Immigrant Churches
An international news agency reported bombs exploding in a country where agencies had placed a newly formed team of missionaries. The US State Department raised that country’s security grade to level four. Soon after…
Mental Health and Missions: Dealing with a Hidden Problem
An international news agency reported bombs exploding in a country where agencies had placed a newly formed team of missionaries. The US State Department raised that country’s security grade to level four. Soon after…
Who Decides? Issues of Authority on the Field
An international news agency reported bombs exploding in a country where agencies had placed a newly formed team of missionaries. The US State Department raised that country’s security grade to level four. Soon after…
Are They Ready? (You’re Good to Go)
Pete was brilliant. He had studied at one of the best schools in his home nation. He devoted himself to his campus ministry for several years. He knew his doctrine well…
Helping Women Thrive on the Field
Kate began packing up her family’s suitcases again. As hard as it was to face another transition, her heart was full from time spent with supporting churches. Far from being unnoticed or an assumed part of the missionary equation…
Do You Know What Your Missionary Is Doing?
Let’s say you are the owner of a company that made widgets. If you wanted to open a new widget manufacturing facility in a different country, how would you decide who to send to lead the efforts to build and run your new facility? Your ideal leader would…
Fruitful Partnerships: How Mission Agencies Can Serve Sending Churches
Are mission agencies essential? No. Are mission agencies helpful? They certainly can be…
Healthy Indigenous Church: How Do We Get There?
How do we establish healthy indigenous churches? It’s the aim of every missionary, but no one seems to agree on how to get there. Some recommend a hands-off approach…
Reclaiming Gospel-Centered Missions
“If everything is missions, nothing is.” So said the Scottish missionary Stephen Neill. Wonderfully, ours is a day in which gospel-centered ministry and missions have returned to the forefront of conversations…
Small Churches Can Make a Big Difference
I find it both encouraging and convicting that Matthew 28:18-20 doesn't come with a qualification based on the size of a church's membership or budget. The Great Commission is the joyful privilege of all churches…
How Should the Church Look in This Culture? The Regulative Principle and Cross-Cultural Church Planting
Imagine a young couple, freshly landed on the mission field, seeking to reach an unreached people group. They join an experienced team leader who encourages them to work hard on the language and build a business platform…
The Strategic Role of International Churches
William Carey is often praised as a pioneer for world missions and the standard for language learning, cultural acquisition, and gospel proclamation. Given his giftedness with language and his commitment to indigenous peoples, students of missiology could be excused for…
Contextualization
In his book Contextualizing the Faith, Scott Moreau explains that contextualization lies at the intersection of faith and culture. Contextualization is not just about gospel proclamation or even theology but involves all aspects of life and practice…
Be Generous but Avoid Financial Dependence
There is a church building in Central Asia where an indigenous congregation worshiped for several years. Though they were in a Muslim context, in the early 2000s, this newly planted church received government approval…
Who Makes a Good Prospective Missionary?
I remember meeting Ashley. She was a young missionary who came to work a two-year term with a team close to us in Central Asia. She loved Jesus and earnestly desired to share the gospel and serve others…
Missions and Missionaries: Do We All Mean the Same Thing?
Starting with William Carey in the early 1800s and continuing till today, modern missionaries have advanced the gospel in ways unimaginable when Christianity began in the days of the Apostle Paul.
And if the Lord tarries, the future opportunities for missions are golden…
Missions in an Urban Context
In 1974, the missiologist Ralph Winter challenged the global church to think beyond the borders of modern nation-states and cross all barriers of language and culture in taking the gospel to all the “hidden” peoples of the world. For nearly two generations, this challenge has…
Families on the Field
Have you ever had a moment of questioning your life choices? One day, you’re strolling along, and suddenly, doubts hit you out of nowhere…
Walking the Tightrope: Right Motivations for Missionaries You Send
A good friend of mine attended a mission conference as a university student. She knew very little about missions at the time, and as she listened to the talks, attended breakouts, and spoke with various mission agencies, she became overwhelmed with the task's urgency…