Missions Talk — A podcast by 9Marks and Reaching & Teaching International Ministries: Recent Episodes
9Marks
Missions Talk features conversations that explain the too-often-overlooked connection between healthy churches and global missions.
A new generation of missionaries doesn’t appear overnight. Ryan Robertson and Matt Bennett discuss their new book, The Path to Being a Missionary, and unpack how churches can identify, assess, prepare, and send faithful missionaries.
Who was John Paton, and why is he considered one of the greatest missionaries in church history? In this episode, Paul Schlehlein explores Paton’s life, theology, suffering, and enduring legacy as a missionary to the New Hebrides.
What does it actually take for missionaries to learn a new language and culture? In this episode, missionaries serving in Japan share the challenges, lessons, and practical realities of language acquisition and cultural adaptation on the mission field.
Guests: Stephen Tipton & Robbie Hughes
What is the Global Cities Partnership, and why does it matter for missions today?
In this episode, we explore the vision behind this strategic effort to strengthen healthy churches and gospel infrastructure in the world’s most influential cities.
How should missionaries, churches, and sending agencies think about danger on the mission field? In this episode, Caleb Greggsen joins the conversation to explore risk, suffering, resurrection hope, and what it means to count the cost of obedience in global missions.
In this episode of Missions Talk, Ryan Robertson talks with David King, David Rainer, and Mindy Rainer about God’s providential leading of Concord Baptist Church to send the Rainers to Tokyo to plant a church.
This episode with Isaac Stiles & Ethan English explores how evangelistic Bible studies can be a powerful, church-centered tool for reaching unbelievers, especially on college campuses.
Resources Mentioned
* One-to-One Bible Reading by David Helm
* Christianity Explained by Mark Dever
Ryan Robertson, Mack Stiles, Josh Manley, and Danny Davison discuss the vision behind the Great Commission Council and the upcoming Great Commission Congress, highlighting a shared call for theologically grounded, church-centered missions.
Resources Mentioned:
Great Commission Council
Bangkok Congress ‘26
Mack and Ryan discuss elenctics and its missiological importance in this discussion with Daniel Strange and Ben Robin, highlighting the work of J.H. Bavinck.
Join Ryan Robertson, Mack Stiles, John Folmar, and Scott Logsdon as they explore the importance of prioritizing the church in missions, highlighting how a strong ecclesiological foundation can transform missionary work and foster long-term impact across cultures.
Ryan talks with missionaries about life and ministry in KL.
Resources Mentioned
The Joshua Project - Unreached People Groups
Join Ryan Robertson, Mack Stiles, Brian Parks, and Aubrey Sequeira as they explore the intersection of hermeneutics and missions, discussing how proper biblical interpretation can safeguard against the misapplication of scripture in cross-cultural contexts.
Ryan talks with Massimo about the need for solid resources and healthy churches in Malaysia.
Resources Mentioned
Biblical Theology by Nick Roark and Robert Cline
Compelling Community by Mark Dever and Jamie Dunlop
How to Build a Healthy Church by Mark Dever and Paul Alexander
The Gospel by Ray Ortlund
Habits of Grace by David Mathis
Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ by John Piper
The Gospel at Work by Sebastian Traeger and Greg Gilbert
Mack and Ryan discuss how local churches consider strategic missions priorities with Robert Cline and Jeffrey Timmons.
What is the relation between God's Sovereignty and our role in Missions? Ryan and Mack talk to AJ Gibson about this important theological understanding and what the Bible teaches.
Resources Mentioned:
Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer
A Vision for Missions by Tom Wells
For the Sake of His Name by Dave Doran
An Inquiry into the Obligation of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens by William Carey
In this live episode from RTIM's Sending Church Summit, Ryan and Mack discuss the new volume, Prioritizing Missions in the Church, with its authors, Aaron Menikoff & Harshit Singh.
Resources Mentioned:
Prioritizing Missions in the Church by Aaron Menikoff and Harshit Singh
In this episode, Ryan, Mac, Matt, & Hunter discuss what aspiring missionaries and their local churches should consider when preparing for overseas ministry.
In this season opening of Missions Talk, Ryan and Mack talk with Jonathan Leeman about Church Centered Missions—highlighting how healthy local churches with a strong ecclesiology are vital for training missionaries, shaping strategy, and planting churches.
Learn more about Church Centered Missions here: https://www.churchcenteredmissions.org
In this episode of Missions Talk, Ryan, Mack, and TJ explore the marks of a healthy indigenous church, highlighting key practices like regular gatherings and faithful preaching, while addressing the challenges missionaries face in establishing churches that are both biblically sound and culturally rooted.
Ryan and Mack talk with Elliot Clark and Caleb Greggsen about the complexities of contextualization in missions—how to faithfully communicate the gospel across cultures with clarity, humility, and cultural sensitivity.
Resources Mentioned
Evangelism as Exiles by Elliot Clark
Mission Affirmed by Elliot Clark
The Culture Map by Erin Meyer
Ryan and Mack talk with Matt Tyler and Daniel Davison about missions work in Bangkok, the need for healthy churches, and gospel opportunities in Thailand.
Resources Mentioned
* Bangkok City Baptist Church
* Systematic Theology, Vol. 1 by Stephen J. Wellum
* Great Commission Council (GCC) Articles
In this episode, Ryan & Mack speak with two missionaries serving in Uganda about ministry there and the state of the church in the country.
In this episode, Ryan Robertson and Mack Stiles speak with Scott Logsdon, pastor of Union Church in Istanbul about the importance of various elements of healthy gospel infrastructure for missions strategizing — including church planting, theological education, and pastoral training, amongst others.
Resources Mentioned
* The Joshua Project
* Book: Evangelism by J. Mack Stiles
* Resources on Worship by Bob Kauflin
Why is Bible translation important and how should we strategize translating the Bible into other languages?
In this episode, Ryan and Mack speak with Bethany Moore about translation strategies and how local churches can learn more about translation efforts around the world.
In this episode of Missions Talk, Mack Stiles and Ryan Robertson chat with Andy Johnson, John Folmar, and Josh Manley about Ekklesia International. You can find more information about Ekklesia International here.
In this episode of Missions Talk, Mack Stiles and Ryan Robertson interview Joe and A.W., about their missionary work in North Africa.
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In this episode of Missions Talk, Ryan Robertson interviews Ben Howard, a pastor at Yokohama International Baptist Church, about pastoring in Japan.
Learn more about the gospel needs in Tokyo, Japan, at @RTIMChannel and prayfortokyo.com. #PrayForTokyo
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In this episode of Missions Talk, Ryan Robertson interviews Stephen and Alexandra Tipton about their missions work in Japan.
Learn more about the gospel needs in Tokyo, Japan, at prayfortokyo.com. #PrayForTokyo
In this episode of Missions Talk, Ryan Robertson interviews Joe Yozawa about ministry in Tokyo.
Learn more about the gospel needs in Tokyo, Japan, at @RTIMChannel and prayfortokyo.com. #PrayForTokyo
In this episode of Missions Talk, Mack Stiles and Ryan Robertson interview Sam Martyn on the importance of urban contexts for missions.
In this episode of Missions Talk, Mack Stiles and Ryan Robertson interview John Folmar, David Lawrence, and Tanner Callison on the usefulness of internships for missionary training.
In this episode of Missions Talk, Mack Stiles and Ryan Robertson interview Matt Rogers on the preparation of missionaries in the local church.
In this episode of Missions Talk, Ryan Robertson and Mack Stiles interview Joanne Parks and Brandy Spandler-Davidson about families in the field.
In this episode of Missions Talk, Ryan Robertson and Mack Stiles interview Ryan Currie about the importance of theological and convictional unity in missionary teams.
In this episode of Missions Talk, Ryan and Mack interview Sam Masters, Eric Abisror, and Jason Wright about God's work in Argentina through seminaries and local churches.
Missions Talk is back for a new season! In this episode, Ryan Robertson and Mack Stiles talk with Andy Johnson about how the university students have the unique opportunities to share the gospel and fulfill the Great Commission overseas.
In this episode of Missions Talk, Mack Stiles and Ryan Robertson interview Sam Masters, the Rector of Seminario Bíblico William Carey, about William Carey
Related resources:
* William Carey by S Pearce Carey
* The Missionary Fellowship of William Carey by Michael Haykin
* An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens by William Carey
In this episode of Missions Talk, Ryan Robertson and Mack Stiles interview Rachel Ware, the Director of Mobilization at Reaching and Teaching, about how local churches and pastors can help aspiring missionaries to discern their calling.
In this episode of Missions Talk, Ryan and Mack interview Matthew Spandler-Davidson and Francisco Puente about planting, revitalizing, and pastoring churches in hard places.
In this episode of Missions Talk, Ryan Robertson and Mack Stiles talk with Brooks Buser and Michael Lawrence on the doctrine of conversion and how it relates to missions.
In this episode of Missions Talk, Ryan Robertson interviews the Whatleys about their work amongst the Moi people.
In this episode of Missions Talk, Ryan Robertson and Mack Stiles interview Luke Womack and Matt Sonke from Airo Missions about the potential hurdles for future missionaries and how the church can help overcome them.
In this episode of Missions Talk, Ryan and Mack chat with Chad Ireland and Dylan Eagle about fundraising for missions.
In this episode of Missions Talk, Ryan Robertson interviews Mack Stiles about Great Commission Council and how pastors and churches could benefit from GCC.
https://www.greatcommissioncouncil.org/
In this episode of Missions Talk, Mack Stiles and Ryan Robertson interview Tim Hamer and Aaron Menikoff on visiting missionaries overseas.
In this episode of Missions Talk, Mack and Ryan interview Kim and Rey on how the local churches can help and benefit from missionaries who are single.
What does a Campus Ministry look like overseas and where does the local church fit in? In this episode of Missions Talk, Mack Stiles and Ryan Robertson interview Nathan, who is a director of a campus ministry in the Middle East.
In this episode, Ryan and Mack interview Elliot Clark on his recent book "Mission Affirmed" and his writing on the ministry and motivation of Paul.
In this episode, Ryan and Mack interview Matthew Bennett and Ayman Ibrahim on how Christians should interact and evangelize to Muslims.
In this episode, Ryan and Mack speak with Matt Bennett and Doug Coleman about the history and practice of Insider Movement methodologies.
In this episode recorded live at the Sing! conference, Ryan & Mack speak with Mark Dever, Matt Merker, and Juan Sanchez about a variety of topics including the training up and sending out of qualified missionaries, the importance of corporate worship in equipping future missionaries for their work overseas, and the ongoing assessment of those who have been sent overseas.
In this episode, Ryan & Mack interview Jason Duesing about various aspects of Judson’s childhood, conversion, marriage, suffering, and his ministry in Burma.
In this episode of Missions Talk, Ryan chats with Mack and Leeann Stiles about short-term missions.
In this episode of Missions Talk, Mack and Ryan interview Miller and Caleb Greggsen about the relationship between missionaries and sending churches.
In this episode of Missions Talk, Mack and Ryan interview Scott Logsdon and Will Sutton on the strategic value of missions work in global cities
Twenty years ago, the Yembi Yembi tribe had no Christians and no written language. Today, they enjoy the ministry of a healthy local church and the Scriptures in their own tongue.
Hear the amazing story in today’s episode Missions Talk with special guests Nina and Brooks Buser
Ryan and Mack chat with a new pastor about how to build a culture of missions in a young church.
In this episode of Missions Talk, Ryan and Mack chat with two missionaries in Central Asia about their ministry and work
In this episode of Missions Talk, Ryan and Mack interview Kevin DeYoung about his book, What Is the Mission of the Church?
In this episode of Missions Talk, Ryan and Mack interview Matt Schmucker and Shawn LaCount, the organizers of the Cross Conference.