Think Global, Do Justice

Are the internal structures of our organizations fit for the mission that God has called us to? In this episode, Brandon Stiver welcomes Kelly Strong of Safe International for a conversation on organizational identity and healthy global partnerships. They explore why mission must remain central and the role of values in shaping behavior, culture, and daily decision-making, especially within divers...

*Brandon's Note: In step with the topic at hand, I've turned over all show notes and interview audio editing to AI for this week's episode. In this conversation, Brandon Stiver and Michael Cerna reflect on the challenges and changes faced by non-profit organizations in 2025. They discuss the importance of community, the impact of funding changes, and the role of AI in shaping the future of non-pro...

What does it mean to be a gospel-centered church and should we be a gospel-centered church? As we think through taking the Gospel into the world and fulfilling the Great Commission, have we short changed discipleship by making Matthew 28 all about evangelism? In this conversation with Brandon Stiver, author and missiologist Alan Hirsch joins the show to discuss the current state of discipleship wi...

Global poverty is ubiquitous and seemingly intractable, but what if we had a way to mobilize people and a fundraising mechanism that invites ubiquitous participation? In this episode we're joined by Carissa Youssef who is the Executive Director at One Day's Wages. She emphasizes the need for Christians to expand their definition of neighbor to include global awareness and responsibility. Carissa d...

One out of three leaders don't finish well in the work that they undertake. Striking, isn't it? As our podcast celebrates 300 episodes of engaging global nonprofit leaders, we strive to be that minority that stay the course God gave us and there's no one better to talk to than today's guest. Making his record sixth interview on the show, we're joined by Hope International CEO Peter Greer who sits...

If our commitment is that every child grow up in a safe and loving family, how do we address that so many children are living in orphanages that are unregistered and operating outside of the public eye? It's challenging work to map, find and even collaborate with such institutions, but we've got the right guides to learn from. Brandon is joined today by Obed Masese and Meredith Caleb of Victory Ch...

Did you know that 90% of the persecution that Christians face throughout the world comes from one region? Nigeria has seen a trajectory of violence aimed at Christians in recent years and in today's episode we're unpacking all the layers behind targeted massacres in the area. Joining the show are Clint Lyons and Paul U. who are with iReach Global, a Christian nonprofit that is serving the church a...

This year has seen a tremendous amount of change for Christian NGOs doing transformational development throughout the world. In many ways, we are entering a new era of global mission and international development. To talk about some of those changes and to help us keep a pulse on what God is up to, we're joined by Michael Cerna who serves as the CEO at the Accord Network. Building on topics from A...

There is no place on Earth that God is not working. Even in authoritarian regimes that make following Christ illegal, He still moves. Iran is one of those countries. While we hear about Iran pretty regularly in the news, we don't typically hear about what God is doing through His Spirit and in His Church there. Today we're joined by the CEO of Transform Iran, Lana Silk. She talks with Brandon Stiv...

Families are the center piece of how God created societies to flourish, yet there are so many things that can tear down this fundamental part of God's design. We know that orphanages are spread out throughout the world and we know that those children should be allowed to grow up in families. In today's episode, we have Chantry Mweemba of Alliance for Children Everywhere joining to dive deeper into...

One of our great passions behind the show is equipping practitioners globally to serve the poor and develop communities. Today's episode is all about that. We've invited our friend Jeremy Macias back onto the show to share with us about the "messy middle" of monitoring and evaluation and the critical role that it plays in community interventions. Jeremy works with World Relief and shares some of h...

There is no more salient, no more pressing global event right now for the Church to engage than what is happening currently in Gaza. Gaza presents not just a lightning rod for conversation (or controversy), but also serves as a moral compass for all humankind. The global Church is wrestling with questions like, "is Israel justified in their offensive?" "how do we understand the theology and politi...

The podcast is back from our summer break, but we're still in vacation travel mode! We're joined by author and photographer Ashley Campbell who is on the show to share about her new book "I've Never Been Here Before" and what it looks like to lead a big family on a big adventure around the world. From Morocco and Albania to the Philippines and Colombia, Ashley shares insight that isn't just about...

It has been four years since Phil invited Brandon to take over the podcast and the conversations since then (and all the way back to Phil's founding of the podcast in 2016) have been rich, uplifting and led to the equipping of people throughout the world to care for the vulnerable. In this mid-year episode, we're preparing to take a month off from releasing episodes, but there's an even bigger tra...

There's no denying that western money in Global South countries has a profound impact, for better or worse. We might assume that spending money on volunteering and caring for orphans would be a net positive in the majority world. That however is not the case. As we dive back into the conversation around orphan care and volunteering, we're joined by filmmaker Barak Laub whose new documentary Volunt...

Hope is a bit of a buzzword, but at the same time it is a lifeline for those that are experiencing humanitarian crises. What does it look like to experience hope in the midst of forcible displacement or losing your home in a natural disaster? Is it possible to have hope that is disconnected from the truth of Christ? Heath Adamson joins the show to help us think through these big questions. He talk...

It's impossible to ignore the interconnectedness of global justice issues and the complexity of systems that affect societies. Sometimes a system enables people to thrive and other times the system puts people at risk. A clear example of this is looking at food systems and malnutrition in Central America. To help us dive deeper, we have Curt Bowen of Semilla Nueva on the show today. With work that...

James 1:27 has long been a central biblical text from which our podcast community has drawn from. But to what extent have we delved into the depths of the Jewish context in which James wrote? To help us go deeper on this text and the social implications of true religion, we've invited Dr. Andrea Siegel to the show. Dr. Siegel has years of experience in humanitarian work, Hebrew studies and counsel...

War. Famine. Poverty. Violence. Natural Disasters. Working in humanitarian spaces puts us up close and personal with some of the worst kinds of evil and suffering. In the face of it all, we follow a God who is both all good and all powerful. How do those two realities compute? It's a quandary that has been around a long time and we've invited Southeastern University's Dr. Chris Palmer onto the sho...

The most effective approaches to doing justice will acknowledge nuance and there is wisdom in maintaining tensions in the work God has called us to. Central to the work of global development is how we work among at risk children and youth and there are a lot of principles to balance in that space. In this solo episode of the podcast, Brandon Stiver breaks down a number of paradigms that children's...

There is no doubt that the international development sector has changed drastically and permanently over the last couple of months. Starting with the closure of the vast majority of USAID programming, other donor countries have also withdrawn support from the global poor. Joining the show to guide us through what it looks like for Christians to stay engaged and advocate in this spaces is the Manag...

Developing local solutions to complex issues is foundational to global change. When it comes to food insecurity and health services, we recognize the need for local solutions at scale. Joining the show today from Rwanda is Isabelle Kamariza who is the Founder and President at Solid'Africa. She comes on the show to share with us who Solid'Africa works alongside the Rwandan government to improve nut...

It's March and the madness extends far beyond college basketball. In this episode, we look at the ramifications of losing Ukrainian child data through recent federal budget cuts and why upholding these children's humans right should matter to American Christians. Then we look at a new city development in Kenya that has some unique aspects that give both promise and pause. Lastly, Brandon Stiver sh...

We talk a lot about global action on behalf of the vulnerable, but what about global engagement that looks like deepening our discipleship and spiritual formation? We've welcomed Randy Gonzales from Camino Quest on the show today to share with us how pilgrims travel (or even travail) the Camino de Santiago in Spain and what it looks like to connect with God through Christian pilgrimage. In a world...

In 2025, there are still people in the world, even entire people groups, that have never heard the Good News. What's more is that access to distant places and global migration has never been higher. Is it possible to finish the Great Commission in our life time? We've got questions on how to reach more with the Gospel in word and deed and joining us for the conversation is Lisa Pak who is a leader...