My husband and I have been serving in South Asia for almost 20 years. I am sharing an article that I wrote in our very first year on the field – 2006 – as I was experiencing culture stress and adjustment, and the Lord spoke to me in a powerful way that became a spiritual marker in my life.

Brian is a non-resident missionary (NRM) to Africa. Alongside his Zambian friend Iwell, Brian has seen over 50,000 baptisms in the past four years. I recently sat down with him to hear the story of what God has been doing.

In my 20 years of missions experience, I have read many books and engaged in my fair share of fiery discussions on the role of women in the home, church, and missions. This has been a hot topic for decades with a wide spectrum of beliefs even among Bible-believing Christians. But for me, it’s more than a controversial debate; how I and my leaders view the role of women has greatly influenced my Gospel work among the unreached. My ministry effectiveness has been greater due to leaders who value and support the unique contribution that women make in missions.

What followed was over a decade of labor built on the decades of others in prayer, patient relationship building, language and culture learning, painful setbacks, fierce opposition, and the slow work of catalytic discipleship. This journey would cost the lives of martyrs. It wasn’t glamorous. It wasn’t rapid. But it was the necessary groundwork for what God would later do.

A person who would actually state that they are a Christian said they weren’t ready to be a disciple. It was almost as if they were saying that being a disciple is different from being a Christian. It left me confused.

At this time in history, more people are on the move in the global diaspora than ever before. The recent changes to immigration funding and processes in America have caused many people to think deeply about the movement of people.

In recent years, however, two particular callings – Business as Mission (BAM) practitioners and Sent Ones focused on church planting – have often been conflated, leading to confusion, unrealistic expectations, and sometimes frustration. Let's bring clarity to these distinct but complementary roles in God's mission.

The need for data-informed approaches has never been more crucial in the complex and challenging landscape of modern missions. When adequately contextualized for cross-cultural missions, the plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycle offers apostolic teams a robust framework for continuous improvement and adaptive strategy.

Over the past decade of ministry, I’ve never met a pastor who lacks the desire for their congregation to function more like the early church we see in Scripture. This longing for a biblically functioning church is often the driving force behind establishing small group ministries.

The Gospel spreads like wildfire, igniting hearts and transforming communities. Church-planting movements embody this Spirit-led dynamism, bringing the Gospel rapidly and broadly to a generation. Yet the long-term health of these movements depends on something deeper: roots.

This post explores how sending churches and sending agencies complement church-planting movements, drawing lessons from Scripture and church history to envision a fruitful partnership between these vital expressions of God’s mission.