Missions Pulse

Rev. Lazarus Yeghnazar is the founder of Transform Iran, a faith-based humanitarian outreach “to the desperate” in Iran. He is a former top translator for Iran’s war ministry and budget ministry who emigrated to England 36 years ago following the Iran-Iraq war.Find Missions Pulse episode #106 on our website at https://davidjoannes.com/106lazarusyeghnazar/Recently featured on CBN, Yeghnazar shared more about his heart for the nation and how many people in Iran have encountered Jesus through dreams and visions—something that is fairly foreign to Western cultures. See the CBN interview here https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/cwn/2023/january/iranians-meet-jesus-in-dreams-experience-radical-transformation-i-saw-a-vision-of-a-man-with-a-white-robeLazarus Yeghnazar was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1949 to an Armenian Christian family. At the age of six, he saw a vision of Jesus and committed his life to His service. At 21, Lazarus was ordained as an elder at the Central Jamaate Rabani Church in Tehran and appointed as a member of the General Leadership of these churches across Iran.At 23, despite the fact that he taught himself English, Lazarus became the head of the translation department of the Ministry of War in Iran and the official translator for the Vice Minister of War in Iran.He was imprisoned twice before he was 25 for preaching the Gospel in different cities in Iran (during the time of the Shah). After the Islamic Revolution, when the hostages were captured at the American Embassy, he was the only one called upon to conduct Christmas and Easter services for the hostages.He had an official audience with the King and Queen of Iran at the age of 27. Years later, by special invitation, he met and prayed with the crowned prince Reza Pahlavi (then in exile).Lazarus also established Pars Link, one of the front-running electronics engineering firms in Iran, and became a successful international businessman. At 30, he founded and led the first Tehran chapter of the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship International.In 1988, after the end of the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq, Lazarus and Maggie felt God’s leading to leave Iran and settle in Europe. In 1991 they established 222 Ministries in obedience to the call of God. In 2022 ‘222 Ministries’ became ‘Transform Iran’ to better communicate the expanded vision they had received from the Lord.Lazarus has a strategic pioneering spirit. He sees what is happening and what needs to be done and has the courage and voice to lead where others may hesitate to go.Find out more about Transform Iran here https://transformiran.com/our-story/

Dr. Chris McMillan spent 27 years pastoring churches in North Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia. Currently he serves the global church as Vice-President of development at International Training and Equipping Ministries (ITEM), an organization committed to providing non-formal theological and leadership training to majority world pastors. His passion for missions has taken him to 25 countries, where he has trained pastors on three continents. In addition to serving with ITEM, Chris also serves as Adjunct Professor of Homiletics at Pan African University in Nairobi, Kenya. He holds an earned Master of Arts Degree in Theological Studies from Liberty University and a Doctor of Educational Ministry from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Chris is married to his best friend, Allison, for almost 30 years, and together they have a daughter Carissa on the cusp of adulthood, and a son Nathan who resides in heaven. The McMillans make their home in Gloucester Point, VA.Find Missions Pulse episode #105 on our website at https://davidjoannes.com/105chrismcmillan/

Joel and Joye Dicharry are the Co-Founders of the non-profit Commission Mankind, based out of southern Louisiana.In 2019, with only a word from God and enough plane tickets for their family to make it to Kenya, Joel left a career position, and they moved their family of 9 to the Machakos hills to work in missions and clean water projects. God miraculously provided the first community solar well system in 2020, 9 more in 2021, and 16 so far in 2022. Each well site in Africa has a community baptismal, and thousands have been baptized in a public decision to follow Christ.The heart of Commission Mankind is to ignite a generation for missions and to connect the church to the unreached. They do this through clean water projects, often strategically located near unreached people groups to open doors for Christian ministry. Entire villages of unreached people groups have committed their lives to Christ through these outreaches.Commission Mankind is currently serving in Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Nepal.Find Missions Pulse episode #104 on our website at https://davidjoannes.com/104joeldicharry/

In this episode, David interviews Bill Yoh about his newly-released book, Unvarnished Faith: Learning to Love with a Servant’s Heart.Bill Yoh is chairman of The Yoh Company and co-owner of Day & Zimmermann, his family's 43,000-employee, century-old family business—one of the largest family businesses in the US as ranked by Forbes. Bill is also an award-winning author of Our Way, the life story of Spike Yoh, Bill's father, which received a Gold Award from the Nonfiction Writers Association. He recently published Unvarnished Faith: Learning to Love with a Servant’s Heart.Find Missions Pulse episode #103 on our website at https://davidjoannes.com/103billyoh/

Kyle Barrington currently serves as an International Missionary Partners (IMP) Coordinator at Christ’s Commission Fellowship in Manila, Philippines. He and his wife Jessa have been serving among Filipino Muslims since 2015, specifically focused on implementing Disciple Making Movements and mobilizing churches to do the same. Kyle also serves as admin, alongside six others, of the dynamic millennial/Gen-Z Christian apologetics social media movement in the Philippines called “The Christian Think Tank PH.” His passion is to see all people follow Jesus, especially Muslims and religious skeptics.Find Missions Pulse episode #102 on our website at https://davidjoannes.com/102kylebarrington/00:00 Teaser04:12 Intro03:58 Gen Z and the Future of Missions06:32 Importance of Contextualization08:34 Are We Fulfilling the Great Commission?11:37 From Atheism to Christianity17:00 Honest Faith-Sharing20:42 Authentic Discipleship23:05 Disciple-Making Mentality28:03 Global South Christians34:20 Redemptive Analogies and Colonialism40:00 Gen Z & Short-Term Missions43:20 When Everything Is Missions46:45 Filipinos in Missions 49:10 Ministry to Muslims51:57 Territorialism in Missions 58:18 Christian Think Talk PH1:04:48 Micah 6:8 Calling1:07:43 Final Thoughts

Bradley Bell is a former missionary who serves as the lead pastor at Antioch Church in Louisville, Kentucky, https://www.antiochpeople.org/ and as senior editor at The Upstream Collective. https://www.theupstreamcollective.org/ He is the author of The Sending Church Defined https://www.amazon.com/Sending-Church-Defined-Bradley-Bell/dp/1734370548 and Receiving Sent Ones During Reentry, https://www.amazon.com/Receiving-Sent-Ones-During-Reentry-ebook/dp/B06WLKRWPQ and his writing is compiled at BrokenMissiology.org. http://brokenmissiology.org/ He and his wife, Katie, have four daughters. Find Missions Pulse episode #101 on our website at https://davidjoannes.com/101bradleybell/00:00 Teaser01:14 Intro05:15 Spiritual Formation & Global Missions09:20 Altruism in Missions11:25 Identity & Destiny13:43 God Always Working (China Story)17:20 Bradley's Story24:29 The Church Role in Sending32:40 Upstream Collective39:42 America Is a Small Part of the Church42:37 Expectation vs Expectancy50:11 Power in Brokenness54:25 Closing Remarks

Dr. Richard Blackaby is the president of Blackaby Ministries International (www.blackaby.org) where he works with his father Henry. He is an author and a popular international speaker. Richard also co-authored the revision of "Experiencing God (2021 Edition): Knowing and Doing the Will of God" and often speaks in churches and to Christian organizations. Richard has written or co-authored over 30 books, including "Living Out of the Overflow," "The Seasons of God," "Unlimiting God," and "Putting a Face on Grace." Richard is married to Lisa, and they have three amazing children: Mike, Daniel, and Carrie. Find Missions Pulse episode #100 on our website at https://davidjoannes.com/100richardblackaby/00:00 Teaser00:44 Intro02:04 The Theme of Experiencing God03:07 Richard's Greatest Reward in Ministry06:18 Generational Blessing08:00 How Experiencing God Impacts the World10:47 Individualism & Cultural Shifts17:31 Spiritual Leadership22:32 Demystifying Spiritual Leadership26:41 How to Make Ministry Plans29:47 About Gospel Access39:24 The Moravian Call41:50 The Collision 49:11 Christian Optimism53:04 Closing Remarks

George Sisneros is the Founder of Ordinary Missionaries and the author of Do You Love Me?: Giving Up the American Dream to Serve the Underprivileged.Find Missions Pulse episode #99 on our website at https://davidjoannes.com/099georgesisneros/

Jimn Kyles is the lead pastor at Anchor Bend Church in Richmond, TX. He spent the bulk of his twenties as an entrepreneur, working in real estate and restaurants. Then, in the mid-2000s, he and his wife Phyllis felt the call to full-time vocational ministry, where they started traveling and working with an organization that recruited and trained thousands of leaders across the nation to facilitate short-term missions worldwide.Find Missions Pulse episode #98 on our website at https://davidjoannes.com/098jimnkyles/In 2013 Jimn Kyles and his wife Phyllis launched a thriving, multicultural, multigenerational church in Richmond, TX, with a mission to bring hope and healing to those who are hurting. They have four children, Caden, Carson, Addison, and Raylin.Jimn Kyles is the author of Unstuck & Unstoppable: Shake Off the Past, Find Your Purpose, Get on with Your LifeHere's what you'll Discover in Unstuck and Unstoppable: - How to live your life with purpose and passion- How to discover your identity apart from others' beliefs or expectations- How to move forward with a clear vision for your future- How to identify negative paradigms that are secretly sabotaging your life- How to cultivate a healthy life-giving paradigm.- How to forgive those who hurt you - What are trauma triggers and how to defuse them

The man who cringes when he gets pegged as the sabbath guy talks about why rest is a necessary component for wildfaring and risk-taking!Mark Buchanan is a pastor, author, and Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at Ambrose University. His books include The Rest of God, Spiritual Rhythm, Your God Is Too Safe, Your Church Is Too Safe, and others, plus his recently released "God Walk: Moving at the Speed of Your Soul." He regularly contributes to the Leadership Journal and Christianity Today.Find Missions Pulse episode #97 on our website at https://davidjoannes.com/097markbuchanan/00:00 Teaser00:59 Intro02:32 David & Mark's Books04:44 Rest & Risk Intro07:02 In Pace with Jesus08:14 Rest & Risk Expounded11:13 Mark's Life & Ministry 14:36 Caleb, Hill Country, & Giants16:01 Mary & Martha Redefined20:25 The Better & Best22:33 Hurry Culture24:51 Scarcity Thinking28:24 Three-Mile-an-Hour God34:16 The Harvest Is In the Seed36:42 Is Sabbath Optional?40:40 God Walk In Practice45:06 Sabbath & Tech49:13 Savoring Rest51:49 Mark's Purpose53:44 Closing Remarks