Category: . . . World Missions
How A Church, and a Believer, Starts and Stays
You might find this surprising, but the greetings that begin Ephesians help us to think about the birth of the church in Ephesus, about church planting today, and even about our individual conversions. Here are those verses: “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will...
God’s Wisdom in the Martyrdom of Even Young, Eager, Flourishing Believers
If you read a biography about John and Betty Stam, you will be impressed with their enthusiasm for Christ before they were ever on the mission field (serving with China Inland Mission ). They met at a CIM prayer meeting while students at Moody Bible Institute...
Because Christ is Building His Church…
Jesus Christ promised, “I will build my church” (Mt 16:18), and the growth of the church throughout history, all over the world, proves that he is keeping his word. If we’re not mindful of the reality of Christ building his church, then we’re missing the most...
Inspiration from a Bible Translator Whose Work Was Offensive
Have you read a good biography or autobiography lately? If not, there are good reasons why you should. Bible teacher and author John Piper testifies: When you are surrounded by a society of emotionally fragile quitters, and when you see a good bit of this ethos...
Missionary Zeal and Ability: It Takes Both
While reading a modern missionary’s book, I’m struck again with the phenomenon that so many become missionaries with a dangerously low level of insight into Scripture coupled with extraordinary romantic zeal. A handful of verses guide them, about which most have little true understanding. Their experience...
Two Surprises from Ministry Travels Outside of the USA
The first trip I took for ministry outside of the United States was to the Philippines. On the plane ride from Tokyo to Manila, we skirted a typhoon. The plane was shaking so violently at times that people would occasionally screech and even grab the person...
The Lord’s Power in Kingdom Advance: So What?
God’s kingdom advances because he is powerful. When the gospel came to Philippi (Acts 16:11-40), this was true in multiple ways. First, in Lydia’s conversion, “the Lord opened her heart” to believe (16:14). Second, the Lord overcame an onslaught of persecution. For many days, a demon-possessed...
When the Money Runs Out: Six Lessons from John Stam
Financial stress is to the mind as nausea is to the stomach—uncomfortable and impossible to ignore. If you are a Christian, it can be even worse because you know that you’re supposed to trust God, and yet you instinctively worry, “What am I going to do?”...
Do Our Prayers for Missionaries Really Matter?
A man once spent twenty minutes and twenty seconds of his life one day looking at two different emails. The first email was from a local store that shared all of its weekly deals. He studied it in detail, not only hoping to find a great...
The Benefits of Having Missionaries Visit Our Churches
When missionaries visit our churches, we should encourage and care for them (see 3 John 5-8), but how does the church profit from the presence of missionaries? Consider three tremendous benefits: 1. Missionaries remind us that Christ is building His church from “every tribe and tongue...
