The Missions Show

Are short-term missions trips more helpful or hurtful? In this episode of The Missions Show, Alex and Scott welcome Scott McCoy, Launch Point 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 missions remain valuable when they are thoughtfully designed around the needs of missionaries, local believers, and participating churches. The conversation explores common pitfalls churches should avoid, including cultural insensitivity and creating ministry models that local believers cannot sustain. McCoy emphasizes the importance of partnering closely with missionaries, preparing teams well, and viewing mission trips as discipleship opportunities that develop future ministry leaders and missionaries. Key Topics The ongoing debate over the value and effectiveness of short-term mission trips How churches can design trips that create lasting impact for missionaries and local believers Common mistakes teams make when serving cross-culturally Using short-term missions as a tool for discipleship and leadership development Why short-term trips often become a stepping stone toward long-term missionary service Is your church considering a short-term missions trip? Check out Launch Point Missions to find current opportunities and connect with our team on how you can host your own trip. Explore your calling to global missions at ABWE's 24-Hour DEMO event. These events, held throughout the year, help individuals and churches explore how they can help fulfill the Great Commission and explore God's calling on their life and church. Learn more at demo.abwe.org. Do you love The Missions Show? Have you been blessed by the show? Then become a Premium Subscriber! Premium Subscribers get access to: Exclusive bonus content A community Signal thread with other listeners and the hosts Invite-only webinars A free gift! Support The Missions Show and sign up to be a Premium Subscriber at missionsshow.com/premium The Missions Show is powered by ABWE. Learn more and take your next step in the Great Commission at abwe.org. Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email alex@missionsshow.com.

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 faithfulness, perseverance in the mundane, and steady trust in the Lord. Farran shares insights from Scripture and decades of missionary experience to show that spiritual grit is earned over time, not summoned on demand. This conversation challenges pastors, missionaries, and ministry leaders to embrace hard things with confidence rooted in who God is, not merely in understanding His plans. Key Topics The difference between worldly grit and biblical resilience Why daily faithfulness matters more than dramatic moments Trusting God’s character in seasons of uncertainty How adversity forms long-term ministry endurance Balancing courage, character, and consistency in leadership Find more from Kyle Farran by visiting kylefarran.com. You can pre-order his new book, "Godly Grit: Unshakable Resilience and Grit for Life and Leadership" on Amazon. Do you love The Missions Show? Have you been blessed by the show? Then become a Premium Subscriber! Premium Subscribers get access to: Exclusive bonus content A community Signal thread with other listeners and the hosts Invite-only webinars A free gift! Support The Missions Show and sign up to be a Premium Subscriber at missionsshow.com/premium The Missions Show is powered by ABWE. Learn more and take your next step in the Great Commission at abwe.org. Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email alex@missionsshow.com.

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 Puritanism, explaining that the Puritans were not merely dour moralists but a vibrant movement of pastors and theologians marked by a deep, heartfelt devotion to Christ that went beyond intellectual assent. The conversation traces how this Christ-centered theology fueled a genuine evangelistic and missionary impulse. Although the Puritans lived before what we now call “modern missions,” they were deeply concerned with the spread of the gospel, both within nominally Christian societies and among unreached peoples as the world began to open through exploration. Key Topics Covered Who the Puritans were—and why modern stereotypes about them are misleading The relationship between Reformation theology and evangelistic zeal How Puritan theology influenced William Carey and later global missions The centrality of Christ’s glory as the motivation for missions Want more content from The Missions Show? Become a premium subscriber and get access to the Overtime segment where Alex and Stephen Yuille discuss what the Puritans can teach us about how to deal with weariness and fear in ministry. Sign up at missionsshow.com/premium. Do you love The Missions Show? Have you been blessed by the show? Then become a Premium Subscriber! Premium Subscribers get access to: Exclusive bonus content A community Signal thread with other listeners and the hosts Invite-only webinars A free gift! Support The Missions Show and sign up to be a Premium Subscriber at missionsshow.com/premium The Missions Show is powered by ABWE. Learn more and take your next step in the Great Commission at abwe.org. Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email alex@missionsshow.com.

Do you believe miracles can still happen? In this episode of The Missions Show, Scott is joined by Dr. Darren Carlson—pastor, author, and founder of Training Leaders International—to discuss the ongoing work of God as revealed in the book of Acts and experienced around the world today. Drawing from Carlson’s new book, Witness: Missional Devotions from the Book of Acts, the conversation explores whether Acts should be viewed merely as a historical account or as an invitation to expect God’s continued unusual activity through the church. Scott and Darren wrestle honestly with the tension between miracles and the “grind” of everyday ministry. Through global mission stories, pastoral experiences, and personal encounters, Carlson emphasizes that God is actively at work—often beyond our narrow expectations. By telling true stories of God’s work, the church is strengthened, believers are made glad, and hope is restored even amid suffering, persecution, and apparent setbacks. Key Topics The book of Acts as a model for ongoing Christian mission, not just past history Balancing expectation for miracles with ordinary faithfulness in daily life Discernment amid exaggerated or false miracle claims Forced migration and persecution as catalysts for mission in Acts Storytelling as a means of encouraging believers and strengthening faith Do you love The Missions Show? Have you been blessed by the show? Then become a Premium Subscriber! Premium Subscribers get access to: Exclusive bonus content A community Signal thread with other listeners and the hosts Invite-only webinars A free gift! Support The Missions Show and sign up to be a Premium Subscriber at missionsshow.com/premium The Missions Show is powered by ABWE. Learn more and take your next step in the Great Commission at abwe.org. Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email alex@missionsshow.com.

In this week's episode, Alex and Scott welcome pastor Aaron Menikoff (Atlanta, USA) and pastor Harshit Singh (Lucknow, India) to discuss how evangelism and missions function through the local church, particularly in the Indian context. Drawing from their book Prioritizing Missions in the Church, Menikoff and Singh argue that missions should not be treated as a side program but as an outflow of ordinary, faithful church life. They emphasize that preaching, prayer, discipleship, and the ordinances—when practiced consistently—form the foundation through which God raises up and sends missionaries to the nations. The conversation highlights how this church-centered approach applies across cultures, including settings with limited resources and growing opposition to Christianity. Key Topics Missions as the beating heart of the local church, not a side program The role of ordinary means of grace (preaching, prayer, ordinances) in global missions A biblical definition of missions as crossing cultural, linguistic, and geographic barriers Practical ways churches can embed missions into regular church life Discipleship and long-term theological training for future missionaries Do you love The Missions Show? Have you been blessed by the show? Then become a Premium Subscriber! Premium Subscribers get access to: Exclusive bonus content A community Signal thread with other listeners and the hosts Invite-only webinars A free gift! Support The Missions Show and sign up to be a Premium Subscriber at missionsshow.com/premium The Missions Show is powered by ABWE. Learn more and take your next step in the Great Commission at abwe.org. Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email alex@missionsshow.com.