We actually address the issue of candidate identification in other series of the Missions on Point podcast. This one is the first of four in an overview of sending, equipping, and shepherding missionaries.  I maintain that having a constant stream of equipping and leadership training in your church is absent in most churches. That's why it's so important to begin to address it. The answers to finding and equipping missionaries from your Church are parallel to those for leaders in your Church, whether elders, pastors, or deacons. We need a thoughtful, well-known process for identifying and training, and putting in place, those leaders.  Missions on Point will help you do that.

This episode, featuring The Best of Missions on Point, looks at episode 79. The "Missiology You Need to Know" series continues with The Missionary Must Reproduce Himself. This seems as obvious as the nose on your face. However, missionaries tend to copy the forms of the churches in which they grew up and don't learn because of the absence of emphasizing this in ministry training schools.  This principle is essential for achieving the desired result of indigenous local churches. BTW, a church plant is not indigenous if the missionary is the lead pastor. The fact that this principle is so little or poorly practiced is damning to our Western missiology.

Perhaps you didn't think you needed to know about missiology, but understanding the priorities and foundation of practical missionary missiology is essential to comprehend the process of sending missionaries from your Church and supporting high-quality missionaries.  Your understanding of key missiological principles will significantly aid you in grasping and empathizing with the work and ministry of your missionaries.  This best-of-episode is the first of six outlining these key concepts.

The "Best of" series is one of my favorites. It deals with subjects that are almost never admitted to or discussed in public. The angst that those "left behind" by their missionary family member or good friend rivals the angst caused by them toward their dear one. Those feelings of loss or abandonment are real. Shortsighted, damaging perhaps, but real to the "sufferer." So, those around them need to step in with loving care, counseling, sympathy, and correction, pointing them to the Lord and His purposes.

This "Best of" episode is a synopsis of six major teaching/training topics we covered in 2-day Propempo seminars for churches seeking to learn how to become a sending church. This first one, V for Vision, is a great starting point for getting leadership on board with the concept of a biblical missions-sending church. Please consider sharing this podcast with others and supporting us to keep us going.

Churches, including the missions ministries, tend to evaluate themselves based on metrics from previous years. The same metrics, without reference to an external objective benchmark. Sound familiar? The Church Missions Profile is your ticket to clearer standards. Visit SendForward.org and click on the Church Missions Profile link to learn more. The episode replays and overview of the first three categories (out of 12) in the CMP: church leaders, missions team, and indvidual participation.

Books are an invaluable resource to us all, especially when you get the right ones! Here's my list of high-impact mission books. Visit SendForward.org/Store to explore some of these resources and others that have proven helpful to many. Email me to let me know your thoughts: ministry (at) Propempo.com Go to Propempo.com to find transcripts of every podcast episode -- https://propempo.com/resources/missions-on-point-podcast/

This is a grand series from the best of Missions on Point. It begins a series on discovering missions through the Bible. This first episode in that series is the glory of God. What could be higher and grander and more noble than that?  This episode begins to explore the biblical content, showing how it's easy to see, if you have eyes to see it, the great missions themes throughout the whole Bible. The glory of God is the pinnacle, but many other episodes follow in the Missions on Point history.  A very interesting reference in this episode is the story of how John Piper from Bethlehem Baptist Church became aware of and turned to the story of the glory of God in missions in the Bible. A more detailed version of this story is on Propempo.com. Enjoy!

Churches can easily neglect the essential ministry of the Missions Committee or Team. The series on Missions Committee Essentials, beginning from the replay of Episode 43, provides practical guidance to help start or restart an effective Missions Team. If your church wants to be missions-minded, the Missions Committee needs to be reinforced and refocused so that it can be used to effectively mobilize the whole church in missions.  More resources can be found on Propempo.com and SendForward.org.  

The "Best of" episode features the first of a short series on the most fundamental truths of missions from the Bible for today. This episode works through an overview of key Scriptures that establish the basis for the centrality of the local church in God's purposes. The local church is NOT the universal church. The universal church does not have the same call, commission, or consequence in God's plan for our day. This truth is so significant that it has the power to change our minds and actions, transforming our local churches and their missions to align more closely with God's.  Listen well. Find more articles and resources on Propempo.com and the Missions on Point podcast. Tell your friends and church leaders!

Historically, we've battled with the wrong assumption that parachurch missions agencies own world missions ministry. It was true in 1900! It is largely accurate in 2025! This episode calls Pastors to lead their local church to ownership of global missions as the church equips, sends, and shepherds missionaries to fulfill the Great Commission. The Pastor must step up in faithfulness to this biblical focus on the local church as the beginning and end of missions. As the Pastor leads, so goes the church. It means the Pastor will have to learn some new vocabulary, skills, and principles --- because, surprisingly, this is NOT taught in seminary. May God motivate pastors to mobilize their church to such obedience.  

Starting with validating the individual missionary candidate's missionary call through hands-on oversight and observation, the church equips him or her to be sent. Character, convictions, and proven competencies to do the work of a missionary are worked out in the laboratory of local church ministry. The local church helps identify the field, the missions agency partner, and other supporting churches and individuals. The local church leads in shepherding the missionary in every aspect of their life and ministry on the field. The church also helps re-entry and reintegration to life "back home" when the missionary returns from the field. Seven characteristics of a good sending church conclude this episode.

This episode continues the biblical case for the centrality of the local church in missions - as the beginning and the end, the progenitor and the purpose, the cause and result of missions to all people groups of the earth. The conclusion of this episode is that: Churches need to take their responsibility to step up their rightful ownership of missions. Missions sending organizations and parachurch orgs need to acknowledge and partner with local churches to have the best quality workers for the most challenging jobs remaining on earth to fulfill the Great Commission.

This is a truth that has long been missing in our Western missions mindset. Everyone has been so busy and so hyped on evangelism and humanitarian issues that the heart of the biblical goal of missions has been overlooked. It is right there in Scripture for those who seriously care about what the Bible has to say, without truncating or embellishing it for their own purposes. The interpretation and application are clear to the clear-minded! Have a listen to this "best of" episode.

This "Best of" replay of Episode 2 takes me back to 1974, when the Lord opened my eyes to interpretive keys to Ephesians 3 and burned it into my heart as my missionary calling. The centrality of the local church in missions practically explodes out of Ephesians 3 and should NEVER be neglected in teaching and preaching the passage, including its connection to missions. We said it before; we say it again: "Once you see it, you cannot UNsee it!"

Celebrating five years of the Missions on Point podcast prompts us to reflect on "the best of Missions on Point." This episode marks the first in a series that revisits and replays podcasts featuring key concepts for Propempo International and the biblical, local-church-centered missions philosophy. This first one is an explanation of the biblical word, from Greek, "propempo." It demonstrates how the biblical concept of the local church qualifying and sending missionaries evolved throughout the first century to become the standard, even today.

We pause to reflect on God's grace and goodness to and through the Missions on Point podcast as we complete five years of weekly episodes (without missing or repeating!). We are grateful to God, to our listeners, and my associate, Joel Hollins, for making it possible to produce this podcast.  We ask that you, our listeners, help with getting the word out to share this great content to missions-minded people everywhere :-) This retrospective may get you interested in hearing or sharing some of the past episodes and series. We've covered a lot of territory, by God's grace! Thanks for listening!

In this step of elevation, we expand the learning and exposure of local church-centric missions to the entire congregation. This is a crucial step, both in humble learning and in accelerated growth in the area of missions for your church. We share specific resources and types of resources to increase ownership and participation throughout the entire congregation.

Practical and widespread communication and teaching of your church's paradigm to become a Sending Church will be key to your entire body of members embracing the biblical vision of a sending church.  It will take some energy and enthusiasm to help your church grow to be committed to whole-church mobilization for missions. Lord willing, it will result in well-qualified missionaries sent to fulfill your missions strategy and see cross-cultural churches planted through your church!

Now we get to the Elevation Phase. Elevation is where the church and missions leaders begin to bring the whole church along into this new biblical awareness of what it takes to be a sending church. The leaders may be running down the track, excited about where they are going. The church members are probably still in the starting blocks, waiting for the gun to go off.  Teaching is a big part of it: for the church as a whole, as well as smaller subsets. Organizationally, you are aware that new structures and roles need to be created and launched. An Annual Mission Event can empower momentum toward everyone in the church growing in understanding and involvement. Recruiting mentors and other new roles for the Barnabas Team or Care and Prayer Team for missionaries will come here. Do something to intentionally put new missionary candidates on your church's radar for future development. Lastly, but not least, build prayer for missions, for missionaries, and for a strategic focus on missions.