How You Can Encourage Students to Use Their Vocations for Cross-Cultural Ministry
Students have been a driving force in modern missions. Christian institutions of higher education can promote their student’s engagement in cross-cultural ministry by instilling a vision of their vocation as an opportunity to fulfill the Great Commission, preparing graduates to advance God’s kingdom worldwide through their careers.
Revelation, Authority, and Worldviews in the Global South
What happens when Scripture is affirmed but not treated as the final and sufficient authority? In the Global South, rationalism, animism, mysticism, and religious tradition undermine God’s revelation and authority. The solution is a commitment to theological training, expository preaching, and sola Scriptura.
From Franco to Feminism: Challenges to Spanish Evangelicals for a Biblical View of Gender and Ministry (pt. 2)
Paul’s instructions in 1 Timothy 2:9–15 are rooted in God’s creation order rather than cultural chauvinism. They apply universally to the church in all times and places. Videira-Soengas urges the Spanish church to affirm Scripture’s design for distinct yet complementary roles for men and women in ministry.
From Franco to Feminism: Challenges to Spanish Evangelicals for a Biblical View of Gender and Ministry (pt. 1)
Where did feminism in the church in Spain come from? Spanish feminism first took shape in opposition to Franco’s patriarchal regime, and its modern popular form pressures Spanish evangelicals to adopt unbiblical views on women in ministry. But however the cultural pushes against God’s design, the church must hold firmly to God’s truth.
Misiones Bíblicas: The Urgent Need for a Sound Theology of Missions in Ibero-America
In this interview, we asked Sergio about the need for a Spanish version of Biblical Missions. Sergio provided lucid insights into the needs of the church in the Spanish-speaking world and how the new Misiones bíblicas will meet an urgent need in the churches of Latin America and Spain.
Principles for Faithful Ministry: Persevere in Preaching
In the initial years of the early church, Paul and Barnabas were two of the greatest examples of faithful missionaries. Acts 14:1–7 reveals the way these two persevered in preaching, despite the opposition they faced. Contemporary missionaries and pastors need to be reminded of the missions approach they took.
Examples of Successful Short-Term Ministries, According to Receiving Churches
The purpose of this article is to offer churches, organizations, and individuals a model to replicate the early church’s practice today. Short-Term Ministry trips (STMs) can serve as effective tools for the carrying out of the Church’s mission.
The Future of Evangelical Missions in the Face of Ecumenical Compromise
Many leaders in modern missions have ceded theological ground to ecumenical dialogue. Ecumenism and ecumenical dialogue are typically inter-religious (or inter-faith) and cross-denominational alliances based upon a high value of perceived community around activism and a lowest-common denominator of doctrinal clarity. These alliances can either be formal (e.g., signed agreements between diverse parties) or informal (e.g., ministry-based relationships for common causes). Often there is a general agreement to the “basics” of the Christian faith, such as The Apostle's Creed, and anything more specific is considered peripheral, distracting to Christ's mission, or even divisive and harmful to church unity.
Biblical Missions and Baptism: What Baptism Is, Part 2
Jesus’s Great Commission centers upon making disciples of all peoples, which means baptizing new disciples from those peoples and teaching them to obey all that Jesus has commanded. Given the fundamental role of baptism in the Great Commission, whatever role that missionaries or missionary support personnel may carry out in the church’s Great Commission obedience—church planter, theological educator, Bible translator, aviator, etc.—they must thoroughly understand biblical teaching on baptism.
Biblical Missions and Baptism: What Baptism Is Not, Part 1
This two-article series anchors missions firmly in Scripture in order to deal rightly with the crucial topic of baptism. The scriptural anchor for missions must hold fast amidst a storm of conflicting denominational doctrines, missionary organization policies, and pragmatic considerations. Confusion and discord among new churches on the mission field is the inevitable result of paying primary attention to powerful but quite-fallible influences such as these rather than the Bible. Thus, this first article attempts to dispel confusion by applying the infallible Word of God, interpreted accurately, to baptism. Baptism is a fundamental element of the Great Commission: not the sign of the new covenant, but a sign of faith in Christ. With this crucial biblical foundation in place, the second article will then develop a practical biblical theology of baptism to put into action as the church obeys Jesus’s Great Commission.
Serious Pre-field Training for the Unreached
The last unreached language groups aren’t random — they’re the hardest to reach for a reason. Yet many churches still send people into those regions without the serious, specialized training the task demands. The church must raise its standards—vetting, equipping, and preparing its sent ones for the unique realities of planting churches among the world’s most resistant peoples. The stakes are too high for anything less.
Risk Assessment: Trends Within Evangelical Missions, Part 2
This is the second in our two-part series examining some of the recent concerning shifts in evangelical missions philosophy and practice. In Part 1, we explored how liberal and Arminian influences have gradually eroded biblical foundations in missions and we examined two alarming trends: the liberalization of international theological education and what might be called hyper-contextualization. Now we continue our assessment with two additional trends and provide practical guidance for pastors and churches seeking to protect biblical integrity in their missions programs.
Risk Assessment: Trends Within Evangelical Missions, Part 1
This article is the first in a two-part series examining some of the recent concerning shifts in evangelical missions philosophy and practice. In this article (Part 1), we explore how liberal and Arminian influences have gradually eroded biblical foundations in missions and examine two alarming trends that have resulted from these changes. The following article (Part 2) will address two additional trends and provide practical guidance for pastors and churches seeking to protect biblical integrity in their missions programs.
Lovingly Leading Your Churches, Agencies, and Missionaries Back to Biblical Missions
Seasoned missions mentor David Meade shares his perspective on what hinders biblical missions in sincere churches and missions organizations. He encourages them to return to the biblical paradigm of selecting, sending, and supporting workers who are equipped to glorify God among the nations.
Effective Strategies for Evangelizing Europeans
Despite deep religious heritage, decades of secularization have left many Europeans indifferent or hostile to faith. How can you reach them with the good news of Jesus Christ?