The Serve Asia Podcast

Hey kids, are you ready for an adventure? Join Chris as he hikes through some of China's geography. Climb the dizzying heights of the Himalayas, where you find Mount Everest. Look out for snow leopards! Cross the sandy Gobi Desert on a camel. Journey down the Yangtze River for nearly 4000 miles. Get ready for an exciting tour of this incredible nation here on Kids Exploring East Asia! Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EopWfE7AClk Ask your questions by emailing us uk.podcast@omfmail.com

Hey kids, are you ready for an adventure? Join Chris as he introduces the fascinating country of China. Explore China's immense size and population, historical artefacts like the Terracotta Army, and the diverse landscapes, animals, and people. Get ready for an exciting tour of this incredible nation here on Kids Exploring East Asia! Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/LDBt5ikhXBU

David Robinson shares how his life changed from being an indifferent churchgoer to a risk-taking evangelist and the role Billy Graham played in the change! He shares about his decades of missionary work in Thailand and Cambodia and points us to the power of faith and personal relationships in spreading the gospel. David's strategic approach to church planting emphasises the importance of quality time with people, expectant faith, and the nurturing of local believers to eventually lead their own congregations. He opens up about the personal and spiritual challenges of church planting, from grappling with language barriers and potential dangers to overcoming feelings of inadequacy. Despite these hurdles, he reveals the profound joy that comes from witnessing the growth of individuals and communities who respond to the gospel message. Join the conversation on Instagram ⁠@serveasiapodcast⁠ Or connect with us by email ⁠uk.podcast@omfmail.com

Roger Carswell, a dedicated evangelist and long-standing OMF supporter, joins us to respond to our podcast series on creation care and shares his tips for sharing Jesus in everyday life. Roger has been spreading the gospel for over five decades. He sheds light on prayerfulness and the use of Christian leaflets as conversation starters about faith. He encourages everyone to share their faith stories, even those who don't consider themselves evangelists. His valuable advice on connecting with others through meaningful conversations, literature, websites, and podcasts will inspire you to share the gospel joyfully. Join the conversation on Instagram @serveasiapodcast Or connect with us by email uk.podcast@omfmail.com

Your work is a great opportunity for making Jesus known across the street and across the world. Ngaira joins us to tell us about Work+Go, an event exploring this idea of gospel witness in and through our work. Saturday 4 November, Manchester. See you there. Book your tickets and find out more at workandgo.org Hear last year's speakers on the Work+Go podcast. Follow work+go on Instagram

In this episode of the Serve Asia podcast, host Chris Watts is joined by John, an OMF worker serving in Japan. Continuing the series on church planting, they discuss the importance of establishing groups of followers of Jesus all over the world. John shares his experience in church planting ministry in Sapporo, a city with a population of two million people. He also talks about his love for spending quality time with his family in parks, climbing trees, and telling stories. Tune in to hear more about the impact of church planting and the joy of creating a loving community. Find out more about John and Izumi Church: https://johnnewtonwebb.blogspot.com https://hiragishiizumi.com The Church Planting Season In the Church Planting series, we're unpacking what it takes to establish local communities of believers in East Asia. Our guests are from different backgrounds and serve today in very different contexts, each seeking to make disciples of Jesus. They share how they got involved, the highs and lows of this long-term ministry, and what they've learned along the way. Get in touch, we love hearing from our listeners: Follow us on Instagram @serveasiapodcast Send us email uk.podcast@omfmail.com Timestamps [00:01:49] Family storytelling in the park. [00:04:01] Understanding the gospel at a young age. [00:09:48] Churchlessness in Japan. [00:13:01] Learning Japanese language and culture. [00:19:22] Investing in relationships in Japan. [00:23:32] Christianity involves meeting together as a church. [00:25:09] The internet and outreach. [00:29:36] Reimagining the term "church plant." [00:34:23] Easter guest services. [00:37:26] Difficulty reaching younger generations. [00:41:20] Personal evangelism and outreach. [00:45:00] Building trust through community involvement. [00:49:20] Trusting God's Promises. [00:52:42] Building relationships through small interactions. [00:56:05] Perseverance and small acts. [01:00:37] Being too cautious? [01:04:44] Short-term opportunities in Japan.

In this episode, Chris Watts talks to Adam*, discussing the journey of God's leading that brought him and his family to serve in Southeast Asia. We examine the tension between his gifts and passions for church ministry and the restrictions there are on these in his current context in Asia. Adam shares how he learned to be about the building up of God's Church no matter the location, and how he is learning to surrender his own plans so that others can flourish. He explains the term 'unreached people' and the importance of being ready to serve in all circumstances. We explore how church planting continues to be an effective and faithful way to reach the unreached, and the various roles we can all play in supporting the mission of the church. Adam shares his story of how God led him from ministry in London to Southeast Asia and opened an opportunity for him to serve in a unique way. We discuss how the church planting movement in Asia needs to include passing on the gospel to the next generation, and how creative and compassionate holistic mission thinkers can help churches become more relevant and connected to their culture. Books Adam mentions: Grounded in Heaven by Michael Allen The Drama of Doctrine by Kevin J. Vanhoozer The Church Planting Season In the Church Planting series, we're unpacking what it takes to establish local communities of believers in East Asia. Our guests are from different backgrounds and serve today in very different contexts, each seeking to make disciples of Jesus. They share how they got involved, the highs and lows of this long-term ministry, and what they've learned along the way. Get in touch, we love hearing from our listeners: Follow us on Instagram @serveasiapodcast Send us email uk.podcast@omfmail.com Timestamps (0:00:00) - Exploring Church Planting in Southeast Asia (0:07:04) - Serving in Asia and Unreached Peoples (0:15:40) - Church Planting in Mission (0:25:01) - Investing in Relationships and Church Planting (0:38:26) - Exploring Cross-Cultural Discipleship and Church Planting (0:42:30) - Living with Purpose in Church Planting *name changed for security reasons.

Jonathan Carswell invited Reuben Grace to be a guest over on the 10ofthose podcast! They chat about a new release of the biography To A Different Drum. Reuben and Jonathan chat about the wonderful way God can use the stories of followers of Jesus to instruct, inform and inspire us as we seek to make the gospel known across the street and across the world. Listen to more from the 10ofthose podcast here. 10ofthose Check out books and more at 10ofthose.com/ Follow us on Instagram @serveasiapodcast send us an email uk.podcast@omfmail.com Don't forget to subscribe today!

Allen McClymont is a typical Londoner: born in Malaysia, he grew up in New Zealand and has taught New Testament Greek in Malaysia! He was a guest on Christian Heritage London, and today we're sharing that conversation with you. Allen has a great story and shares openly and honestly about how he continues to learn what it means to be involved in sharing the good news of Jesus across the street and across the world. If you enjoy this conversation, do subscribe to the Christian Heritage London podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify If you have questions or comments, we'd love to hear from you email us at ⁠uk.podcast@omfmail.com⁠ or drop us a DM on Instagram at ⁠@ServeAsiaPodcast⁠.

Morgan shares how during a Bible study with a Japanese student, she unexpectedly ended up talking about marine life. She shares how learning a language has taught her more about how patient and generous God is. If you want to read more about the story Morgan wrote about it in this blog post: https://omf.org/uk/japanese-study-taught-me-more-than-the-language/ Get in touch Instagram @serveasiapodcast Email: uk.podcast@omfmail.com

Hope is in short supply in discussions about environmental issues today. The last book of the Bible gives us a picture of 'a new heaven and a new earth' (Revelation 21:1). How does this hope help us engage with the pressing issues of our day? Finishing off our series Creation Care and Living Out the Gospel, we hear from Ruth Valerio at Tearfund about some of the key passages in this area and the challenges of interpreting them. Plus, theologian Daniel Button introduces us to themes from his PhD exploring what the new creation might look like and how the themes of creation link together Genesis and Revelation. Our other guests explore themes, including the importance of thinking about the 'now and not yet' of God's kingdom and how to ground our theology in our everyday lives. Your host for this series is Reuben Grace. He’s part of the Communications team in OMF (UK) and has been exploring some of the big questions on the topic of creation care for us. If you have questions or comments, we'd love to hear from you - email us at uk.podcast@omfmail.com or drop us a DM on Instagram at @ServeAsiaPodcast. Useful Links https://www.eden.co.uk/saying-yes-to-life/https://www.eden.co.uk/l-is-for-lifestyle/https://omf.org/uk/resources/why-care-for-creation/https://omf.org/uk/resources/why-care-for-creation/

The gospel of Jesus Christ is good news for people and their relationship with God, for whole communities and for creation itself. But how do these different areas fit together in practice? To help answer that question, in this episode we take a detailed look at two case studies of two environmental projects in East Asia. First, we hear from Bryan Martin, the founder of Reefs for Life, an innovative non-profit in the Philippines, about the difference caring for creation is making in local fishing communities. Then Peter Nitschke, the Global Director of Community Partnerships at the Plastic Bank, shares why reducing plastic pollution matters to God, blesses some of the world's poorest communities and has the potential to aid our evangelism too. Your host for this series is Reuben Grace. He’s part of the Communications team in OMF (UK) and has been exploring some of the big questions on the topic of creation care for us. If you have questions or comments, we'd love to hear from you - email us at uk.podcast@omfmail.com or drop us a DM on Instagram at @ServeAsiaPodcast. Useful Links Find out more about: Reefs for Life: https://www.reefsforlife.org/ Plastic Bank: https://plasticbank.com/ OMF and creation care: https://omf.org/en-GB/our-ministries/creation-care/about ‘Why care for creation?’ Bible study series from OMF (UK) https://omf.org/en/web/uk/resources/why-care-for-creation-

Are we the planet's biggest problem today? Would it be better off without us? Increasingly we're told that the answer to both those questions is ‘yes’. But what does God have to say about our role in the world - as humanity in general and followers of Jesus in particular? And what on earth does the food you eat, the way you get around, and a host of other practical questions have to do with our discipleship and following Jesus Christ? We dig into these challenging practical questions in episode 2 of Creation Care and Living Out the Gospel. Guests include Tearfund's Ruth Valerio, Caroline Pomeroy, Director of Climate Stewards and OMF's Jasmine Kwong, bringing a perspective from the Philippines. Plus, we hear from Bryan Martin, a self-confessed ‘unlikely environmentalist' from California now serving as a missionary in the Philippines. Your host for this series is Reuben Grace. He’s part of the Communications team in OMF (UK) and has been exploring some of the big questions on this topic for us. If you have questions or comments, we'd love to hear from you - email us at uk.podcast@omfmail.com or drop us a DM on Instagram at @ServeAsiaPodcast. Links Find out more about OMF and creation care ‘Why care for creation?’ Bible study series from OMF (UK) More from Ruth Valerio Climate Stewards

With the COP27 climate talks underway in Egypt, environmental issues are in the headlines again. As followers of Jesus, what do we have to say about these things? How do we live out the gospel in this area? In the first of our three-part series on creation care, we explore what the Bible says about the environment. At a time when so many appeals are made to good reasons to care for the environment, what does the Bible have to say? How does knowing Jesus compel us to get involved? We hear from guests including Ruth Valerio at Tearfund, Caroline Pomeroy from Climate Stewards and Dr Tim Davy, a lecturer at All Nations Christian College on these topics and more. Your host for this series is Reuben Grace. He’s part of the Communications team in OMF (UK) and has been exploring some of the big questions on this topic for us. If you have questions or comments, we'd love to hear from you - email us at uk.podcast@omfmail.com or drop us a DM on Instagram at Serve Asia Podcast. Links Find out more about OMF and creation care ‘Why care for creation?’ Bible study series from OMF (UK) More from Ruth Valerio Climate Stewards All Nations Christian College On the Serve Asia Podcast we have conversations about the people and places of East Asia, sharing the good news of Jesus and how you can be involved. To get in touch with the Serve Asia Podcast: Follow us on Instagram @serveasiapodcast Or email us at: uk.podcast@omfmail.com

Reuben lets us know what's coming up very soon on the Serve Asia podcast. He's been diving into Creation Care and its place in life following Jesus and sharing the gospel with others. On the Serve Asia Podcast we have conversations about the people and places of East Asia, sharing the good news of Jesus and how you can be involved. To get in touch with the Serve Asia Podcast: Follow us on Instagram @serveasiapodcast Or email us at: uk.podcast@omfmail.com

Chris Wright, author of “The Mission of God” joins us to talk about mission. What even is mission? Is it biblical? If it is what does it mean for each of us as followers of Jesus and what does it mean for the churches we each belong to? Chris is an excellent communicator and has thought long and hard about these topics, digging deep into the Bible and seeking to be faithful to what it teaches us. Do check out Chris’s book The Mission of God and his paper on The Church & Integral Mission If you enjoy the conversation do check out Chris Wright's podcast On Mission with Chris Wright Book and Song suggestions from Chris Wright: The Overstory, a novel by Richard Powers Leonard Cohen – Anthem U2 – I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For To get in touch with the Serve Asia Podcast: Follow us on Instagram @serveasiapodcast Or email us at: uk.podcast@omfmail.com

Patrick Fung, OMF International General Director, was recently a guest on the @thekingdomspodcast. They were kind enough to let us share the conversation with you. Patrick’s testimony is striking and reminds us of how wonderful the good news of Jesus is, but also that he calls his disciples to a costly life of following him. He shares how the diversity of the organisation he leads is a constant source of learning. Patrick also speaks about the shifting landscape of making Jesus known among the nations, in a world changed by a pandemic and migration. If you enjoy the episode go and check out other great conversations from The Kingdoms Podcast. --- To get in touch with the Serve Asia Podcast: Follow us on Instagram @serveasiapodcast Or email us at: uk.podcast@omfmail.com

Sandra Richter explains why she is passionate about creation care and believes that all who take the Bible seriously as their rule of faith and praxis should be too. Our conversation with Sandra is largely based on her book Stewards of Eden. Sandra shares her own experience of speaking and teaching on this subject and why she started getting interested in it in the first place. The discussion covers a wide variety of topics from farming, shopping, endangered species, Old Testament law and much more. Sandra is an Old Testament scholar, author, speaker, and seminary lecturer. She currently lives in California, USA, where she is on staff at Westmont College. Useful links and resources from the episode Stewards of Eden by Sandra Richterblessedearth.org/Why Care for Creation? – biblical reflections on creation care from OMF UKEd Stetzer - Christians in the age of outrage --- To get in touch with the Serve Asia Podcast: Follow us on Instagram @serveasiapodcast Or email us at: uk.podcast@omfmail.com

Peter Rowan, Co-national director of OMF (UK), was interviewed earlier in the year by Eddie Arthur. Drawing on experience his experience in Malaysia, Peter shares some of his thinking about how the gospel of Jesus, through the local church, is a powerful agent for reconciliation across societal and cultural divides. Peter Rowan and his wife Christine served with OMF in Thailand and Malaysia before taking up their role leading OMF (UK). Eddie and his wife have worked for many years with Wycliffe Bible translators and Eddie writes and blogs regularly about making Jesus known across the world. Peter's PhD thesis on the themes of reconciliation in the Malaysian church context became the book Proclaiming the Peacemaker and later a shortened version Seeking Reconciliation. Follow us on Instagram: @serveasiapodcast Or email us: uk.podcast@omfmail.com Resources links Peter’s book - Seeking Reconciliation https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seeking-Reconciliation-Peacemaking-Witness-Malaysia-ebook/dp/B07XF7RKHZ/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=peter+rowan&qid=1639647616&s=books&sr=1-3 Eddie Arthur’s blog and YouTube https://www.kouya.net/?page_id=10381 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gG08E9fT9k&list=PLgzJ1U5nPm7ASlXwDKn87gFSe1gnl01ZB Some books Peter mentions New World Coming by Andrew Kirk https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-World-Coming-Andrew-Kirk/dp/0551010657 The Recovery of Mission by Vinoth Ramachandra https://www.amazon.co.uk/Recovery-Mission-Beyond-Pluralist-Paradigm/dp/0802843492 Deacon King Kong by James McBride https://www.amazon.co.uk/Deacon-King-Kong-Times-Oprahs/dp/0857527584/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Sam's work with a hearing dog charity in the north of England turned out to make him just the right person to support a family looking to Thailand with OMF. Through his various life experiences, God had been preparing Sam and his family to be uniquely placed to serve friends of theirs in ways they'd never considered. Find out how Sam, his wife Heather and their two young children ended up flying to East Asia, and how a global pandemic turned everything on its head. Sam shares how he has grown as a follower of Jesus through these times of challenge and uncertainty and how he and his family continue to be involved in making Jesus known across the street and across the world in Yorkshire today. Find out more about the online prayer group Sam mentions here: omf.org/uk/online-prayer-groups/ The book Sam recommends, Rediscover Church, can be found here: 10ofthose.com/uk/products/27960/rediscover-church To find out more about volunteering with Bridge Asia here: omf.org/uk/volunteer-in-the-uk/ Get in touch with the podcast Instagram: @serveasiapodcast Email: uk.podcast@omfmail.com