We’re back this week talking about the World Evangelism Fund (WEF). It’s just that important! This time we’re blunt; we don’t want to see any zeros in our financial reports in regards to missions giving. WEF is, after all, the backbone of the Church of the Nazarene’s strategy to sustain its global ministry. What is the Zero Zeros initiative? Why do we need this in our region? How can you get involved? 

Pastor Dario Richards is back to help us continue the conversation about race, and specifically ethnocentrism, in the Church. What is ethnocentrism? How does it show up in the Church, and how can we combat it? What can we learn from an analogy of an iceberg? Hear our answers to all these questions and more as we share times when we ourselves have fallen short, and what we have learned along the way. 

This week the Worthless Servants talk about race and racism: a conversation that is taking place all over the world in the light of recent events. This is certainly not a new issue, but many of us in the Church are finally addressing it head on. Pastor Dario Richards from Barbados joins the conversation to give us a fresh view and a wise perspective. He and the group share several stories of what they’ve experienced both outside and inside the Church. What is our responsibility in this time? What should our response be? How can we more effectively strive for reconciliation?

Yet another week in the world of COVID and the Worthless Servants are back to talk about it. How does this time compare to culture shock? What are some similarities and differences? They all have something to say as they borrow some terms from a beloved former missionary. They also talk about how we as the Church can help people and how we can continue to make disciples in this time. 

You’ve heard her voice, her comments, and her heart. Now you can hear her story (and more)! This episode is dedicated to getting to know Nathalie Franco a little bit more. Hear her story, her call, and her answers to some not-so-serious questions.

This episode is dedicated to looking at two articles by Nazarene Pastor Rob Prince on How to Strengthen the Church of the Nazarene. While the articles were written for the USA/Canada Region, we believe they can help people around the world think differently about Church. A link to the articles can be found in the show notes.

 For this Scripture Spotlight we’re focusing on Acts 2:1-11. As we read this familiar story of Pentecost, what does it teach us about the mission of God? We tell some personal stories to help relate the modern era to the Biblical text, and we discuss several theological and missiological implications of the Spirit’s filling. 

In episode 74 we briefly touched on the new missions paradigm in the Church of the Nazarene. This week we answer some of your questions and other topics of interest regarding those changes. We touch on missions education, the role of NMI, the definition of a Nazarene Missionary, and a lot more. 

This is the continuation of episode 75: 14 Point Check-up.  As we focus on the second half of Dan Reiland’s article, we talk this time about how we should never stop learning, give more personal stories, and even bring sugar cookies into the conversation! What can we learn from this list and how can it help us in ministry? 

The Worthless Servants came together (but stayed 6-feet apart) to record a special episode in the new age of the COVID-19 global pandemic.  Although scientists and doctors have spoken out on the subject (and we urge everyone to keep listening to them), we have heard few voices from the church that have talked about ministry and missions implications.  What is a biblical response to a spreading disease? How can we as Christians avoid the extremes? What advice would we give Christian leaders, especially those in impoverished or cross-cultural contexts?

In this episode, we talk about an article - written by Dan Reiland - and the need for a routine check-up, even in ministry. What are the common mistakes that we all make even though they hinder the growth of the Church and her ministries? We invite you to read the article and respond to our conversation about the first seven points. 

One year ago, the Church of the Nazarene redefined some terms of who is a missionary and how we do missions in our denomination. Although we couldn’t get to everything, in this episode we present much of what we understand and hopefully help you understand the changes as well. There’s a lot to talk about and we try to hit the major points, but we want to hear from you. What questions do you have? How can we help explain it better in a future episode?

In this episode, we take another look at what it means to be a relevant church. The basis of our conversation is an article by Dan Reiland in which he outlines a few things to avoid while trying to be relevant. We try to answer some hard questions such as: “Are we making a difference?” “How do we communicate effectively?” “What can we do to stay relevant and reach younger generations?” 

This week we look at a very popular verse. In Acts 1:8 we read about Jesus’ words to his disciples just before he leaves them. We try to put ourselves in this situation. What is the context? How does this effect our ministry and our walk with Christ? Listen as we tell personal stories and try to debunk poor theology. 

One of the first missionaries to serve with the Genesis initiative was Alejandra Garcia. She’s been planting churches, building up the Church, and learning English. Now’s she’s back to help raise up the next missionaries with the Church of the Nazarene serving with Genesis. Hear her story, what she’s been doing after her time in Genesis, and what could be next for her.

We have a special treat and special visitors on the program the week: Gary and Naomi Faucett. They are the “Genesis Parents” who help take care of the missionaries who are a part of the Genesis ministry. For the last five years, the Faucetts have taken care of, encouraged, and even thrown parties for dozens of missionaries during their training, while they have been on the field, and after they return. Listen as they tell us their story, how they got involved, and what they love most about their ministry.

As we come to the end of our series, the final two steps in the process of planting a congregation refer to organizing the church and looking to the harvest. Why is it important to formally organize a church? Where should our focus as a church be at this point? Don’t miss the epic conclusion to this 5-part series! 

Steps 7 and 8 in our series on planting churches are leadership development and corporate worship. The Worthless Servants ask the question: how do we develop integrated leaders? Do we need a building to be the Church? Also, What is “Model 222”? Where does corporate worship fit into all of this, and why is it mentioned so late in the process?

Our conversation continues as we offer more suggestions of how to plant a church based on the article by Manuel Molina. This week we talk about discipleship and beginning to form a spiritual community. How do we know somebody is a disciple? How do we integrate new believers into Christian community?

This week the Worthless Servants talk about steps three and four in our journey of church planting: finding/making contacts and the process of evangelism. How do we begin to meet people in a new area? How can we think about evangelism differently? Listen as they share some personal stories and practical advice.