Relentless Pursuit Podcast

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.

Disciples in the Desert

The Arabian Peninsula is a land of contrasts. Starbucks coffee shops may be ubiquitous, but ancient traditions are hard to overcome. Still, God is at work, and local gatherings of believers are growing. Our guest in this episode has loads of encouraging stories about discipling Arab seekers, and he gives us a glimpse of what church planting looks like in this challenging but rewarding part of the world.

**BONUS Content** Local authorities in our guest’s host city began investigating them, and they had to leave the country in the middle of the night. Less than a year later, they were back on the field in a nearby country. Our guest reflects on how God showed Himself faithful in this unexpected redirection. Getting redirected—either before you go to the field or while you’re there—is a common occurrence for missionaries.

Check out Pioneers’ new book, Items May Have Shifted: When Missionaries Get Rerouted, for five stories of divine disruption.

Check out this article that answers the question, “What does it take to go to the hard places?”

Our Multiply video series gives a glimpse of what church planting looks like in different locations and cultures around the world.

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. Also, stay tuned for a few bonus episodes, dropping in the weeks to come.

Digital Discipleship

If you were a missionary starting ministry in a new community, how would you identify people open to spiritual conversations? In the past, it may have taken years to find and cultivate such relationships. In this episode we talk with Amber, who leads a team that coaches missionaries on using social media and the web to engage with people in unreached parts of the world who are using these same tools to find answers to their spiritual questions.

**BONUS Content** Nadia was praying at Islam’s holiest site when she had a realization that the God she was praying to was not alive and could not actually hear her prayers.

For as little as $30, you can fund the ads that allow six spiritual seekers to make contact with one of our missionaries and their partners on the ground.

From a Forest Temple is a video that tells the story of Tom, a South Asian man who came to faith through media (albeit one of the oldest forms of it) and now uses digital technology to make disciples.

Also, don’t miss Googling Jesus, nine stories of spiritual seekers coming to faith through digital media outreach.

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.

The World Next Door

We’re living in a time at which the nations are coming to our doorstep as immigrants, refugees and international students—an unprecedented opportunity for people from unreached parts of the world to be exposed to the gospel. It also means we can partner with Christians from other cultures who have come to make the United States their new home. In this episode, we talk to Paul, a leader in Pioneers’ “diaspora” ministry who served for many years in East Asia and is now working in Austin, Texas. Paul opens our eyes to the amazing new ways anyone can get involved in engaging the unreached, whether you live in a big city or in small-town America.

**BONUS Content** When Paul was looking for mission agencies to join, he had a simple criterion: How quickly can they get me to the field? Find out what happened when Paul asked Pioneers that question.

Download a free ebook (epub and PDF) of Unreached Peoples, Least-Reached Places, by J.D. Payne, which is chock-full of statistics and practical insight on reaching diaspora peoples.

What happens with Muslims and Christians go on a 50-mile hike through a desert canyon? Watch our video, A Canyon, a Cathedral, to find out.

Also, diaspora people can be found in other countries. In From Albania to Greece, a team in Athens is planting a church among Albanian immigrants.

Want to get some real-world, on-site experience and training making disciples among unreached peoples? Check out Pioneers’ partner International Project and their residential program, Equip Missionary Training in New York City.

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.

A Vision Fulfilled

Cynthia didn’t fit the “missions mold”—if there is one anymore. She was single, in her 40s and had worked in the business world. But God had given her a vision of helping young girls in South Asian villages avoid being trafficked. And she was convinced that making disciples and planting churches in their communities was at the heart of the solution. Now, ten years later, she has seen God bring her vision to reality.

**BONUS Content** When Cynthia began telling Bible stories every night to a group of children from the neighborhood, she couldn’t have imagined what one young boy would do with his newfound knowledge.

Pioneers’ media partner, CommNet, produced a video about Cynthia’s ministry in South Asia.

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.

Green Missions

Some things are just meant to go together. Salted caramel and chocolate. Peanut butter and jelly. Agriculture and church planting. Maybe you didn’t see the last one coming, but this episode may change your mind. Dave has served in Peru for more than 15 years and seen the challenges of taking the gospel to remote areas where finding food and water is the equivalent of a full-time job. Now, he’s training local church planters to use sustainable agricultural practices to provide for their families and improve the lives of unreached people groups living in the jungle.

**BONUS Content** Rats with an apparent salt deficiency. Coffee filtered through a sock. Eating fish—bones and all. Dave tells the story of a three-day hike through the jungle to visit an unreached tribe.

Here are some examples of other Pioneers workers combining a passion for church planting with agriculture.

In part 4 of our Middle Ground video series, Rob visits an orchard in Central Asia, where agriculture provides livelihoods of local gospel workers.

Echo is a ministry that trains missionaries (and local believers around the world) to apply sustainable agriculture practices in the communities they serve.

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.

An American Baker in France

The physical beauty, cultural sophistication and culinary delights of of France can sometimes conceal the spiritual challenges faced by believers in that country—and the missionaries who go there to share the gospel. A native of the secular Pacific Northwest, Lindsey moved to France more than a decade ago with eyes wide open to this reality. Since then, God has given her unique opportunities to build relationships and share the gospel—often through the unlikely connection of a baking class she teaches.

**BONUS Content** Don’t go to the mission field looking for a spouse, but don’t put it past God to provide one for you.

Check out Starting from Scratch, our video documenting Lindsey’s ministry in France. (Warning: Don’t watch if you’re hungry!)

Still not convinced Europe is a legitimate mission field? Read our article and photo essay, “Is Europe Unreached?”

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.

Do You Believe in Miracles?

Do you believe in miracles? Muslims do. Rafik is a Pioneers area leader who is responsible for teams in North Africa, one of the most challenging and volatile parts of the world. On this episode of the podcast, Rafik regales us with amazing stories of Muslim seekers coming to faith—stories that sound like they were pulled from the Book of Acts.

**Bonus Content** Gedo’s persecutors thought their efforts would keep him quiet. They were sorely mistaken.

For more stories like the ones Rafik told in this episode, check out our free online book, Googling Jesus, which includes nine accounts from around the world of people coming to faith through online evangelism and discipleship.

Check out the Maverick podcast, a story of an emerging movement of multiplying disciples in Central Africa.

Social media gets a bad rap as a waste a time at best and an intrusive tool for advertisers and political agitators. But in some parts of the world, it’s where people go to get answers to their spiritual questions in an anonymous environment. Find out how media outreach works with our brief explainer video.

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