Relentless Pursuit Podcast

A Church That Sends Together...

When Dusty Thompson planted Redeemer Lubbock 17 years ago, the church made missions part of its DNA. In this episode of the podcast, Dusty explains how the church balances global and local outreach, the joy (and pain) of sending people to the nations and what churches should look for in people who are discerning God’s calling to the unreached.

‍Bonus Content: When one of the elders and his wife at Redeemer Lubbock befriended a couple from India, they had no idea how they would be invited into an important life event.

“Why do I need a sending church?” Our quick explainer video answers this question.

Pioneers’ Church Partnerships Team stands ready to help your church become more intentionally engaged with the unreached—through coaching, Church Partner Forums and the GreenHouse online resources.

Check out the book Dusty recommended at the end of the podcast: Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World, by Tom Holland.

Ready to take the next step, but not sure what it looks like? Schedule a call with our team at Pioneers.org/Start or chat today.

Have you enjoyed this season of the Relentless Pursuit Podcast? Be sure to give us a five-star rating and leave a review.

"Victory to Jesus!"

Elyse is a medical practitioner and runs a business in South Asia that employs vulnerable women. She also has some of the craziest stories we’ve heard on the podcast. This episode includes a miraculous healing, a glass of holy water and a talking Hindu shrine.

Bonus Story: After a women’s Bible study, the women head to the street, asking the Holy Spirit to lead them to people who are open to prayer and spiritual conversation. This leads to an encounter with a desperate woman that only God could orchestrate.

Check out our first conversation with Elyse in season 2 of the Relentless Pursuit podcast.

Hinduism in a nutshell, from Pioneers’ WorldViews curriculum.

Elyse recommends Eugene Peterson’s The Pastor.

Ready to take the next step, but not sure what it looks like? Schedule a call with our team at Pioneers.org/Start or chat today.

Have you enjoyed this season of the Relentless Pursuit Podcast? Be sure to give us a five-star rating and leave a review.

From Facebook to IRL

Drew and his family were forced to leave the country where they were serving in the Middle East. Taking a new role as pastor of an international church in a neighboring country, Drew wondered whether he was still on the cutting edge of what God was doing among the unreached. Then an unexpected DM popped up in the church’s Facebook inbox which led to an encounter with a spiritual seeker in real life (aka IRL).

Bonus Content: One day, Drew was invited to an unusual soccer match: Muslims versus Christians. Even more unusual were the stakes: If the Christians won, the Muslims had to hear a gospel presentation from Drew.

Like Drew and his family, many cross-cultural workers end up having to leave the places God initially called them. Although these situations can feel like the death of a dream, they can lead them to places of unexpected fruitfulness. Read four stories from displaced missionaries in Items May Have Shifted: When Missionaries Get Rerouted—free to read online and available in Kindle and paperback.

Pioneers Media connects spiritual seekers like Rashid with local believers who can help them take the next steps in finding Jesus.

Drew serves as VP of Church Partnerships at Pioneers. Find out how his team can help your church become more engaged with the Great Commission and check out the book he recommended: Pipeline: Engaging the Church in Missionary Mobilization.

Ready to take the next step, but not sure what it looks like? Schedule a call with our team at Pioneers.org/Start or chat today.

Are you enjoying this season of the Relentless Pursuit Podcast? Be sure to give us a five-star rating and leave a review.

Little Spreading Lights

Iceland is ranked #3 in the United Nations’ HDI (Human Development Index), behind Switzerland and Norway. In other words, from the standpoint of life expectancy, education and standard of living, it’s at the top of the pack. But is there more to the story? In this episode we talk to Elliot and Hildur, who are part of a multicultural church-planting ministry in Iceland. They share the unique challenges and opportunities of making disciples in “the land of fire and ice.”

**BONUS CONTENT** Elliot and American TCK (Third Culture Kid) and Hildur (a native Icelander) tell us the funny (if unpredictable) story of their meeting and marriage.

For more on ministry and opportunities in Europe, check out the story of Lindsey, who shares the gospel—and her passion for baking—with French seekers.

Elliot and Hildur dropped some recommendations at the end of the interview, including John Mark Comer’s Practicing the Way and Leah Roberts’ songs, which put the book of Philippians to music, aiding in memorization.

Ready to take the next step, but not sure what it looks like? Schedule a call with our team at Pioneers.org/Start, or chat today.Enjoying this season of the Relentless Pursuit Podcast? Be sure to give us a five-star rating and leave a review.

Bikes, Surfboards & Tents

There’s a lot of talk around the importance of “building relationships” when it comes to taking the gospel to unreached people and places. But what does that look like? For Chris, who leads a team in the UK focused on serving immigrants and refugees, building relationships is about sharing his interest in cycling, surfing, hiking, camping and all manner of outdoor activities.

**BONUS CONTENT** A messenger appears in a vision to an imam (a Muslim religious teacher) and tells him, “The Truth you’re seeking you will find in New York.” Soon after, the imam ran into Chris … in New York.

Chris isn’t the only one in Pioneers whose love of the outdoors has given him opportunities to share the gospel. Check out A Canyon, A Cathedral, our video documenting what happens when a group of Christians and Muslims hike 50 miles into a canyon.

Pioneers partners with International Project to provide internships for those preparing for long-term ministry among the unreached overseas.

Check out our article “What is Church Planting?” to find out more about the concept of “persons of peace.”

Ready to take the next step, but not sure what it looks like? Schedule a call with our team at Pioneers.org/Start, or chat today.

Enjoying this season of the Relentless Pursuit Podcast? Be sure to give us a five-star rating and leave a review.

Special Needs, Special Calling

Bonnie and her husband had been on the field for five years, and they were expecting their second child. When prenatal testing revealed her daughter would be born with Down syndrome, Bonnie’s theology was shaken. After all, she and her family had given their lives to missions. Why did this feel like a death sentence for their calling? Listen in to find out how God used their daughter’s diagnosis to transform their lives and ministry in Southeast Asia.

** BONUS Content ** Bonnie shares a story of how her experience as a mother of special needs children prepared her for an encounter with a local woman and built a bridge of understanding between them.

Bonnie wrote a chapter in the book Disability in Mission: The Church’s Hidden Treasure, a book that explores how God uses weakness to accomplish great things in His kingdom.

Check out Enabled, a Pioneers ministry that serves disabled people in South Asia. You can find out more about that team and even give to support ministry that seamlessly integrates gospel proclamation with meeting physical needs.

Also, we want to give a shout-out to Joni and Friends, an amazing ministry led by Joni Erickson Tada that brings practical help and gospel hope to people with disabilities around the world. Bonnie wrote an article on the story of how their daughter Anna was able to get a visa in their host country once she turned 18.

The book Bonnie recommends in this episode is In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership, by Henri Nouwen.

Ready to take the next step, but not sure what it looks like? Schedule a call with our team at Pioneers.org/Start or chat today.

Are you enjoying this season of the Relentless Pursuit Podcast? Be sure to give us a five-star rating and leave a review.

Not on Board

With only about 1,000 words, the Book of Jonah is one of the shortest books in the Bible. Its account of a wayward prophet chased down by a merciful God can seem outlandish to modern ears. In this episode of the podcast, we talk with Pioneers president Steve Richardson about how Jonah’s world wasn’t too far removed from ours and what his story teaches us about God’s love for the unreached.

**Bonus Content** Steve tells the story of how a mugging in Cape Town, South Africa, opened up an unexpected opportunity to share the gospel.

If you enjoyed this conversation with Steve, we encourage you to get a copy of his new book, Not on Board: Jonah’s Plunge Into God’s Plan. You can read the book for free at Pioneers.org/Books, but it’s also available in print and ebook formats on Amazon and Apple iBooks.

Also, check out Steve’s other book, Is the Commission Still Great: 8 Myths about Missions and What They Mean for the Church. Peace Child, by Steve’s father, Don Richardson, tells the story of the Sawis' encounter with the gospel.

During his interview, Steve mentioned several other books, including *Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout, by Cal Newport, and Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, by Oliver Burkeman.

Ready to take the next step, but not sure what it looks like? Schedule a call with our team at Pioneers.org/Start or chat today.

Are you enjoying this season of the Relentless Pursuit Podcast? Be sure to give us a five-star rating and leave a review.

Detained

Josh was detained by authorities in his host country, and he had no idea if and when he would be released. Josh shares his harrowing experience—and the unexpected lessons it taught him about the importance of Scripture memory. He’s back on the field now, and he’s also building a community of people who share his passion for memorizing the Bible.

**BONUS Content** When they left their host country, Josh and his family had no idea what would become of the community they had been discipling. That was until someone sent Josh a cryptic message, followed by a surprising photo.

When you’re forced to leave your host country, it can feel like the death of a dream. In our book Items May Have Shifted tells the stories of missionaries who unexpectedly changed course and how God brought them to new places of fruitfulness.

Find out more about Josh and his methods for Bible memorization on the Memorize What Matters podcast. His recommended apps for Scripture memory include Bible Memory App and Verse Locker.

Ready to take the next step, but not sure what it looks like? Schedule a call with our team at Pioneers.org/Start, or chat today.

Have you enjoyed this season of the Relentless Pursuit Podcast? Be sure to give us a five-star rating and leave a review.

Bonus Episode 2: Among Cannibals & Headhunters

What happens when the gospel first comes to an isolated tribe whose culture in which violence and treachery are considered virtues? In this bonus episode, produced by our friends at the Compelled Podcast, Pioneers president Steve Richardson tells the story of being raised by missionary parents in the jungles of Papua, Indonesia (formerly Irian Jaya) and seeing firsthand how the gospel transformed the Sawi culture. Be sure to check out other episodes of Compelled for more stories of transformation.

Fifty years after arriving in the jungle as a baby, Steve returns, with his father and two brothers. Never the Same is a short film Pioneers produced that documents their trip, including firsthand accounts from people who were alive when they arrived.

The missions classic Peace Child tells the story from the perspective of Don Richardson (Steve’s father). An edition for younger readers was recently released titled Treachery on the Twisted River.

Ready to take the next step, but not sure what it looks like? Schedule a call with our team at Pioneers.org/Start, or chat today.

Bonus Episode 1: Your Journey to the Field

Do you have to take a test? Should you be fluent in a foreign language? Are you too old? Too young? In a nutshell, what does it look like to join Pioneers? In this bonus episode of the podcast, we talk with Kim, one of our Mission Mentors, about the process of joining a mission organization. Kim shares a bit about her personal story of being a “high maintenance” missionary serving refugees in Western Europe—as well as a bit about her current role, as she helps people discern whether God is calling them to serve among the unreached.

**BONUS Content** Who stole baby Jesus? That’s what everyone was asking when a doll disappeared after a ministry outreach Kim was leading. You’re not going to believe where the doll reappeared, and how God used the incident to bring an entire family to faith in Jesus.

Check out our president, Steve Richardson’s book, Is the Commission Still Great? Steve’s book addresses many of the misconceptions people have about what missions is all about. We’ve got a free small-group curriculum and links to purchase the book at Pioneers.org/myths.

Explore is the first orientation in the process of finding out whether Pioneers is a good fit. You can find out more about what the week looks like here.

Ready to chat with Kim or one of our other Mission Mentors? Go to Pioneers.org/Start to schedule a call.