Episode 7: Ask a Missiologist-with Dr. Chris DeWelt

Episode 7: Ask a Missiologist-with Dr. Chris DeWelt

When Jay introduced Dr. Chris Dewelt at the top of this episode, he called him "the first real live missiologist on the missions podcast" — and then said "feels fitting." He wasn't wrong. Chris has a doctorate in missiology, eight years as a missionary in Chile, and decades training missionaries at Ozark Christian College and Lincoln Christian Seminary. He also happens to be a longtime mentor to both Chad and Jay. This conversation was overdue. In it, Chris talks honestly about what keeps missionaries on the field long-term, what tends to pull them off it, and what finishing well looks like from someone who has watched all of it up close for a very long time. Featuring Dr. Chris Dewelt — missiologist, former missionary to Chile, professor at Lincoln Christian Seminary Chapters 00:00 — Intro and welcome to Dr. Chris Dewelt 01:30 — Chris's background: Chile, publishing, teaching missions 07:00 — What makes missionaries last 08:00 — Spousal buy-in: both need to be all-in 12:30 — The #2 reason missionaries leave: can't get along with teammates 15:00 — Families on the field and including your kids in the work 18:30 — Third culture kids 20:00 — Extended family and staying connected across distance 24:30 — Why some missionaries leave early 27:00 — Vitality of spirit life vs. a performative lens 28:00 — Negativity, defensiveness, and always being an outsider 35:00 — Social thriving matters too 39:00 — When the honeymoon phase ends for the sending church 40:00 — Member care and local church resources 42:00 — Finishing well and not overstaying usefulness 44:00 — "I just needed to hear your voice" 46:00 — Fear is the enemy's #1 tool 51:00 — "Love your Lord, love your spouse, love your kids, love your work" Scripture Hebrews · 2 Corinthians 1 · Psalm 19.14 Both Ends of the Rope is a podcast about Christian missions. Chad and Jay serve with the Mustard Seed Network — a network of gospel-centered church-planting churches in Japan. mustardseed.network [https://mustardseed.network] Voiceover: Ben Mayer — benmayerdonethat.com [https://benmayerdonethat.com] Theme music: Studio Inlight — inlight.co.jp [https://inlight.co.jp] Design and animation: Matt Jameson — mattjameson.co [https://mattjameson.co] Follow BEOTR → @bothendsoftherope [https://instagram.com/bothendsoftherope] Chad → @chadfarmer.tokyo [https://instagram.com/chadfarmer.tokyo] Jay → @jaygreer [https://instagram.com/jaygreer] Mustard Seed Network → @mustardseednetworkjapan [https://instagram.com/mustardseednetworkjapan]

Episode 6: Accountability on the Field

Who does a missionary actually answer to? Chad and Jay get honest about accountability structures, supporter pressure, and why every missionary needs to know exactly who their authority is before they hit the field. Chapters 00:00 — Intro 02:11 — Who are you actually accountable to? 06:01 — The problem with 8 sending churches 07:09 — "I wrote the bylaws so I could be fired" 11:37 — Who is your supervisor? 20:11 — Make sure you have authority over you 22:59 — The newsletter temptation 25:23 — Round down, not up 25:41 — Trust God for your daily bread Scripture Hebrews 13 · 1 Peter 5 · Titus 1.5 · Matthew 6.33 Both Ends of the Rope is a podcast about Christian missions. Chad and Jay serve with the Mustard Seed Network — a network of gospel-centered church-planting churches in Japan. mustardseed.network [https://mustardseed.network] Voiceover: Ben Mayer — benmayerdonethat.com [https://benmayerdonethat.com] Theme music: Studio Inlight — inlight.co.jp [https://inlight.co.jp] Follow BEOTR → @bothendsoftherope [https://instagram.com/bothendsoftherope] Chad → @chadfarmer.tokyo [https://instagram.com/chadfarmer.tokyo] Jay → @jaygreer [https://instagram.com/jaygreer]

Episode 5: How to Become a Sending Church

Most churches want to be sending churches. Few know what that actually requires. In this episode, Chad Farmer and Jay Greer walk through what it actually looks like for a local church to send a missionary well — from assessing the candidate before they go, to communication and accountability on the field, to evaluating mission effectiveness and asking hard questions about spiritual health. They cover the conversations a church needs to have before writing a single check, how to mobilize the congregation to pray, what to do when missionaries go through culture shock and hardship, and what it means to hold missionaries accountable without leaving them alone. They close with Philippians 4.17: the fruit that increases to your credit. This episode is for any church that wants to do more than write a check — and for the missionary who needs to know what good sending looks like. Chapters 00:00 — Intro 02:10 — How do we become a sending church? 07:00 — Budget and global vision 09:00 — Have the financial conversation early 10:30 — Assessing the missionary candidate 17:00 — Let the church ask the hard questions 19:00 — After the send: communication and prayer 22:10 — Encouraging missionaries through hardship 24:53 — A theology of suffering 30:38 — Evaluating mission effectiveness 34:36 — When missionaries pivot 37:00 — Care, standards, and restoration 42:07 — Final words for sending churches Scripture Acts 13.48-50 · Romans 15 · 1 Corinthians 16.9 · Matthew 18 · Thessalonians · Philippians 4.17 Both Ends of the Rope is a podcast about Christian missions. Chad and Jay serve with the Mustard Seed Network — a network of gospel-centered church-planting churches in Japan. mustardseed.network [https://mustardseed.network] Voiceover: Ben Mayer — benmayerdonethat.com [https://benmayerdonethat.com] Theme music: Studio Inlight — inlight.co.jp [https://inlight.co.jp] Follow Chad → @chadfarmer.tokyo [https://instagram.com/chadfarmer.tokyo] Jay → @jaygreer [https://instagram.com/jaygreer] Mustard Seed Network → @mustardseednetworkjapan [https://instagram.com/mustardseednetworkjapan] If this episode was helpful, share it with your missions committee — or with the missionary who needs to hear that someone's thinking carefully about how to send them well.

Episode 4: What Are Short-Term Mission Trips Actually For? — ft. James Miyashita

Short-term mission trips can get a bad reputation. Sometimes for good reason. But they can also be one of the most strategic tools a sending church has when everyone involved knows what they are actually trying to do. In this episode, Chad Farmer and Jay Greer sit down with James Miyashita, born and raised in Japan, now church planting in Nagoya, to talk through what makes a short-term trip genuinely helpful versus a burden, why "just send money and pray" is more biblical than it sounds, and how James's Recon Tour helps people discern their role in missions before anyone twists their arm into going. This episode is for the church that wants to send well, the missionary trying to figure out how to receive well. Chapters 00:00 — Intro: welcoming James Miyashita 03:30 — James's background and Nagoya 07:00 — Have any of you been on a short-term trip? 11:00 — What missionaries actually need from visiting teams 12:30 — Vision trips vs. mission trips 18:00 — The goal: love Jesus more when you leave 21:00 — When churches want to come and see the work 26:30 — What makes trips go poorly 29:30 — Who should come on a vision trip 33:00 — Why we moved to invite-only 37:00 — The "we just want to bless you" problem 45:00 — "Just send money and pray" 50:30 — About Recon Tours Scripture Romans 15.24, 30 · Ephesians 6.19-20 · Luke 8.1-3 · Luke 1.1-4 Featuring James Miyashita — church planting in Nagoya, leading Recon Tours: seven-day vision trips to Japan for people exploring whether missions might be for them. reachingjapan.com [https://reachingjapan.com] · @reachingjapan [https://instagram.com/reachingjapan] Both Ends of the Rope is a podcast about Christian missions. Chad and Jay serve with the Mustard Seed Network — a network of gospel-centered church-planting churches in Japan. mustardseed.network [https://mustardseed.network] Voiceover: Ben Mayer — benmayerdonethat.com [https://benmayerdonethat.com] Theme music: Studio Inlight — inlight.co.jp [https://inlight.co.jp] Follow Chad → @chadfarmer.tokyo [https://instagram.com/chadfarmer.tokyo] Jay → @jaygreer [https://instagram.com/jaygreer] Mustard Seed Network → @mustardseednetworkjapan [https://instagram.com/mustardseednetworkjapan] If this episode was helpful, share it with someone who's thinking about a short-term trip or someone who sends people on them.

Episode 3: The Word, the Culture, and the Gap

Missionaries aren't just crossing borders. They're crossing cultures. And the words they've used their whole lives don't always make the trip. In this episode, Chad Farmer and Jay Greer work through what contextualization actually means — and why it matters more than most sending churches realize. They start with five phrases from American evangelical culture that don't translate: "do community," "a God thing," "it's," "just" in prayer, and "share your faith." From there they trace Tim Keller's definition through the book of Acts, showing how Paul preached differently in Athens than he did in Antioch — not because the message changed, but because the starting point did. They walk through two real ways contextualization goes wrong: under-contextualization (a scene from a crowded Tokyo intersection) and over-contextualization (prosperity gospel, Buddhist-Christian syncretism, and liberal theology). And they keep coming back to 2 Timothy 3: the Word is living, active, and sufficient — and missionaries need to know it, preach it, and let it sustain them. This episode is for the church and the missionary candidate who want to understand what it means to bring the gospel to a culture that has never heard it. Chapters 00:00 — Intro 01:40 — "Do community" 03:29 — "A God thing" 04:32 — "It's" 07:14 — "Just" in prayer 08:39 — "Share your faith" — and why precision matters 11:07 — What is contextualization? 13:05 — How Paul preached differently in Acts 17:21 — What the Word says about itself 21:30 — Two ways contextualization goes wrong 23:32 — Under-contextualization 29:14 — Over-contextualization: the prosperity gospel 31:27 — Syncretism: Christian and Buddhist 33:18 — Liberal theology 37:47 — Hebrews 9.27 and reincarnation 40:42 — Preach the Word: back to 2 Timothy 44:30 — Get reps at home before you go 46:42 — The Word sustains you on the field Scripture 2 Timothy 3.14-4.2 · Hebrews 9.27 · Matthew 6.24 · Acts 13 · Acts 14 · Acts 17 · Acts 19 Both Ends of the Rope is a podcast about Christian missions. Chad and Jay serve with the Mustard Seed Network — a network of gospel-centered church-planting churches in Japan. mustardseed.network [https://mustardseed.network] Voiceover: Ben Mayer — benmayerdonethat.com [https://benmayerdonethat.com] Theme music: Studio Inlight — inlight.co.jp [https://inlight.co.jp] Follow Chad → @chadfarmer.tokyo [https://instagram.com/chadfarmer.tokyo] Jay → @jaygreer [https://instagram.com/jaygreer] Mustard Seed Network → @mustardseednetworkjapan [https://instagram.com/mustardseednetworkjapan] If this episode was helpful, share it with someone preparing to go — or with the pastor who's sending them.