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For the Love of the American Church

What makes the church a sanctuary, a safe place, a place of refuge? It is only the presence of God alone or do Christian leaders have a responsibility to create and maintain the environment? I believe it is both. Leaders are...

Responding Biblically to the Moral Failure of Pastoral Leadership

What happens when a Christian leader you love, trust, and respect breaks your trust and does something so heinous and morally repugnant that it shakes the very foundation of your faith? Now what happens when you are the leader responsible for investigating him or her,...

Godly Influence in Leadership

What does it mean to have Godly influence as a leader? It starts with the right foundation…

Miraculous Testimony: Chinese Woman Saved by Jesus Before She Ever Knew Him

Mei was an atheist living in China when a near drowning experience and encounter with a demonic spirit almost took her life. "I saw a big wave come and on top of the wave there was a big face, an ugly face. The minute I saw that face I knew it was (a) devil. It was...

Missions: Lost People vs Unreached Peoples

What's the difference between those who are lost and those who are unreached? This video from the team at Pioneers answers the question well.

First Year Priorities for Global Missionaries

If our relationship with God and our family fails, then our ministry fails. Our priority in the first year of mission work should always be to love God, keep a strong relationship with Him, and make sure our family is settling on a solid foundation. When you are...

Discerning Your Mission Calling and Preparation

Looking at the world’s needs today, someone with a passion to see Jesus worshipped among the nations, could easily be overwhelmed. Just narrowing a location down to a certain continent or people can be unnerving. But once you decide on a place, how do you prepare? I...

The Cost Effectiveness of Native Believers vs Americans in Global Mission

God does not see things as man sees them. I believe that there is no limitation in the area of finances when it comes to His kingdom. If God did not spare His own Son…the mostly costly gift that could be given, how much more would it not deter Him to send an American...

Native Missionaries Are Not Enough

There are God fearing and God loving people who do seek to reach their own people for Jesus, but in many nations their numbers compared to the population who don’t know God are very small. For instance, In Thailand where my family and I used to serve, less than 1% of...

American Missionaries Still Needed

Are American missionaries still needed in global missions work? Missionaries from all nations are still needed! There are over 7,000 unreached/least reached people groups totaling 3.19 billion people in the world today. This means that that these people have little to...

The Present Imbalance of Access to the Gospel in the World

The imbalance of the Gospel message in the world has been a burden in my heart over the years. A wise man once said, “The things that anger you are the things that you are assigned to change.” When God puts a healthy and holy anger in your heart, it is a clue to...

Why Go to the Frontiers of Mission When America Still Needs Jesus?

We, as the Church, should always be looking out for where God is working, wherever we are in the world, and seek to join Him in that work. We have all been called as ambassadors of Jesus Christ, calling men and women everywhere to be reconciled to God because of what...

Why Should I Care About Other Nations?

John Stott is quoted as saying, “We must be global Christians with a global vision because our God is a global God.” Jesus tells us that the greatest commandments are to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. This leads to the question, “well then, who is my...

Wrestling with the Need for Evangelism and Missions

If people are good _______________, (fill in the blank with a religious affiliation) then why not just leave them alone and let them live according to their own consciences or according to the way they think is right? We must understand that Bible says, “There is a...

Our Calling As Saints

Of all the words used to identify God’s people, the term “saint” is used most frequently in the Bible- 96 times! The term “Saint” also carries some of the greatest revelation of God’s purpose for us as his people. “Saint” comes from the Greek word “hagios” which is...

The Great Commission Belongs To the Saints

The Great Commission of Jesus belongs to the saints; not just to our pastors, leaders, and missionaries! We are all missionaries in the sense that, as believers in Jesus Christ, we have all been “sent.” Jesus said “As the father has sent me, so I am sending...

Discipleship and the Goal of Well Refined Wine

God gives us assignments in life that not only have the potential to accomplish his Kingdom purposes but which are also custom built for our own growth and maturity in discipleship. Recently, while thinking of the scripture Jeremiah 48:11, I ran across a...

5 Key Questions for Leading Effective Organizational Change

Our ministry recently completed a season of major organizational re alignment. This transition included the rebranding and relaunch of the U.S. Center for World Mission and the Frontier Mission Fellowship into our new identity, Frontier Ventures. After reflecting...

Intersecting Movements, Shifting Trajectories Towards Unreached Peoples

As I reflect on what we do as a mission, I am reminded of some of the historical ways our founder Ralph Winter influenced the mission world. In my opinion, Ralph D. Winter was a leader who sought to intersect movements in order to shift trajectories for the sake of...

Samuel Chadwick on the Fire of God

What is meant by "the fire of God?" Early Methodist minister Samuel Chadwick (1860-1932) gives a great perspective in his classic book The Way To Pentecost. Read his words and be stirred. "Our God is a consuming fire." The elect symbol of His presence is the fire...

Repenting of Localism

At the Exponential West Conference held recently at Saddleback Church, Rick Warren called Pastors to repent of what he called "localism" and to join him in adopting the final 3,000 plus unreached unengaged people groups. Warren, author of the Purpose Drive...

People Like Us Support Missionaries

There are still people in the world who regularly support missionaries and their ministries as a part of their regular giving. What are they like? Why do they support the work of missions when others don't? Below are a few reasons why people like...

Why Are There More Churches in Northern Thailand?

There are 7,432 sub districts in Thailand. 75% of all sub districts in Thailand have no churches. 62% of all people who live in Thailand live in an area where there is no church. How will people hear the Good News of Jesus without a new apostolic thrust of laborers...

“To the Jew First” The Meaning of Jewish Priority in World Mission

Below are my notes from a brief seminar given at the U.S. Center for World Mission by Prof. Bill Bjoraker of William Carey International University. Bill served with me at Frontier Ventures and is a teacher & scholar specializing in Jewish studies and contemporary...

21 Key Missions Trends for the 21st Century

Not very long ago I watched a video from Fuller Seminary called, "The End of Missiological Education As We Know It." The conversation explored the continually changing landscape of missiological education and included perspectives from three former deans of their...

What’s The Role of North Americans in Global Mission?

Western Christians in Global Mission: What's the Role of the North American Church? is a book written by missions specialist, Paul Borthwick. In it, Borthwick sets out to answer the question of how Western believers can best continue in global mission. The book...

Christianity In Its Global Context: 5 Key Insights

Christianity in its global context: What has happened around the world in the last 40 years from 1970-2010? Researcher Todd M. Johnson of Gordon Conwell's Center for the Study of Global Christianity gives us some detailed statistics from his research. Below are just a...

The Triumphant One and Global Missions

When Jesus rose from the dead, he defeated spiritual rulers and authorities. He made an open spectacle of them, triumphing over them in the cross. Those who follow Jesus are also victorious. They share in the triumph of their Master. But does that mean...

The Fastest Growing Churches in Thailand

What types of churches are growing the fastest in Thailand and why? In the last post we saw that for various reasons the planting of new churches is the best form of evangelism in Thailand. We ended that post with two questions. One of them was, "What kind of...

The Most Effective Form Of Outreach in Thailand

What is the most effective form of outreach or "evangelism" in Thailand? We have already seen in our previous posts that God is working through existing social networks in Thailand to bring people to Himself. He is also using miracles. But how does the abiding...

Makeup of the Church in Thailand

What is the makeup of the Protestant/Evangelical Church in Thailand? Where do the majority of Thai believers live? I am going to break down some of the statistics so we can get a better picture of where the focus has been in outreach so that we can look to the...

The Missional Potential of Prayer Movements

There is a great movement of people who are being raised up from within houses of prayer in the Western world. From their times participating in day and night prayer, God is calling some to go to unreached people groups to plant "prayer furnaces" or "houses of...

Thailand Missions: Empowering Every Believer

A recent study on conversion among Thai people found that 70% came to faith in Jesus Christ through the influence of a friend of relative rather than a missionary or Thai Pastor. Yet, only about 1 in 40 Thai believers claims to have led another person to faith in a...

Progress of the Gospel in Thailand

I am starting a new series looking at Gospel's impact on Thailand. After 185 years of some form of Protestant presence in the country, there is still much more Gospel work to be done. The number of Protestant/Evangelical in relation to the whole population is a stark...

Raised From The Dead in Thailand

During my recent ministry trip to Thailand, I was privileged to travel to a village where I spent time interviewing people about testimonies of the dead being raised through prayer in Jesus' name. I believe these stories, which both happened in the fall of 2012, to be...

15 Key Questions For Frontier Missionaries

In this post I am focusing in on the potential of the Gospel's movement among an unreached people group in a frontier missions setting. Instead of giving answers, I want to start by asking a few questions to those who are working to see the Gospel advance in their...

Reached the Unreached, Engage the Unengaged

Over 7,000 ethno-linguistic people groups in the world have little or no access to the gospel according to Joshua Project. 3,000 of these unreached people groups do not have anyone trying to reach them. Nearly 400 of these unengaged people groups...

3 Main Reasons India Still Needs Mission Workers

Are you like me? Have you thought that all of India could be reached simply by supporting native workers? If so, we were both wrong. The book "Revolution in World Missions" set forth the basic premise that India could be reached by Westerners supporting native...

Passionate Pastors and Global Missions

Global Missions starts with passionate local leadership. It flows out from local churches that are awakened through intense and ongoing prayer, intercession, and preaching that exalts God and the "mission" to which He has called everyone of his disciples; both locally...

3 Fold Strategy to Reach the Unreached

Strategy is a big part of missions work. It is something I think about often as it pertains to unreached people groups. Each one of my short notes has a lot of depth and needed work behind it. Each context or people group is different and requires the...

Global Missions Explained in Less Than A Minute

I know we live in a new world, a world where we only have a few minutes to engage. So I wanted to try and give you my own overview of missions in just a minute. Here is how I see it off the top of my head. The War is On, God Himself is on a Mission Abraham Called:...

Local Church & Global Missions

Want to get involved in global missions? I believe it all starts with supporting your local church. Bring your tithes and offerings to support the local vision Pray for your leaders to have a global vision Serve wherever you are able to strengthen your home base Be...

Introducing the Perspectives Course

One of the most powerful tools for mobilizing missions from the West in the 20th century and beyond has been the Perspectives course. Have you ever heard about it? The course was founded by Dr. Ralph Winter of the US Center for World Mission (Frontier Ventures) as a...

Strategic Coordinator in Missions

Cross cultural missions has changed a lot from the days of heroes like Adoniram Judson and Hudson Taylor. These men of faith left their homes on boats with the thought of never returning to Western shores. They lost wives and children to diseases....

How To Reach Thailand With The Gospel

The National Christian leadership of Thailand has promoted a slogan that represented their vision for the year 2015. It is known all over Thailand in every local church. It says, "I’m going to be one out of one hundred thousand that will reach one million for...

5 Mistakes In Sending Missionaries

Below you will find some hard earned insight from modern missions pioneer Seth Barnes, regarding STM's. "For 24 years I've been sending people on short-term missions (STMs) that challenge them to live the kind of life God dreams for them. STMs are great discipleship...

T4T Training For Trainers: 13-16

T4T: A Discipleship ReRevolution: An Overview by John Lambert Chapter Thirteen:Your T4T Package: Gospel Presentation A "bridge" can move a person' heart to listen, but only the Gospel can save them. Acts 2:21; 4:12; Romans 10-13-17 What is the Gospel? The good news...

T4T Training For Trainers: 9-12

T4T: A Discipleship ReRevolution: An Overview by John Lambert Chapter 9: "Starting New Generations, Not Just Multiplying Groups" T4T is different than traditional small group multiplication. Instead of grow THEN multiply, it is launch and repeat. You...

T4T Training For Trainers: 5-8

T4T: A Discipleship ReRevolution: An Overview by John Lambert Chapter 5: “How To Begin” T4T is a process, not a set of lessons (The author drives this home!) He says it is often misunderstood as a set of lessons or an outreach, but he says it is meant to cascade as a...

T4T Training For Trainers: 1-4

T4T A Discipleship ReRevolution An Overview by John Lambert Chapter 1: "Kingdom Come!" This chapter starts with some impressive stats. Since its inception in 2001, the CPM initiated by Ying Kai has yielded a conservative number of: 1.7 million baptisms 150,000 new...

T4T Training For Trainers: Background

T4T: A Discipleship ReRevolution: An Overview by John Lambert Background In the world of missions, a new wave of the Spirit of God is moving across nations and people planting churches where there were little to none before. This phenomenon has been called “Church...

Missions Training: 5 E’s

My goal when training leader is to help them get the people they lead mobilized to fulfill their callings, as well as play their part in God's purpose for their generation. I try to accomplish this by helping shift some key paradigms and mindsets. I wanted to take a...

Ministry & Playing To Your Strengths

Thankful that one of my local ministry partners (who has the strength of Individualization) convinced us all to take the Strength Finders 2.0 assessment. He told us that many large companies have used it to revolutionize the way that they work together. He also said...

Strategic Missionary Roles

People used to ask me how I viewed my role in global mission when I was serving on the mission field. My short explanation was... “I am a mission strategist and mobilizer, a thinker and practicioner. I work to empower local leaders through training partnerships &...

Church Planting & 7 Billion

According to UN calculations today, October 31st, 2011, is the "official day" when 7 billionth person will have been born on planet Earth. What does a continually increasing population number reality mean for the global Church in regards to the Great Commission of...

20 Great Quotes on Taking Risks

Here are my Top 20 Quotes on Taking Risks: 1. And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. – Anais Nin 2. There’s as much risk in doing nothing as in doing something.- Trammell Crow 3. A ship in port is...

Missions: Building Bridges or Walls?

Some of my friends in Thailand can get disconcerted when they hear that I spend alot of my time talking with Buddhists. They may hear a word or phrase that I use in the Thai language that is more "Buddhist" than "Christian" and their minds are bent by it. They may...

I am Missional I am Missionary

Missional: It is a word to describe a person or group of people (ie, church) who know that God Himself is own Mission and that he has called them to join Him. Missionary: It is a term used to describe a missional person who crosses cultures and other boundaries to...

Missions & Four Voices That Cry Out

A person whose heart is aligned with God’s, hears the four voices that cry out for the Gospel. The voice from above, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us” (Isaiah 6:8, NIV) The voice from below, “Please go and warn my brothers lest they end up here as well”...

Layered American Christianities

Have you ever thought about the layers of American Christianity and how they affect our worship services and ministry today? Having lived in a majority Buddhist nation, I have thought about things like this often because I found myself constantly trying to dig into...

Missions: Before Methods…

Before I talk missions methods and strategy with someone, I like to find out three main things about them first. Passion- What do you burn for? What is your motivation? What is is that causes you to put away all trivial things and seek God. I say that my motivation...

5 Elements of World Changing Mission Movements

In his book, Movements That Changed the World, Steve Addison outlines five key elements of every movement that has changed the world. He begins by defining a movement saying that a movement is a group of people pursuing a common cause. Movements are characterized by...

Thailand Church Planting Strategy?

One of the more interesting things that I have come across in Thailand is the church planting strategy of a group of zealous Asians (not Thai) who have been working to plant churches in the nation. They seem to be operating in a very different paradigm than most...

Human Trafficking, Poverty, & Sex

When people from the outside think about Thailand, many things may come to mind. Exotic food, culture, tourism, and temples are a few examples. But another main thought that comes to mind is sex trafficking and prostitution. Thailand has been placed on many...

Sample Covenant For Missionary Teams

Relational breakdown is one of the key factors that causes missionary teams to dissolve and workers to leave the field prematurely. Most of the problems could probably have been avoided with a little more communication and understanding worked out up front. This...

A Life Shaping Message

Nearly twenty five years ago, a message left a powerful mark on my life and shaped my ministry. Missionary Evangelist Steve Hill preached a message where he used Olympic torchbearers as an illustration. He vividly painted the picture of those who had the honor of...

Missionaries: Numbers and Need

A Special Breed: Out of 6.5 billion people on the planet, there are only 430,000 Missionaries from ALL branches of “Christendom.” Even more precious: Only between 2 and 3% of these 430k missionaries work among unreached peoples. Of the 2-3% of all missionaries working...

Missions Giving & Partnership

“The Gospel is free but the road it travels on takes money, and lots of it.”-Mike Turner Here are a few principles that have been on my heart about giving and how mission partnership works. I have found that for many in my generation or newer generations, there is...

Missionary Life: Culture Shock (ing)

Culture shock is a real deal scenario for missionaries serving cross culturally. It is a huge issue that people need to understand before they come so that they can recognize it and be ready to deal with when it comes. For me, it was a mixture of not even being able...

Missions & Your Children’s Education

One of the aspects of missionary life among the "unreached" that I didn't think a whole lot about before arriving overseas is the education of my children. I had certain assumptions and had to learn through experience and time what would work and what would not....

Held Back From Cross Cultural Missions

You see the need. You are stirred. You hear the call. You begin to prepare. But what can keep you from your cross cultural mission? Here are a few things I had to personally overcome. As you read this, be encouraged to walk free and move toward the burning desire...

Kingdom Oriented Missions

How do you tell you if you are involved in a "Kingdom" work or an "Organizational" work when it concerns the Gospel, or more specifically, when it comes to church and/or cross cultural work? Here are some insights from one of my favorite practicioners, David Watson:...

The Front Page Stories of Heaven

If you are reading this then you know how much media has changed and exploded in growth over even the last ten years. It is truly a phenomenon and has changed the way we receive and process information, even as Pastors and cross cultural workers. If we are not...

Ten Ways to Pray for Missionaries

It's a fascinating picture, isn't it? As long as Moses holds his staff aloft toward the throne of God, Joshua and his army prevail against the bad guys. But Moses, though a galactic superman, got tired. Exodus 17 tells us his buds Aaron and Hur got a rock for him to...

Prep for Missions Top 20 Books

Below are books that were helpful to me when I was preparing myself for work in global missions. There are many other newer books that could be added to this list, but I wanted to share the ones that impacted me personally when I first was starting out. On Being a...

Missions: Living Between Two Worlds

As Western cross cultural workers, the access we have to information, communication, and connection back to our "passport country" is unprecedented. This has been a tremendous blessing, but it also creates challenges that missionaries going to the field a hundred...

First Few Formative Years of Missions Work

Short term missions trips have grown in popularity, but they cannot be compared to what it takes to live long term cross culturally. In an age of microwave instant meals, instant communication, and instant access to all knowledge through the web, many could assume...

Motivation & Those Who Have Never Heard

Here is the question that I was asked once about my motivation for global missions and the fate of the unevangelized: What motivates you to go? What do you think happens to those who have never heard? Here is the response I gave "off the cuff" and from my heart. It...

A Thai Conversion Story: May & Jesus

On of our Thai friends received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It was her natural birthday today and now it is her spiritual one as well! She was water baptized by my wife at a friend's back yard pool and is starting down a new path that God has for her. Here is a...

Missions Priority

I believe that in God’s mind, building His Church or those people called out from among the nations, is the main priority of missions work needed today. Jesus told us that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it (Matt 16:18). In...

Missions in the Bible

Missions in the Bible What does the word “missionary” mean? Is it in the Bible? The word “mission” comes from the Latin word "mitto", which was derived from the Greek word apostello. This latter word means “to send” and from it we get the English word “apostle.”...

14 Reasons For Missions Today

There are many motivations that God uses to spark interest in people and move them into some kind of involvement in missions. Here are fourteen from Mobilizer Claude Hickman. 1) The Promise (Gen 12:1-3) – Because God has promised to bless all nations (or people...

What It Means To Be A World Christian

What, then, shall we call this discovery that can change us so radically and yet make us so healthy? And, what shall we call those who have experienced it? By now it should be obvious that all Christians are born again into the Gap between God's world-wide purpose and...

What is the 10/40 Window?

Why must the 10/40 Window be a strategic target for world missions in the 21st Century? The 10/40 Window is a rectangular shaped window which extends from 10 degrees north latitude to 40 degrees north latitude containing 2/3 of the world’s total population, and spans...

Cultural Transition Plus…

I am finding that culture shock is real though I don't really like the term. Shock seems like such a harsh word. I guess in some ways living in a completely different culture than your own can be a little shocking at times. But it doesn't have to be debillitating....

Missions and the Ministry of Healing

I believe that Almighty God is good. He is not the author of sin, sickness, death, and evil. These things have come as a result of man's fall from grace in the Garden of Eden and one day God will bring a final end to all of these things and we will never know them...

Missions: Seeing From Afar, Knowing Up Close

I like to play on Google Earth sometimes. It's fun to be able to see the globe from space, to spin it around like a toy, and turn it from America to Asia in an instant. I like to use it to get a lay of the land from high above then gradually zoom into certain parts...

The Time Has Come. My Entry Into Missions

This is an entry taken from my Journal just before we moved to Thailand as missionaries in 2009. It is a little glimpse into my story and the processes God took me through in preparation for my assignment as a global missionary. Maybe you can find a little of your own...

A Word For the Days We Live In

I've been listening to David Wilkerson of Time Square Church today. He has been ministering for over 50 years and his church in Times Square represents over 100 nations. He is, in my opinion, one of the most Godly men alive today. He has warned of a...

Missions & The Power of One Person

I recently read the story of a young girl who led a man to Jesus in Korea. She prayed diligently and would not be deterred by this man's anger and bitterness. She wept over his soul in secret and spoke to him openly about Jesus Christ. Eventually the one she was...

Missions: Deploying the Vision

As a part of our pre field missions training, we were taught the power of "deployment." This tool/process will help us work through complex tasks and multi-faceted vision by determining what needs to be done, who needs to do it, when it needs to be done, where it...

Interpersonal Skills For Missionaries…For Everyone

When preparing for service overseas, we encountered a very practical and eye opening class developed for missionaries by missionaries on interpersonal skills. It was developed by a Dr. Ken Williams who has given over 50 years in ministry to many different facets of...

Missions: How Shall They Hear?

It was a question the Apostle Paul asked almost 2000 years ago and it's a question that's still valid for today. The scriptural answer found in Romans 10:13-15 says, " For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him...

Missionary Traits: Spiritual Maturity

To be a babe or not to be a babe? That is the question when it comes to spiritual maturity. The answer actually is both. In regards to believing faith, we are called to childlike. (see here) In regards to doing evil, childlike once again. But in regards to...

Missionary Traits: Adaptability

Missionaries must be adaptable. They must be able to adapt to a multitude of things such as new cultures, customs, paces of life, harsh weather conditions, strange foods, and difficult languages; just to name a few. All of these things are put right on top of the...

Missionary Traits: Insight

In Missions work, there are "good things" and there are "God things." Since good is the enemy of best, and there are many good things that a cross cultural worker can be involved in, every missionary needs insight. Insight is the ability to look into; to penetrate...

Missions Work: Travailing in Prayer

I spoke with a good friend of mine who is a missionary one day about prayer. I was telling him how God has brought a few people into my life who are Christians but are struggling heavily with things that are drawing them away from Christ. Some of these are men who I...

Called to Missions; Preparing for Marriage

Since I posted on building a lasting marraige yesterday, I thought I'd continue in that vein and talk about how a missions calling and finding a marraige partner go hand and hand. Speaking to single people, missions mobilizer, Oswald J. Smith once wrote about the...

10 Ways to Avoid Becoming a Missionary

A tongue-in-cheek look at some sure-fire ways to avoid becoming a missionary: Ignore Jesus' request in John 4:35 that we take a long hard look at the fields. Seeing the needs of people can be depressing and very unsettling. It could lead to genuine missionary concern....

Motivation for Short Term Missions

Short term missions trips have been growing in popularity over the last few decades with a large number of churches taking multiple yearly trips. When done right, these short term trips have been a huge source of blessing to missionaries and ministries all over the...

MEGA Church: Is this trend hurting the Church as a whole?

This question was asked by Robert Henry in an article for the online magazine "Wrecked" I found this site through Seth Barnes. Below is the answer I posted to this topic. "I think the mega church trend could be beneficial if there are things in place that harness the...

Top Reasons Why NOT To Be A Missionary

There are many great reasons for becoming an overseas missionary, the main reason being a solid and confirmed call of God. But there also some really bad and even harmful reasons for cross cultural service. These motives may be main reasons or even intermingled with a...

Empower the Mission

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