On The Journey Conversations

Drawing from 30 years of personal experience in missions, Carol Ghattas helps guide cross-cultural workers and others through a variety of obstacles one can face in ministry. While she has seen the Lord at work in amazing ways as He’s opened doors, she also has seen doors close and how that can result in times of discouragement and questioning God’s call. Listen to this episode for first-hand accounts of navigating closed doors and how you can also do so with grace. Carol is author of When Doors Close: Changing Course in Missions Without Losing Your Way.

Of the 50,000 or so churches in the Southern Baptist Convention, roughly two-thirds have fewer than 75 in attendance on an average Sunday. Most of these smaller attendance churches are led by bivocational pastors who have additional work to supplement their income. While ministry for a bivocational pastor and his wife has great rewards, it can also be lonely and exhausting as they work tirelessly in ministry. In this episode, Joe Wright, executive director of the Bivocational and Small Church Leadership Network (BSCLN), provides a personal and inside glimpse into the challenges of bivocational pastors—many who are church planters or replanters—and ways you can encourage and pray for them and their families.

Evelyn Tully’s passion for missions began as a very young child. She vividly recalls a world map hanging on the wall and finding the location where missionaries were serving as she prayed for them daily using the missionary prayer calendar. From her early days of being active in Girls Auxiliary to a career in WMU in which she served in many roles, her heart for mentoring girls and teens and connecting with women of the world has fostered lasting relationships and transformed lives. Listen in as Evelyn shares reflections on leadership, influence, and God’s call.

Three of WMU’s Compassion Ministries are celebrating 25 years of ministry! Through Christian Women’s Job Corps, women across the US and beyond gain job skills and self-confidence as they engage in Bible study and are paired with a mentor. WorldCrafts, a fair-trade ministry, offers hope to impoverished artisans around the world. And through Pure Water, Pure Love, water filters are provided to missions personnel and missions teams and wells and water filtration systems transform communities with access to clean, safe water. Listen in as Lena Plunk of national WMU tells how God is transforming lives through these ministries and you can be a part. Learn more and join in the celebration at wmu.com/cm25.

How do you figure out what God wants in your life? How do you discern His will? In this episode, entrepreneur John Herring, CEO of Iron Stream Media, talks about how to determine God’s next best thing for you. He shares fours steps to work through when considering new opportunities or situations to enable to you discern God’s direction.

Little did Anna’s grandfather know when he followed God’s call to short-term medical missions that his love for all peoples of all nations would continue for generations to come. Anna Daub, a self-described lifelong learner, is currently pursuing a PhD in applied theology with a concentration in missions. She also works in the Office of Global Theological Initiatives for Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and teaches classes. Hear how her family’s legacy continues today through her commitment to get theological education to women in areas such as Latin America and Africa and along the way, catch some great insights for how to share your faith right where God has planted you.

Debbie was just 17 when she knew for sure that God was calling her to work in another culture in another country. Desiring to be obedient to God’s call, she said yes, but as the time grew near to go, there was a significant problem – Debbie would have to overcome her extreme fear of flying, as well as some other fears. Hear how this Christ follower—who currently serves as executive director of Arkansas WMU—not only overcame her fear and shared the gospel faithfully for years in Africa, but also met many other Christians there who served the Lord with great joy despite challenges and hardships. Note: Due to safety concerns, some names mentioned in this conversation have been removed.

Diane was serving in Baptist collegiate ministry when she accompanied four students on a missions trip to Haiti, an experience that changed her life. There, they helped minister to 65 orphaned children whose parents were killed by a hurricane. When Diane returned to the US, she realized there were countless opportunities to serve children in her immediate area and answered God’s call to serve in foster care. Listen in as Diane shares her personal journey as well as practical ways individuals and churches can support foster care ministries, encourage those who provide care, and be a part of helping the more than 400,000 children in foster care in the US.

It was decades ago, but Becky Bruns can still vividly recall the feelings of grief and loss when it came time for a baby boy to leave their home. Even though the Bruns were providing interim care and never intended to be an adoptive family, she said this infant leaving their home was overwhelming. It was also the beginning of now more than 25 years of Becky’s journey ministering to both couples yearning to adopt a child and expectant mothers as they explore what is in their child’s best interest. Hear more about the life-changing ministry of adoption and how Becky and the team at Arkansas Baptist Children's Home and Family Ministries are seeking to innovate the process.

In this episode Sandy continues her reflection on the power of words from Episode 43, in particular, how we are to respond as Christians when words spoken to us sting. Maybe they were harsh or critical. Maybe they were spoken in a moment of anger or frustration. Regardless of the circumstances, they hurt. What’s our response to be? Listen in as Sandy shares some practical insight from godly women, along with how extending grace and forgiveness—just as Jesus has to us—is the answer.