Go: A Great Commission Podcast

On October 7th, violence erupted in Israel with the brutal killing of nearly 1,400 by Hamas - the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. With this horrific attack, the intractable cycle of war in the region was renewed with an intensity and ferocity rarely seen. Unlike previous conflicts in the Middle East, this one seems to have an even more visceral quality - images of the slaughter beamed instantaneously into our hands through news and social media.

Even for Christians here in the U.S., we rarely consider how this crisis is affect fellow believers in the Middle East. What does this war mean for the thousands of followers of Jesus who live in both Israel and Arab lands? And, what does the fighting mean for the advancement of the Gospel considering the danger this could ignite the entire region?

Today we're grateful to speak with Brian Newman and Ashraf A. who lead the peacemaking ministry Issac-Ishmael Initiative. Brian, who comes from a Jewish background, and Ashraf, who grew up in a Muslim community, offer a unique perspective on how this crisis might affect Christians who call the Holy Lands home.

For more information on Isaac-Ishmael Initiative, check out their website at: https://www.isaac-ishmael.us/.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at https://www.findliberty.net/.

In previous conversations on cultural values, we heard some great insight from some of missions partners about how the values and priorities of particular cultures influence the ways missionaries communicate the Gospel. We’re looking forward to today to bring another voice to round out some of this concept for us.

Andy and Lorna Gilbert serve with the missions organzation, ReachGlobal, which is the missions sending arm of our church’s denomination, the Evangelical Free Church of America. They dedicated over 20 years of ministry in Japan serving as church planters and in entrepreneurial outreach, and they are currently serving stateside in ReachGlobal’s member care division as pastors to missionaries.

For more information on Andy & Lorna's mission, ReachGlobal, check out their website at: https://reachglobal.ministries.efca.org/

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

Welcome to a special stand-alone episode of the Go! Podcast. Every year, our church, Liberty Bible Church, sends out multiple teams both domestically and internationally to partner with established partners in their ministries. We have found that when done well, these short-term teams are incredible God-opportunities to see transformation in the lives of participants and partners alike. 

This year, we have or will be sending 6 different teams to serve, and one of those recently returned and included our very own Cami Santner. Today we'll hear from her about her experience serving with this short-term team in Costa Rica.

In our last episode, we began our journey of surveying the landscape of culture giving us some useful background on how we might understand this dizzyingly complex topic. And, today we wanted to focus a bit more onto some of the specific ways that these culture values manifest themselves and their impact on Gospel communication.

Today we'll be speaking with George & Marcy Romeos. George & Marcy are long-time missions partners of our church having served for over 30 years in Greece with the missions organization AMG International. Today they serve in numerous ministries in the country including church planting, sports ministry, and refugee outreach.

Hofstede's 6 Dimensions of Culture: https://hi.hofstede-insights.com/national-culture

Check out George & Marcy's missions organization, AMG International at https://www.amginternational.org/

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

Often when we think of culture, the more external aspects come to mind - music, art, types of clothing, life rituals, and the like. But, what frequently goes unnoticed are the more fundamental nuances of culture - the values, priorities, and stories that radically influence the way a group of people see and interact with the world. What are some of those subtle cultural traits and how do they affect the ways missionaries communicate the Gospel?

Today we'll be speaking with Matt Henning. Matt works in ministry in the Chicagoland region and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Intercultural Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. In addition to his studies, he brings a wealth of experience in understanding culture having lived and served many years overseas. 

Resources:

Hofstede's 6 Dimensions of Culture: https://hi.hofstede-insights.com/national-culture

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

Today we're pleased to bring you a special, stand-alone episode of Go! A few months ago, we interviewed a missionary couple about their experiences raising children on the mission field. In this episode, we'll explore the other side of that story - the life of a child growing up in a missionary home.

We're excited to be interviewing today Tiffany Romeos. She is the daughter of George and Marcy Romeos, who are full-time Christian workers in Greece and are long-term partners of Liberty. Having spent most of her life living in Greece, Tiffany is currently studying here in the US to get her doctorate in a Physical Therapy.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

Latest statistics in the US show that there are 26 physicians per 10,000 people in our country. Looking at places like West Africa, this number is dreadfully lower - in the country of Togo, for example, that number is around 1 doctor per 10,000 people. With that kind of disparity, it’s obvious that medicine and healthcare are a critical human need in places like West Africa. Where does Christian missions fit into that story?

Today we're continuing the conversation by speaking to one of our partners serving in the medical field in Africa. We'll be speaking again with Caroline Klingbeil. Caroline is a missions partner of Liberty who serves as a nurse at the Hospital of Hope in Togo.

For information about the Hospital of Hope, visit their website at: www.abwe.org/hospital-hope.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

Throughout the 2,000 years of church history, Christians on mission have witnessed to God's love through both words and deeds. The early church was renown for its care of the sick, disabled, and elderly - so much so that its sacrificial care of the needy was a critical factor in its rapid spread. Likewise, during the great era of western missionary zeal of the 19th/20th centuries, Christian workers established hospitals and clinics around the world. Care for the physical well-being of individuals and communities has always gone hand-in-hand with the verbal proclamation of the Gospel.

Today we begin a new series that looks at the ministry of medical missions. We want to explore how these ministries of compassion contribute to the overall advance of the Kingdom around the world. In this episode, we're speaking with Jenny Coon who serves as a physical therapist in a church-based compassion ministry in Beirut, Lebanon. She works mainly among Syrian refugees in an under-privileged community of the city.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

We’re excited to share with you today a special episode of the Go Podcast! Today we’ll be hearing about a wonderful ministry our church is partnering with this year as part of our annual Thanksgiving Offering. Liberty Bible Church’s Thanksgiving Offering is a special call to giving that our church makes each year for a particular missions project in either our local community or globally. Each year, the Thanksgiving Offering raises substantial resources that help fund the Great Commission around the world.

We are pleased to announce that this year’s Offering will go towards the Hospital of Hope in Togo, West Africa. The Hospital of Hope is an evangelical ministry providing medical care to thousands of people in the predominantly Muslim region of northern Togo. Funds raised for this project will go towards construction of an expanded maternity ward for the hospital. And, today we get to speak with one of our missionaries who serves at the Hospital of Hope who we share more about this project.

For information about the Hospital of Hope, visit their website at: www.abwe.org/hospital-hope.

If you would like to contribute to this year's Thanksgiving Offering, you can do so online at: www.findliberty.net/give.

We’re continuing our series today entitled “The Nations Next Door” where we’ve been exploring how God is bringing people from every nation to our backyards. Last week we heard from Matt who shared with us the opportunities for the Gospel presented by the increasing presence of international students on US college campuses. Today we’ll be hearing about a very practical way that the local church can engage with these international students.

Friendship Families is a ministry supported by our church that seeks to connect American families with international students currently studying at local universities. Through these connections, we desire to be a welcoming blessing to these students in the hope that it opens opportunities for sharing the Gospel.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

We’re continuing our series today entitled “The Nations Next Door” where we’ve been exploring how God is bring people from every nation to our backyards. This phenomenon has opened amazing doors for the advance of the Gospel among all people such that we have never seen before.

Today we’ll be speaking with someone who works in one of the most common spaces welcoming the world to us - our college and university campus. During the 2019-2020 academic school year, international students on US campuses numbered over 1 million. This population represents an incredible opportunity for the Gospel.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

This week we begin a new series that we're calling "The Nations Next Door." Over the next four episodes, we'll be looking at how significant numbers of people from unreached areas are increasingly emigrating to the United States. This phenomenon has opened up unprecedented doors for the local to church to have an impact for reaching the lost. 

To start our conversation, we'll be speaking with Kirk Reynolds. Kirk serves as Associate Director with The Navigators in their Nations Within ministry. Nations Within seeks to minister to people and groups in the United States who's cultural or ethnic identity are different from the majority cultural. 

For more information on The Navigators in their Nations Within ministry, visit their website at: www.navigators.org/mission/navigators-nations-within/

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

In this week's episode, we learn more about another Liberty short-term trip sent out by the church this summer. In July, we sent a team to minister to long-time missionaries in rural Alaska, who for decades have utilized radio to reach the widely dispersed population of the region with the Gospel.

Tragedy struck this family last year, when the husband suddenly past away leaving behind his wife and three adult children. Liberty was lead to send a team to come alongside this family with practical help as well as to invest in our on-going partnership with the radio ministry. Today we'll hear from two participants in this trip: Mark Wilson and Tris Hinkley. They'll share more about some of the work they did and the incredible encouragement it was supporting that family and community.

To learn more about the gospel radio ministry in Alaska, KCAM, visit their website at www.kcam.org.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

Liberty Bible Church has partnered for many years with a ministry supporting national church planters in Romania. This partnership has included several short-term teams sent to work alongside these missionaries. With the easing of COVID restrictions, Liberty sought to renew that partnership this summer with another team from our church.

February 24th changed all of those plans. That's the day that Russia invaded neighbor Ukraine sending millions of refugees across its borders to countries like Romania. In response to that crisis, Liberty's team refocused their short-term trip to work instead with families displaced by the war. This included traveling to work with partners in southwestern Ukraine.

Today we'll hear from the leader of that trip, Cornel Stef. Cornel is the president of Partners in Evangelism International, the partner organization working with our Liberty team. He is joined by one of the team participants, David Beckwith. They'll share their stories of what ended up being a powerful and impactful experience.

For more information on Cornel's organization, Partners in Evangelism International, visit their website atwww.piei.org.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

In this episode, we continue our 4-week series on short-term missions and their impact on the local church. Today we're looking at a ministry that's near and dear to the heart of our church: the ministry of Joni & Friends. This organization was founded by author, Joni Eareckson Tada, to "accelerate Christian ministry in the disability community." Every year they run retreat camps that offer special needs families opportunities for spiritual and emotional renewal.

Liberty Bible Church has been sending short-term teams to these camps for a number of years. Every team that we send comes back transformed by the power of serving in an inclusive, loving environment. Today we get the privilege of speaking with two individuals who served on this year's Joni & Friends team: Bethany Thomas and Misty Spanburg.

For more information about the ministry of Joni & Friends, visit their website at www.joniandfriends.org.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

No other innovation in global missions has impacted the church more in the last 50 years than the trend of short-term trips. Each year churches in the US send out more than 2 million individuals on such trips both international and domestic. For all it's benefits and pitfalls, one thing is certain - this type of ministry will remain significant for some time.

Today we're beginning a new series that looks at these short-term missions trips. Our first episode will set the stage by exploring this concept - What makes an effective trip? What are the model's advantages? What are the dangers? We'll be speaking with Steven Ose, who facilitates short-term missions teams with the organization, Cru.

For information on Cru, you can visit their website at: www.cru.org.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

The missionary life is rarely a solo endeavor. The calling to serve Christ cross-culturally is a whole-family commitment. But, we often don't think about the role our children have in the mission and the affect that this lifestyle has on parenting. Today we'll be looking to this side of missionary life.

Our guests today are Jeff & Ingrid Cagwin, partners of Liberty Bible Church, who serve as pastors-to-missionaries with ReachGlobal. They live with their four children, Hanna, Peter, Elli, and Juila, in Kandern, Germany.

For more information on the Cagwin's sending mission, ReachGlobal, check out their website at: https://reachglobal.ministries.efca.org.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

Over the past several weeks we have been sharing with you stories and testimonies that have illuminated various aspects of the missionary life. We’ve looked at the ways God calls and prepares those He sends into the mission field as well as the loved ones who stay behind in support. This week we come to the nitty gritty of missionary service – after all of the preparation, what does a cross-cultural worker actually do.

Today we have the privilege of speaking with Tom McLennan. Tom is a long-time cross-cultural missionary with the organization Entrust. For over six and half years he served in outreach and evangelism in Russia and most recently has worked in training and resourcing based here in the U.S. He brings a wealth of experience in cross-cultural ministry to the table.

To learn more about Tom's organization, Entrust, visit their website at www.entrust4.org.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

When we talk about individuals answering the call to serve cross-culturally, rarely do we think about the extended networks of friends and family they leave behind and the joys and challenges they carry of supporting a missionary from afar. So, today we’re going to looking into that side of the missionary experience – the side of the home front, the family letting go, sending their loved one into the world to serve Christ.

We're talking today with Dave and Ruth. They are the parents of Kathryn, who serves as a cross-cultural missionary in Central Asia. We had the privilege of interviewing Kathryn earlier in episode 7. In our episode today, her parents will give us insight into what it's like supporting a family in missions.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

We’re continuing our series on the missionary experience. Today we’re going to look into one of the less glamorous aspects of missionary life - raising support. For many people the support raising process is extremely intimidating. Often it proves to be an obstacle for many in considering a life in cross-culturally ministry. But, what is actually involved in the process? What are its joys and challenges? And, most importantly, how does raising support contribute to growing in our trust and confidence in God?

Today we're talking with Jon Christensen who serves as the National Director for Ministry Advancement with Youth For Christ. Jon brings a wealth of experience in support raising both in his own ministry and through coach and mentoring others.

For information on Youth For Christ, you can visit their website at: yfc.net.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

Today we begin a new series which we’re calling “The Missionary Experience”. Over the next 6 weeks, we will explore the various facets of what it’s like being a cross-cultural missionary – from ministering overseas to support raising to having a family, we’ll get insight from various guests on the ins and outs of missionary life. In this week’s episode, we’ll be looking at the ways God calls people into missionary service. 

Is the missionary calling biblical? What does it look like? How does one go about discerning that call in their own life. In this episode we'll hear from Greg Carter, who is the former missions pastor at Liberty Bible Church. He'll share share some of his experience surrounding these questions and much more!

From today's episode:

Check out Greg's book, Skills, Knowledge, Character: A Church-Based Approach to Missionary Candidate Preparation on Amazon.com. 

Read Greg's recommendation, The Missionary Call: Finding Your Place in God's Plan for the World on Amazon.com.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

We wrap up our series on stories from the recent resettlement of Afghan refugees into our community of Northwest Indiana. Today we're speaking with Tonia Frederick. She is the program director at Compass International Family Center, which is a Christian, non-profit organization here in Valparaiso, Indiana. They seek to warmly welcome immigrants, refugees, and international students in our community by providing language support, education, and cultural training that help these families adjust to life in a foreign culture. This ministry has been crucial in providing integrative services to many of these Afghan families and individuals as they've made new homes in our area. She shares some of their experience in welcoming and coming alongside them in their process of adjusting to life in the United States.

For more information about Tonia's organization, Compass International Family Center, visit their website at https://compassifc.org.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

One of the key ways that the local church engaged with Afghan families resettled into our community is through providing short-term housing. Several host families opened up their homes to become not only a place to stay but a people of love and welcome to these Afghan refugees. This week we have the honor of hearing from one of those families.

Micah & Karna Driscoll were deeply moved by the images of evacuees fleeing Afghanistan and coming to the US. They knew that they wanted to help in some way. When our church began working with the resettlement process, they quickly volunteered their family to host and care for one of these individuals. They share their story of getting to know Salim as they came alongside him in his transition to the US.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

We continue our series today on the stories surrounding the evacuation and resettlement of Afghan refugees following the US withdraw from Afghanistan last summer. Today we're honored to share the mic with Aziz Sadat, one of those individuals who fled his country in the wake of the Taliban takeover. We'll hear his firsthand account of him and his family leaving Afghanistan, relocating to the US and being settled in our community of Northwest Indiana.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net

Today we begin a new series that explores the stories surrounding the recent resettlement of Afghan refugees into our community of Northwest Indiana. Following the withdraw of US forms from Afghanistan last summer, hundreds of thousands of individuals and families fled the country fearing reprisals by the resurgent Taliban. At that time, the US government committed to helping these refugees escape the violence and resettle here in the United States. In partnership with NGOs, local communities and churches, these families were integrated into areas around the country.

In this episode we're speaking with the leader of one of those local organizations, Tony Burrell. He is the founder and Executive Director of The Welcome Network, an evangelical non-profit organization in Northwest Indiana that assists in the resettlement of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. He'll give us some background into the crisis and how our local community responded to this challenge.

For more information about Tony's organization, The Welcome Network, visit their website at www.thewelcomenet.org.

Also check out this amazing video from The Welcome Network that describes some of their ministry: "Come To The Table" video.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net

Modern technology has opened unprecedented opportunities while at the same time created once-unthinkable perils. Nowhere is this dynamic felt more than with the social media revolution. The effects of hyper-connectivity on the mental, emotional, and relational health of people is only recently being fully explored. But, one thing is for sure: the ubiquitous presence of digital media is not going away.

In spite of its indisputably negative impacts, digital media has also created amazing new possibilities for the Gospel. In particular, the use of digital platforms has granted deeper access to traditionally restricted or closed regions in the Muslim world. Today we are speaking with Andrew* who leads a team developing digital outreach into the Middle East and North Africa for a well-known missions organization. He gives us some amazing testimony of the ways God is leveraging the digital revolution for His Kingdom.

*Andrew's ministry operates in several restricted-access countries in the region. Therefore, we have chosen to withhold his full name and organization. If you attend Liberty Bible Church, you can learn more about Andrew and his ministry through our church's Missions Directory.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net

By most accounts, the church in the Middle East is growing at a rate not seen for generations. Reports continue to  come out of nearly every country in the region describing how the church is multiplying. With this growth comes an increasing need for relevant training and theological education for emerging leaders. That's where the ministry of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ABTS) in Beirut, Lebanon comes in.

Our guest today is Loulwa El Maalouf who serves as the Director of Partnerships for ABTS. She shares with us some of the specific ways ABTS is equipping these leaders and the impact that this training is having throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

ABTS is a part of a broader evangelical organization called the Lebanese Society for Educational and Social Development (LSESD) which is a partner organization of Liberty Bible Church. For more information on ABTS, visit their website at www.abtslebanon.org.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net

We begin a new series this week entitled "The Gospel and the Muslim World," in which we'll explore the ways the Gospel is moving within the regions and communities that are majority Muslim. Islam accounts for over 1.8 billion people in our world and represents a vast diversity of cultures and geographic areas. Needless to say, understanding this incredibly complex world is daunting. In order to learn more about how God is working among Muslims we'll turn to individuals who work in and have intimate knowledge of these regions.

Today we're speaking with Ashraf* who serves with the peacemaking organization, Isaac-Ishmael Initiative. Ashraf grew up in a Muslim community and family in the Middle East and came to faith in Jesus as a young adult. He shares with us about his spiritual journey and the insight it gives into how Muslims perceive and understand Christians and Christianity.

*Ashraf continues to minister in several restricted-access countries in the region. Therefore, we have chosen to withhold his full name and country of origin. If you attend Liberty Bible Church, you can learn more about Ashraf and his ministry through our church's Missions Directory.

If you want to learn more about Ashraf's organization the Isaac-Ishmael Initiative, visit their website at www.isaac-ishmael.us.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net

We wrap up our series on disciple making in everyday life this week with our guest Phil Alessi. Phil serves on a catalyze team with the missions organization Novo, which seeks to equip and encourage disciple making movements around the world. Phil has an extensive background in ministry having served as a pastor, church planter, and denominational staff leader. He brings a tremendous amount of experience into how Jesus's model of disciple making is lived out in life and ministry. Phil gives us some great insight into this pattern and, in particular, how God uses people of peace to open doors for the Gospel to multiply within existing communities and networks.

For more information about Phils's organization Novo, visit their website at www.novo.org.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net 

There are 151,000 sports clubs in the UK, with each club having an average of 141 adult members. Culturally, sports is one of the most common forms of community involvement around the world. Few activities offer the kind of relational open doors for the Gospel than sport. Today we welcome Eric Duey to our conversation about Disciple Making in Everyday Life. Eric serves as a missionary in London, England with Greater Europe Mission where he works in church planting and sports ministry. He shares with us his experiences of ministry within the rugby community in the UK.

For more information on Eric's organization, Greater Europe Mission, visit www.gemission.org.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net 

In the second installment of this series, we talk with Lisandro Montenegro, who serves as the Costa Rican Team Leader for the missions organization Singular. Lisandro shares his experience in mobilizing individuals from Latin America to serve in disciple making ministry across the region. He has wonderful insight into Jesus's pattern of discipleship and how they  live that out in a Latin American context. It is truly an invitation for everyone to follow!

For more information about Lisandro's organization Singular, visit their website at www.singular.org

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net 

We're beginning a new series entitled Disciple Making in Everyday Life where we'll be hearing from missionaries and missions partners who walk out Jesus's vision of making disciples through the every day stuff of life. Joining us for our first episode in this series is Michele Montenegro who is a cross-cultural missionary in Costa Rica with the Latin American missions organization, Singular. She shares her personal experience of how she has integrated her calling of discipleship as a missionary, a leader, a wife, and a mom.

For more information about Michele's organization Singular, visit their website at www.singular.org

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net 

Go aspires to engage the local church in global missions. We seek to share missions stories that encourage, edify, and equip other Christians in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Join us every Wednesday for new episodes.