The Missions Show
27 Episodes
The Missions Show from ABWE answers hard questions about missions, theology, and practice to help goers think and thinkers go.
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28:30Episode 26
What You Need Before Becoming a Missionary
Episode 26
Do you have what it takes to be a missionary? In this episode of The Missions Show, Alex and Scott discuss the importance of spiritual readiness, personal holiness, and character formation as someone starts to explore their calling to the mission field. Drawing from Scripture and missionary examp...
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28:30Episode 25
What God is Doing in South Asia?
Episode 25
What does everyday ministry look like in South Asia? In this episode of The Missions Show, Alex sits down with K.Y., a ministry partner serving in a predominantly Muslim country in South Asia, to discuss the realities of gospel ministry in one of the world’s most challenging mission fields. K.Y. ...
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Are You Doing Short-Term Missions Trips Right?
Episode 24
Are short-term missions trips more helpful or hurtful? In this episode of The Missions Show, Alex and Scott welcome Scott McCoy, LaunchPoint Missions Lead at ABWE, to discuss one of the most debated topics in modern missions: short-term mission trips. McCoy shares why he believes short-term missi...
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Helping the Poor Without Hurting the Missions
Episode 23
Can compassion ministry and gospel proclamation work together? In this episode of The Missions Show, Alex and Scott sit down with Dave Phillips, founder and president of Children's Hunger Fund (CHF), to explore the relationship between gospel proclamation, mercy ministry, and the local church.
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Overtime: What 40 Years of Church Planting Can Teach Us
Episode 22
In this episode of The Missions Show, Alex and Scott talk with veteran ABWE missionary Stephen Douglas to explore more than four decades of gospel ministry in Peru. Stephen shares how God led him and his wife Debbie to the city of Arequipa—a historic Roman Catholic stronghold known as the “Little...
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What 40 Years of Church Planting Can Teach Us
Episode 22
In this episode of The Missions Show, Alex and Scott talk with veteran ABWE missionary Stephen Douglas to explore more than four decades of gospel ministry in Peru. Stephen shares how God led him and his wife Debbie to the city of Arequipa—a historic Roman Catholic stronghold known as the “Little...
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When Spouses Disagree on Missional Calling
This week, Alex and Scott tackle a difficult question from a missionary wife who, after experiencing significant trauma, grief, anxiety, depression, family challenges, and cultural stress during overseas service, no longer feels able to return to the mission field while her husband remains convin...
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28:30Episode 20
Bringing Masculinity Back to Missions
Episode 20
In this episode of The Missions Show, Alex and Scott welcome pastor, author, and former missionary J. Chase Davis to discuss the crisis of biblical masculinity and its implications for the church and missions. Drawing from his book Offensive Christianity, Davis argues that the modern church has o...
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Crisis Response and First Responder Ministry
Episode 19
In this episode of The Missions Show, Alex sits down with ABWE’s Director of International Security and Crisis Management, Bill Gruppen, to discuss the difficult balance between missionary safety and gospel risk-taking in some of the world’s most dangerous places.
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What Cultures are Missionaries Importing to the Field?
Episode 18
On this episode of The Missions Show, Alex and Scott examine how the gospel interacts with culture and what missionaries may unintentionally bring with them to the field. They stress that missions is fundamentally about evangelism, making disciples, and planting churches, but acknowledge that rea...
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Engaging Islam with the Truth of the Trinity
Episode 17
How do you explain the Trinity to Muslims? On this episode of The Missions Show, Alex and Scott sit down with Dr. Imad Shehadeh, founder and president of Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary, to explore what it means to faithfully articulate and defend the doctrine of the Trinity in a Muslim-m...
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How Christ Transformed a Former Iranian Revolution Leader
Episode 16
In this episode of The Missions Show, Alex and Scott sit down with Dr. Daniel Shayesteh. Dr. Shayesteh shares his powerful journey from a radical Muslim involved in the Iranian Revolution to a follower of Christ. Raised in a devout Islamic context that viewed Christianity as corrupt, he rose to p...
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28:30Episode 15Are Church Planting Movements Bad?
Episode 15
This episode of The Missions Show explores the debate around Church Planting Movements (CPMs), interacting with a Lausanne article that presents them as a highly effective missions strategy. Alex Kocman and Scott Dunford explain what CPMs are and why they generate both enthusiasm and concern, esp...
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Canada's C9 Bill - Is God's Truth Being Outlawed?
Episode 14
Did Canada just pass a bill that outlaws particular Bible teaching? This episode of The Missions Show explores the implications of Canada’s Bill C9 (the “Combating Hate Act”) and its potential impact on religious freedom, gospel proclamation, and missions. Guest John Taylor, ABWE missionary in Ca...
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28:31Episode 13A Defense Against Missions as Colonialism
Episode 13
How do you respond when people say that missions is colonialism? In this episode of The Missions Show, Alex and Scott tackle the increasingly common claim that
missions is inherently colonialistic with guest Will Maxson. Prompted by real-world examples and cultural trends, they explore why this c... -
Sustaining Grace Through Tragedy: The Bowers Shoot Down, 25 Years Later
Episode 12
In April 2001, tragedy struck deep in the jungles of Peru when a missionary flight carrying the Bowers family was mistakenly shot down during a counternarcotics operation gone wrong. Roni Bowers and her infant daughter, Charity, were killed. Jim Bowers and his young son survived. Twenty-five year...
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Protestant Missions and the Catholic Question
Episode 11
In this episode of The Missions Show, Alex and Scott tackle the complex and often sensitive question of how Protestant missionaries should engage with Roman Catholics in the context of global missions. They emphasize that missions is not just about generic belief in Jesus, but about faithfully co...
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28:30Episode 10Reaching Muslim Refugees With the Gospel
Episode 10
In this episode of The Missions Show, Alex and Scott speak with ABWE missionaries “Will and Beth McAuliffe” (pseudonyms) about their long journey toward serving among Arabic-speaking people.
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Demystifying the Order of Loves (Ordo Amoris)
Episode 9
In this episode, Alex and Scott unpack the historic Christian concept of the ordo amoris—the “order of loves”—and why it matters for missions today. Drawing from Alex’s new book Ordered to Love, they explore how Scripture and theologians like Augustine and Aquinas teach that our loves must be rig...
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What's Happening in Iran? Protests, Crisis, and the Church
Episode 8
In this episode, Scott Dunford talks with “Sam,” an ABWE missionary serving Persian and Iranian communities, about the crisis gripping Iran. Looking at ancient Persia's biblical roots, home of Daniel and Esther, to the 1979 Islamic Revolution that installed a Shiite theocracy, Iran’s story is bot...
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Theology of Generalizations and Discernment
Episode 7
How do we exercise discernment on the mission field? In this episode of The Missions Show, Alex and Scott examine common misunderstandings about global persecution and why discernment is essential when evaluating reports of suffering in the church.
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How to Develop Godly Grit With Kyle Farran
Episode 6
This week Alex and Scott are joined by ABWE missionary and Western Europe regional director Kyle Farran to explore what true, godly grit looks like in ministry. Rather than defining resilience by personality or overcoming high-pressure moments, they discuss grit as being formed through daily fait...
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Thailand: A Strategic Missions Hub With Benjamin Collins
Episode 5
In this episode of The Missions Show, Alex sits down with ABWE missionary Benjamin Collins to discuss gospel work in Thailand, a nation with long-standing missionary access yet less than one percent Christian. Ben shares about his role supporting church planters across the country and explains wh...
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Why the Puritans Matter to Modern Missions With Stephen Yuille
Episode 4
What can the Puritans teach us about missions? This week, Alex is joined by Stephen Yuille, director of Puritan Publishing at Reformation Heritage Books, to explore who the Puritans really were and why they still matter for missions today. Yuille challenges common cultural caricatures of Puritani...