The Missions Show

We’ve all experienced the guilt of being made to feel like we’re not doing enough for world missions. Should preachers emphasize statistics on unreached people groups, the urgency of eternity, and lostness, or simply trust the Holy Spirit—or perhaps both? This week, ABWE President Paul Davis chats with Scott and Alex as they wrestle through the wisdom necessary in preaching, mobilization, and past...

We’ve all felt the missionary guilt trip before. Is it biblical, or manipulative? ABWE President Paul Davis joins us to dialogue. Subscribe now.

A military coup is underway in Myanmar—a Buddhist nation nestled in the heart of the 10/40 Window. What does the junta mean for the cause of Christian missions, and how is the Burmese church responding? ABWE missionary John (last name withheld) with Live Global returns to the show to explain. To support the work of ABWE partners in Myanmar, visit Live Global . Hear our previous episode with John h...

What is taking place in Myanmar (Burma) with the recent military junta, and how is it affecting Christian believers, churches, and missionaries? John from Live Global returns to the show to explain. Subscribe now.

In 20 years of leading missions efforts and teaching students, Lisa LaGeorge has seen it all. This week, she shares the good, the bad, and the ugly of short-term missions trips with high school and college students. In the second half, we explore the role of women and singles on church-planting teams and why every member of the body of Christ must use their gifts. Dr. Lisa LaGeorge serves as the d...

What is preventing women from using their gifts in a biblical way in missions? Plus, what make a healthy short-term trip for students? Lisa LaGeorge shares in this week’s upcoming episode. Subscribe now.

Do rapid disciple-making techniques run the risk of welcoming syncretism into new churches by failing to teach new converts to forsake their former idols? It’s no light question, with no easy answers—but there is hope. Scripture is not silent. This week, Scott and Alex discuss “The Potential Risk of Syncretism in Church Planting Movements” by Michael Cooper (EMQ, January-March 2021, Volume 57, Iss...

Coming in the next episode: Why is syncretism unacceptable in missions? Scott and Alex explore this Sunday at 7 pm. Subscribe now.

Born into slavery, George Liele is credited as being the first African-American missionary and Baptist missionary in the modern missionary movement. So why haven’t we heard his story?  Dr. Jason Duesing , missions advocate and academic Provost and Associate Professor of Historical Theology at  Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary , explains. Duesing serves as a research fellow for the Ethics an...

How did Western society descend from culture of Christendom to the triumph of the “T” in LGBT? Dr. Carl Trueman, historian and author of The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self (Crossway, 2020), lays blame at the feet of expressive individualism. But individualism isn’t just the world’s problem—it’s the air we breathe in the church and in cross-cultural missions, too. In this exclusive interview,...

It’s hard to deny: we experience little power in evangelism and missions because we’re slothful in prayer. Jonathan Edwards believed that the world would be reached for Christ when God’s people pled divine promises back to God in prayer. Was he right? And what is the relationship between prayer and revival? Dr. Thad Bergmeier, Regional Director for EveryEthne , joins us to discuss their Week of Pr...

We know missionaries should have a theology of God, the Bible, and salvation—but what does it mean to develop a theology of religions? And what are the bigger problems plaguing evangelical missiology? Dr. Dan Strange , theological director at Oak Hill College and co-chair of The Southgate Fellowship , joins us from London to discuss his new book Their Rock Is Not Like Our Rock: A Theology of Relig...

According to statistics, more than 4.6  billion  people on the planet now have internet access—and many of them live among unreached people groups. How does that reshape the way we approach missions? And how can now-commonplace tools like Zoom help Christians in the West invest in fellow believers in hard-to-reach places? Andrew C., executive director for  Live Global,  shares his journey from eco...

With all the lost and unreached people in the world, slowing down to think about philosophy may seem like a waste of time. This week, Thor Madsen of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary explains how understanding philosophy from a Christian worldview perspective can be game-changing for the missionary serving on the field afar or at home. Dr. Thor Madsen has been at Midwestern Seminary since 19...

Merry Christmas from The Missions Show! To celebrate the holiday, we’re honing in on the incarnation of Christ and asking: what do Christian leaders mean when they talk about “incarnational” ministry? Can the incarnation actually be imitated , or does referring to our ministry as incarnational cheapen the uniqueness of Christ’s birth? This week, Scott and Alex discuss Christ’s nature and example f...

Recent political events and rallies have Christians asking: what is nationalism? Is it the same as patriotism? These questions are vitally important to the missionary. Can a missionary truly love his home country that he’s leaving—and if so, how? What does Scripture say about love of country—or countries, for that matter? And what about globalism? Scott and Alex wrestle with these big questions on...

Only a big view of God can sustain the people of God on a big mission. Yet have missionaries gotten their very doctrine of God himself wrong? This week, Dr. James Dolezal highlights the doctrines of divine simplicity, immutability, and aseity—aspects of theology proper often lost on modern evangelicalism—and why they matter for reaching pagans, Muslims, secularists, and others. James E. Dolezal is...

We’ve all sat through missionary presentations in church that were… less than dynamic. But we’ve also seen the dangers of sensationalized stories from across the world that proved untrue and led donors astray. How can missionaries become compelling storytellers, sharing what God is doing worldwide without fudging the truth? This week Scott and Alex talk about how to write compelling missionary upd...

The story of American missionary Renee Bach made waves last year when she was implicated in the deaths of more than 100 Ugandan children. But does her complex situation serve as a mirror for us—and for modern evangelical missions in general? This week, Scott and Alex address whether or not Western missions is dominated by the “white savior” mindset and how pastors can send and train better to prev...

Is baptism the most neglected part of the Great Commission? In this conversation, Paul Davis of ABWE shares why cross-cultural workers are tempted to neglect this ordinance among the least-reached—and how steeping ourselves in Scripture’s teaching on baptism can solve the problem. Want to ask a question or suggest a topic?  Email us . The Missions Show is powered by  ABWE International &...

The world has changed dramatically. Have we witnessed the demise of the short-term missions trip? Jason Phillips doesn’t think so. This week, he explains why—and how pastors and missions trip leaders can do a better job of maximizing the long-term impact of short-term trips. Jason Phillips was recently appointed to ABWE as executive director for a new short-term missions program. He has more...

In 2019, Paul Washer delivered a stirring message at the G3 Conference defining a biblical missionary. His challenge begs the question: must missionaries meet the standard set by 1 Timothy 3:1-13 and Titus 1:5-9? Are all missionaries elder-qualified lead church-planters, or is there room for a diversity of roles on missionary teams? Scott and Alex explore this intricate topic with their Bibles ope...

Scripture calls Jesus Christ the Son of God and the Lamb slain for sinners. These glorious names run directly counter to the sensibilities of those belonging religions including Islam and Hinduism. Should Bible translators soften these words and concepts to contextualize God’s word? The framers of the recently-published Arlington Statement on Bible Translation say no. This week, Scott and Alex wel...

What is a “word-driven” missionary, and how can you become one? Adoniram and Ann Judson are stirring examples of Scripture-saturated missionaries whose methods subverted human wisdom. To explain this week, author and missionary E.D. Burns joins the show. E.D. Burns, Ph. D., is the author of The Missionary-Theologian and A Supreme Desire to Please Him: The Spirituality of Adoniram Judson . He has b...

In Genesis, Adam was told to be fruitful, multiply, and take dominion of creation. He failed. Now, believers in Christ are called to spread the good news of Christ to the world. Are these two separate missions, or is the Great Commission a renewal of the original marching orders from Eden? Matthew Newkirk , author of Fill the Earth: The Creation Mandate and the Church’s Call to Missions . Matthew...