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...

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 ...

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 a...

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...

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 w...

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 ...

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 pa...

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 individ...

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 aro...

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 chu...

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 cam...

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 mini...

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 practic...

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...

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 b...

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 thi...

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, ...

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-ti...

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 Kathry...

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 co...

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 d...

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...

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 s...

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 Chur...

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...

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 pos...

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 Partn...

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 in...

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 u...

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 shar...

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 Lisandr...

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 missiona...

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.