Modern Day Missionaries

Épisodes

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  Are You Starting Year-End Fundraising Too Late? With Mike Kim & Mary Valloni of Fully Funded Academy 01.10.2026 1h 4min

  What if year-end fundraising isn’t really about year-end? For many missionaries, November and December can feel like a mad dash to close a budget gap. But what if, instead of fundraising for survival, you used the end of the year to invite people into the vision God has given you for what’s next? In this episode, Coach Ben sits down with Mary Valloni and Mike Kim of Fully Funded Academy to talk about a different approach to year-end fundraising—one that starts earlier, focuses on relationship...
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  Guarding Your Life: Leadership Boundaries, Habits & the Long Game of Integrity in Missions with Dr. Rob Hoskins 17.09.2026 1h 2min

  What actually protects a leader for the long haul? And why do the ones who fall almost never see it coming? In this episode, Dr. Rob Hoskins, a deeply respected leadership expert and president of OneHope, joins Stephanie to talk honestly about the isolation missionary leaders face, the habits that guard against moral failure, and the powerful concept of overlapping accountability (you need this!). Rob shares personal stories about his own governance structures that have protected him as he le...
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  Young, Single, and Sent [to the Mission Field] with Mark Phillips, Sierra Lee, Natan Marcal 03.09.2026 50min

  Do you ever feel like you're falling behind? Like everyone around you is buying houses, getting married, having kids, and finding a career while you're out here saying yes to the calling? You’re not mad about it…sometimes, you just wonder. What are you up to, God? In this episode, three single missionaries in their 20’s and 30’s, Mark, Natan, and Sierra, open up about things rarely talked about that single missionaries deal with and think about on a regular basis. Things like: the significant...
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  The Thing That Makes or Breaks Your Team on the Field with Dr. Jay Raines 20.08.2026 58min

  You love the people on your team. So why does working with them feel so hard sometimes? What if the tension you keep experiencing isn't a people problem, it's a culture problem? And what if the culture shaping your team was never chosen, it just happened? In this episode, Dr. Jay Raines, founder of LeadersQ Coaching, seven-year cross-cultural leader in Bangalore, India, and author of Culture Brand, gives you the language to finally name what is off, and a simple framework to do something abou...
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  Should I Stay Or Should I Leave (the Mission Field)? with David Joannes 06.08.2026 57min

  Have you ever thought about leaving the mission field? Not just in a passing moment of frustration, but really thought about it? What would it actually cost you to stay? And how do you know the difference between a hard season and God genuinely closing a door? In this episode, Stephanie sits down with David Joannes, founder of Within Reach Global and 28-year missionary, for one of the most honest conversations we have ever had. This is not about grinding harder or believing bigger. This is ab...
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  Missionaries, Fundraising Isn't Your Only Option with Elias Reyes 23.07.2026 17min

  What if the financial ceiling you've been living under was never actually real? Have you ever wondered if there's a limit to what your ministry can afford, and that limit was set the day you sent your first support letter? Have you ever felt stuck between cutting back again, asking supporters for more, or wondering if it's time to come home? In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Elias Reyes, President of Modern Day Missions, to talk about secondary streams of income for missionaries. They...
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  The Fundraising Advice We Wish We'd Had Sooner With Danny & Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez 09.07.2026 49min

  What do you do when one of you is terrified of fundraising and the other one grew up doing it like it's second nature? Danny and Stephanie Gutierrez found out the hard way, over twelve years, two daughters, and one very memorable $666 support check. In this episode, Coach Ben sits down with them for a conversation about what they'd do differently, from how they divided the work, to what a “soft no” really costs, to the season neither of them saw coming until it was almost over. If you've ever...
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  Here's What Your Body Has Been Trying to Tell You, Missionaries with Steve & Lisa Cuss 18.06.2026 1h 7min

  What does your body already know that your mind hasn't caught up to yet? What if the thing most burning you out on the mission field is not the workload, the culture shock, or the lack of support, but something else? And what if the very traits that made you say yes to the field are the same ones slowly wearing you down? In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Steve and Lisa Cuss, founders of Capable Life, to talk about the Big Five false needs and what happens when the missionary calling s...
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  When Nobody Calls to Check On You: Soul Health, Hidden Burnout, and What Missionaries Actually Need 04.06.2026 43min

  The missionaries burning out fastest are not the ones who stopped caring. They are the ones who cared the most. Mindy Caliguire, founder of SoulCare, joins the podcast to talk about what research with missionaries in the Global South revealed about soul health, the relational deficit nobody wants to touch, and what it actually takes to find your way back. In This Episode, You'll Learn: Why the most devoted missionaries are often the most at risk, and how a can't-stop-won't-stop work me...
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  Being a Woman on the Mission Field: What We All Need to Know with Denise Beck (EE) 21.05.2026 59min

  Two-thirds of global missionaries are women. And most of them will tell you they have never heard an episode like this one. Denise Beck, Executive Director of Velvet Ashes, has spent years sitting with women in every season of missionary life, and she is not afraid to say what most people skip over. The single woman who wonders if anyone on her team actually values what she gave up. The married woman stretched between her family and her calling. The woman who has been pouring out for so long ...
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  What Missionary Kids Need Their Parents to Hear with Macy Gutierrez, Gabriel Gomez & Michelle Escobar 07.05.2026 55min

  Your MK’s are watching everything. They see how you handle the hard seasons, how you hold it together when everything is falling apart, and how much space there is in your family for the hard stuff to be said out loud. But what are they actually holding inside? And what do they wish you would ask? In this episode, three young adults who grew up on the mission field sit down to share what that life actually formed in them, what they carried silently, and what they wish their parents had known....
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  Spiritual Warfare on the Mission Field Nobody Warns You About with Jacob Ebersole 29.04.2026 51min

  Have you ever been in a season where everything seemed to be working against you, and you could not tell if it was spiritual warfare, burnout, or just the hard reality of missionary life? When you can tell the difference, you know how to fight. In this episode, evangelist, World Harvest founder, and Modern Day missionary Jacob Ebersole shares what spiritual warfare actually looks like on the mission field, the dramatic and the invisible, and the surprisingly practical ways missionaries can st...
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  The Crisis Response Plan Every Missionary Needs with Phil Cooke 16.04.2026 51min

  What do you do when everything falls apart on the field? When the team fractures, the funding dries up, or a decision you made starts unraveling in ways you never anticipated? What if the way you respond in the first few hours determines whether your ministry survives? In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Phil Cooke, filmmaker, media producer, PhD in theology, and one of the most sought-after crisis communications experts in the Christian world. Phil has worked in over 70 countries, walk...
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  Why You Should Stop Performing for the People Who Sent You with Bob Goff 02.04.2026 33min

  Have you ever caught yourself angling the camera just right, choosing the words that make your ministry sound a little more impressive than it actually is? What if the pressure to perform is actually the thing standing between you and the life God designed you for? What if joy is closer to your insecurity than you ever imagined? In this episode, Stephanie sits down with author, speaker, and former ambassador Bob Goff for a conversation that is equal parts hilarious and deeply freeing. From Bo...
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  The Retirement Question Every Missionary Is Avoiding with Elias Reyes 19.03.2026 19min

  Are you preparing for your financial future, or are you hoping it takes care of itself? What does it actually look like to invest on a missionary income? And is it even possible when support fluctuates month to month? In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Elias Reyes, president of Modern Day Missions and a financial consultant with 25+ years of experience serving missionaries and nonprofit leaders. They talk about the retirement realities most missionaries are not prepared for and simple ...
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  Support Raising Without Shame Or Games with Ben Ankarlo 05.03.2026 56min

  In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Ben Ankarlo, fundraising coach at Modern Day Missions, to unpack what is really happening beneath the surface of support raising. Together, they explore how fear unknowingly shapes decisions, why some missionaries default to self-funding or scarcity, and how embarrassment and control can distort the way we invite others into partnership. Ben shares from lived experience as a missionary who is still actively fundraising today. You’ll learn why clarity ...
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  How Should the Church Think About Israel? With David Blease 26.02.2026 43min

  Have you ever wondered what the Church really believes about Israel? Have you felt confused by replacement theology, one law teaching, or political noise around the Jewish people? And does any of this actually matter for missionaries today? In this episode, Modern Day Missions Executive Director Marvin Slaton II and Gateway Center for Israel Pastor & Director David Blease explore the three prevailing theologies shaping the global Church’s view of Israel and unpack what Scripture says abo...
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  The Fight to Stay Connected as a Missionary Family with Jonathan & Elizabeth Trotter 05.02.2026 55min

  You didn’t move across the world to lose your family in the process. Mission life is full of purpose, but it can also pull at the very relationships we care about most. Jonathan and Elizabeth Trotter, missionary parents, writers, and trusted voices in cross-cultural life, open up about what it looks like to stay emotionally connected as a family in the middle of ministry, transition, and loss. We talk about how to create your own family’s culture (or find it if you’ve lost it), recovering joy...
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  Is AI a Ministry Ally or a Spiritual Threat? with Carey Nieuwhof 29.01.2026 50min

  AI is changing everything—how we think, work, lead, create…How about how we hear from God? Without realizing it, are we letting it reshape our hearts, our habits, and our spiritual lives, too? Today, we talk with Carey Nieuwhof about the very real tension missionaries face when using AI for ministry. From sermon prep to leadership decisions, we explore how to use this tool with wisdom, where it may be subtly weakening us, and how to stay rooted in the Holy Spirit with all of the noise around ...
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  Welcome to the Modern Day Missionaries Podcast! 19.01.2026 1min

  Modern Day Missionaries is a podcast created specifically for missionaries navigating real life on the field. We talk honestly about the questions missionaries actually ask— How do I retain supporters?Am I burned out… or heading there?How do I stay connected to my spouse in the middle of ministry chaos?What does it look like to flourish as a single missionary?Our heart is simple: help you be well so you can serve well—and truly thrive in your faith, family, finances, and freedom. Each episode...