeast, and a model for how campus ministry and the local chu...

What does it actually take to bring a dying church back to life? Not gimmicks. Not celebrity guest speakers. Not a bigger building. In this episode of The Great Commission Today, host Daniel Vos sits down with Pastor Brian Cosby — pastor of Wayside Presbyterian Church in Tennessee, professor at Reformed Theological Seminary, and creator of the popular YouTube channel “Provide and Protect” — to tal...

What does it actually look like to build a healthy church in a working-class neighborhood — one that prioritizes the ordinary means of grace over growth metrics, takes church discipline seriously, and invites people into real membership rather than comfortable anonymity? In this episode of The Great Commission Today host Daniel Vos sits down with Nathan Strom, pastor of Breakwater Church in Sheboy...

Most church growth conversations focus on established congregations looking to grow. This episode is different. Rev. Brad Peppo is a regional home missionary with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church who arrived in Cottonwood, Arizona last January without a single contact — not a name, not a face, not a connection. What he had was a calling, a camera, and a blog. In this episode of The Great Commissio...

What does it look like when God grows a church through faithful preaching, a praying congregation, and members who actually tell their neighbors about Jesus? Rev. Carl Miller of Heritage OPC, New Braunfels, Texas joins Daniel Vos to trace the Lord’s hand across nearly a decade of church planting, growth, and intentional outreach. This is a story worth hearing — and a conversation full of wisdom yo...

Planting a Church in America’s Most Arab City What does it look like to plant a church in America’s most Arab city — with no building, no elders, and no guarantees? Pastor Jerry Riendeau of Grace Presbyterian Church in Dearborn, Michigan has been finding out for the last four years. His story is honest, surprising, and full of grace. About This Episode Church planting is hard anywhere. In Dearborn...

What does faithfulness to the Great Commission look like when it doesn’t make headlines? In this episode of The Great Commission Today, our guest Rev. David Stewart, pastor of Grace PCA in Lake Suzy, Florida, reflects on discipleship, the ordinary means of grace, and what it means to trust God with the results of faithful ministry. The Great Commission Belongs to the Whole Church Rev. Stewart walk...

What does it look like to live a life completely sold out to Christ—and still experience joy, peace, and fulfillment? In this episode of The Great Commission Today, we sit down with Dr. Steve Hake, a man who has pursued that question for over fifty years as a missionary, professor, and church elder. Dr. Hake’s journey began in the countercultural upheaval of the 1960s. As a self-described “wannabe...

In this historically rich, and pastorally sober conversation, Rev. David Gilleran—Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of the Blue Ridge (PCA), longtime pastor, and former U.S. Army National Guard chaplain—joins The Great Commission Today to reflect on Christ’s command to make disciples in a fractured, isolated, and spiritually hungry age. Drawing from more than five decades of ministry, military chapla...

PCA pastor John “Penny” Pennylegion (Christ the King PCA, Roanoke, VA) joins the conversation for a warm and highly practical discussion, guiding church leaders through a grounded vision for Great Commission faithfulness—one that’s deeply biblical, patiently relational, and confident in Christ’s authority and presence.  Penny shares his powerful conversion story, the mentors God used to shape his...

Chris Tapp, pastor of Stanmore Chapel in London, England, joins The Great Commission Today to explore what faithful disciple-making looks like in a global city shaped by diversity, secularism, immigration, and spiritual searching. Drawing from his own testimony, years of pastoral ministry, and deep engagement with Matthew’s Gospel, Chris helps listeners recover a worship-centered, church-shaped un...

In this visionary, wide-ranging, and deeply pastoral conversation, Rev. Richard Dalton—church planter, Anglican minister, and founder of Look Up Detroit—joins The Great Commission Today to explore how Christians can reclaim a faithful, visible, and redemptive presence in the digital public square. Drawing from his conversion story, decades of ministry, and a growing burden for cities, Richard pres...

In this thoughtful and deeply pastoral conversation, Rev. Pete Hurst—retired Presbyterian minister, businessman, writer, and founder of PeteHurst.com—joins The Great Commission Today to reflect on a lifetime of ministry, vocation, and obedience to Christ’s Great Commission. Drawing from decades of pastoral service, involvement in the early formation of the PCA, current membership in an OPC church...

In this rich and candid conversation, Rev. Paul Murphy, Pastor of Evangelism and Pastor Emeritus at Messiah’s Reformed Fellowship (URC) in New York City, reflects on more than four decades of gospel ministry and evangelistic labor in one of the most challenging mission fields in North America. Drawing from his own dramatic conversion out of Roman Catholicism and existentialism, his role in the for...

In this biblically rooted and thoughtful conversation, Andrew Martin, church planter of Lumberton Mission Church (PCA) in Lumberton, North Carolina, joins The Great Commission Today to reflect on disciple-making at ground level. Drawing from his background as a missionary kid, youth pastor, seminary graduate, and now church planter, Andrew offers a deeply biblical and practical vision for the Grea...

In this thoughtful, wide-ranging, and theologically grounded conversation, Rev. Chris Byrd—regional home evangelist for the OPC Presbytery of New Jersey, co-director of the historic Boardwalk Chapel, and longtime trainer in biblical evangelism—joins The Great Commission Today for a comprehensive discussion of evangelism, discipleship, and church-wide mission. Drawing from his covenant upbringing,...

In this rich and far-reaching conversation, OPC ruling elder John Terpstra (South Austin Presbyterian Church) helps church leaders recover a deeply biblical, confessional, and worship-centered understanding of the Great Commission. Drawing on decades of service in the OPC, hands-on church-planting experience, and a lifetime immersed in Scripture and Reformed theology, John shows how disciple-makin...