SO THAT Missions Podcast | FBC Boerne

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Japan gets labeled “hard soil” so often that many Christians quietly assume spiritual breakthrough there is rare, slow, and maybe impossible. Sitting down with our friend James, a young missionary serving in Japan, challenges that assumption with both honesty and hope. We talk about his winding story from a childhood of constant moving in a military family to watching God rebuild his parents’ marriage and bring his whole home to faith, shaping the way he trusts God to change what feels unchangeable.

From there, we zoom out to missions strategy and the Bible. Romans 15 becomes our roadmap as we unpack Paul’s ambition to preach where Christ is not known and the idea of “no place left” in a region because the gospel has been fully proclaimed and local churches can carry the work. We connect that to No Place Left training, gospel conversations, disciple making, and the kind of apprenticeship approach that helps ordinary believers move from fear to faithful witness.

Then we get specific about Japan missions and why the barriers are real: Shinto and Buddhism, deep family identity, ancestor veneration, and the weight of honor-shame culture where becoming Christian can feel like betraying your people. And yet, James shares encouraging on-the-ground fruit, including gospel conversation trainings with Japanese churches and 49 baptisms in roughly six months in Okinawa, plus growing boldness to share publicly and even go door to door.

If you care about unreached people groups, Japan missionary work, church planting in Osaka, and gospel saturation that multiplies disciples, you’ll find plenty to pray about and act on here. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves missions, and leave a review, then tell us: what part of Japan’s story surprised you most?
Visit our website at www.fbcboerne.org for more stories, information, and service times.

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Saying yes to God can feel simple in theory and brutal in real life, especially when the assignment changes. I sit down with Kelly, a longtime missionary connected to Divine Mission Ministry in Malawi, and we talk honestly about what happened when God nudged her toward a Middle East missions trip instead. The pushback was real: safety concerns, financial questions, and the quiet fear of disappointing the people she loves. Under all of it was a deeper question many Christians carry: “Did I really mean it when I said I’d go wherever You send me?”

Kelly shares what it felt like to arrive and realize she would be teaching foundations discipleship training in front of leaders who were already experts. That old insecurity hit hard: why would God use me when someone else is more prepared? The turning point is a powerful “donkey” vision that reframes her role. In Malawi she felt like the donkey carrying others into ministry; in the Middle East she understood she was called to tend the donkeys, to encourage and strengthen believers who will carry the gospel into dark places.

We also get practical about spiritual warfare and staying steady: journaling, lamenting like the Psalms, confessing fear, sitting in silence, and letting Scripture answer anxiety. Along the way, Kelly tells stories that spotlight the urgency of global missions right now, including believers traveling for hours to get trained, the reality of persecution, and an unforgettable testimony of an Uber driver who helped someone choose Jesus. If you care about Christian missions, disciple making, spiritual gifts, and learning how to hear God’s voice in uncertainty, this conversation will meet you where you are and call you forward.

Subscribe for more missions stories, share this with a friend who needs courage, and leave a review so more people can find it. What’s one “yes” you feel God asking from you right now?
Visit our website at www.fbcboerne.org for more stories, information, and service times.

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India can feel like a world away until you hear what it’s really like on the ground: a roadside slum made of tarps, families surviving on a few dollars a day, and a small hut with a cross that still functions as a church. Brittany Holland sits down with Heather to unpack Heather’s recent SE Asia missions trip and the two realities that kept showing up side by side: heartbreak over poverty and spiritual need, and deep hope as God keeps moving through everyday obedience.

We talk about why India is central to global missions strategy, including unreached people groups, the 10/40 window, and what you see when you look at Joshua Project maps. Heather also introduces Leena, First Baptist Church’s longtime partner in Southeast Asia, and shares what three decades of faithful presence can look like: sewing training that restores dignity, food support for vulnerable communities, education help for children, and Spirit-led moments where one invitation or one unexpected return visit becomes a turning point.

The conversation widens to church planting and a growing house church movement using Discovery Bible Study, where Scripture leads to simple questions and one catalytic challenge: who will you share this story with? If you’ve wondered how the gospel spreads in places where believers are a tiny minority, or how Christian humanitarian aid and gospel witness can walk together with integrity, you’ll find clear stories and practical perspective here.

Subscribe for more stories of God at work among the nations, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it. Who will you share this with?
Visit our website at www.fbcboerne.org for more stories, information, and service times.

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Your life can look “successful” and still feel strangely small. Brittany sits down with Nicole Parks from Cafe 1040 to talk about why that happens, and what changes when we stop treating the Great Commission like a nice idea and start treating it like a clear calling.

Nicole explains how Cafe 1040 serves young adults through a highly intentional missions mentorship program: three months of pre-field mentoring, three months overseas with long-term missionaries (often in closed access contexts), and coaching afterward to help graduates take concrete next steps. We talk about why so many people feel called but never go, what it means to come back with your “yes on the table,” and how clarity and confidence can turn passion into long-term obedience.

We also get personal about the pull of the American dream, the impact of Perspectives, and why the Great Commission is a thread that runs from Genesis to Revelation. If you’re not 18 to 29, you’re not off the hook. Nicole shares practical ways “mature adults” and parents can join God’s global purposes right now through prayer, giving, welcoming internationals, mobilising others, and everyday discipleship tools like Joshua Project, a simple globe habit, and an oikos map.

If this conversation lights a fire, subscribe for more, share it with a friend who’s asking “what am I here for,” and leave a review so more people can find it.
Visit our website at www.fbcboerne.org for more stories, information, and service times.

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They drove twelve hours to reach an airport, flew into another country, and showed up hungry to learn the Bible for the first time. That kind of faith has a way of shaking you awake.

We sit down with Lori, Chris, and Heather for part two of our Middle East mission trip conversation and ask for personal highlights, the moments they can’t forget. Lori shares what it’s like to spend a week with brand new believers, some from Muslim backgrounds, hearing stories of sacrifice, courage, and God’s pursuit. Chris talks about Bible access and the quiet miracle of God getting His Word into hard places, plus the privilege of encouraging young men who face daily persecution and live with very little. Heather takes us into refugee camps among the Yazidi people group, where hundreds of children are waiting and a simple bag of beads becomes a doorway to dignity, trust, and love.

We also get practical about what missions looks like from our church: sending teams, prayer support, giving supplies, and how Perspectives helps mobilise ordinary people for God’s global mission. We break down five habits of a global Christian: give, go, send, pray, and mobilise, because not everyone is called to travel, but everyone is called to participate.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re “qualified,” we want you to hear this clearly: a heart for Jesus is enough, and a simple yes can move mountains. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find these stories. What’s one step you can take this week to join what God is doing among the nations?
Visit our website at www.fbcboerne.org for more stories, information, and service times.