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Singing the Gospel – Music and the Message
Eight reasons I produce (and co-produce) worship songs in the languages of least reached people groups. God is Worthy God alone is worthy of all worship. All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before ...
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Signing the Gospel
Not singing the gospel… signing it! Have you ever visited a country where no one spoke your language? Did you feel out of place? Did you need to either guess or gesture to communicate? Was it a challenge to ask for help, order a meal or share an opinion? If so, I suspect you were quite ...
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Sharing God's Light in North Africa
James* and Rachel's* lives were transformed by the light of Christ that gave them hope for the future. Spurred on by the life-changing news of the gospel, they moved to North Africa with the hopes of sharing the light and hope of the gospel with Arab people. When they first arrived in North ...
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Jesus in the Temples
Whilst some friends from the UK were visiting we went to a historic temple that had an area for ‘asking a monk a question’. We took the opportunity to meet one of the monks and ask him questions about Buddhism. It was the first time I’d ever done this and I honestly know little of Buddhism ...
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Finding Faith on the Internet
Karim's search for God started online. But his journey really began before then, when he was serving a sentence in a Moroccan prison. While he was there, Islamic spiritual leaders visited him and gave him lectures about what a bad person he was. "There was little grace," he says, "only a wide ...
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Medical mission to regional prison opens Pioneer's eyes
It finally happened, we have gone to jail. Thankfully we landed on the “just visiting” corner of the board and were let out after 4 hours of time behind bars. These were 4 hours that we will not forget easily. The pitch from the founders of our hospital was a medical outreach in the state ...
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Looking to the Future
I am intrigued by Jesus’s words in John 14:12, “Whoever believes in me…will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” What could be greater than walking on water, feeding 5,000 people, or raising Lazarus from the dead? Yet here we are in 2023 experiencing ...
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Pioneers International Director encourages us to Keep Pioneering!
It is amazing to think that Pioneers missionaries now come from around 90 passport countries and serve among unreached peoples in more than 100 countries. Our founder, Ted Fletcher, had a vision that Pioneers would mobilise from all over the world, and this is our reality today, by God’s grace. ...
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Supporting Families with Disabilities in Central Asia
The two-hour drive to ‘Black Axe’ from the capital got us there in time for the parents’ support meeting. The cold dreary morning and lack of electricity in the abandoned hospital grounds belied the warmth of the welcome we received, as former colleagues who helped establish the group have ...
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25 Years of Member Care
Constant Change - Constant Father While change is a constant, in the care of Pioneers workers some things have remained the same. Our Heavenly Father’s care has not changed. His supply of enabling grace is always the same. His powerful love, comforting compassion and enduring faithfulness ...
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Gospel Messengers
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news…” These much-loved words are so often associated with Christian mission, as Jesus’ followers go out into the world to share the gospel. During my first year as a field worker in 2000, the LORD gave me a fresh ...
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Sacrficial Service
What was it like to go through the process of becoming Pioneers member? I first heard about Pioneers in 1998 when I was studying at the Bible College of Victoria (now MST), preparing to be a Bible translator. Even though I was expecting to serve with another organisation, Russell Briggs, a ...
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Going Boldly
A great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me' 1 Cor 16:9 There are never open doors without opposition. It is said that some of the best missionaries in the world are those who never went! They sensed God’s call, they felt the urge, they saw an open ...
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To the ends of the earth...
Jesus said, 'you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses...to the end of the earth.' (Acts 1:8). Sometimes those places 'at the end of the earth' are dangerous, and Jesus may call you there someday. But risk is right for the Kingdom. How can ...
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Courage or Foolishness?
Preparing to Serve in a Dangerous Place Are you crazy?! Are you really taking your family to one of the most dangerous countries in the world? This is the reaction we sometimes get when talking about relocating from our current international place of life and ministry to another nearby ...
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What Does it Take to Go to the Hardest Places? – and how to make a lasting difference –
Just last month I met a worker buying a camel so he could ride with the unreached nomads across the desert in North Africa. I recall my first trek into the mosquito infested jungle of Papua New Guinea to see the gospel penetrate a dark tribe: sleepless nights, malaria, loneliness, tropical heat, ...
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Short Term Mission Trip
'Islands of the Indian Ocean' Led by experienced cross-cultural workers, you will have opportunity to observe, pray and participate in the work of God among the peoples of the Indian Ocean Islands. Details: OPTION A: Two to three weeks in Mauritius including a focus on ‘education as mission’ ...
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Safely in His Hands
LISTEN - All to Jesus, I surrender, all to Him I freely give. For Sally and I our vision and calling to ‘GO’ into Australian Indigenous Ministry was set even before we were married in 1992. Sal was in her early-30’s and I was 29. With our sense of call safely in God’s hands, we ...
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Wanting to Go Fast - Willing To Slow Down
Answering the call to “come” with neck-breaking speed, heart racing tenacity, a wonderfully complex vision before me coupled with an almost terrifying chasm of trainings and preparation called for endurance and tenacity.The concept of preparation for my journey to the mission field at the ...
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Preparing Well: The Heartbeat Behind Training
My husband is a pilot and often we talk about the difference in perspective he has as a driver of a car, versus a pilot of a plane. So I’m going to borrow a few metaphors from his experience as we take a look at the training aspect of the missionary journey. First, let’s zoom out and talk ...
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Mission Mobilisation
Why Speak to a Mobiliser? Do you ever imagine what it would be like to live in a place with no way of knowing about Jesus? That’s the reality for more than three billion people on our planet today. That’s a staggering number of people without the ready access to the gospel most of us ...
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Some Highlights from the Mainland Southeast Asia Gatherings
Early June 2023, in Thailand As the Member Care and Development Facilitator for Aussie members serving in Mainland Southeast Asia, I had the immense privilege of attending the Regional gathering in Thailand in early June, the first to take place since the pandemic-caused hiatus. The setting ...
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Looking Back – Looking Forward
I am old enough to remember when Pioneers of Australia formed. Back then, in 1998, my husband and I were doctors serving with Asia Pacific Christian Mission in healthcare ministry at Rumginae Hospital, Papua New Guinea. Decades earlier, missionaries from Australia and New Zealand had pioneered ...
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What do you actually do?!
A Note from Simon Longden | Pioneers National Director A few months ago, as we farewelled one of our younger team members to take up a role with Victoria Police, during his farewell speech he kindly thanked me for “everything I do”. Then he said, “actually, I’m not even sure what it is ...
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25 Years of Financial Provision
As Pioneers Chief Financial Officer, I never cease to be amazed how God has blessed year after year through the generosity of faithful supporters to provide for our global activities. The financial support for our members serving in various parts of the world has increased exponentially over the ...
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Some Highlights from the EuroConnect North & South Gatherings
April/May 2023 in Southern Poland and Slovenia As the Member Care and Development Facilitator for Aussie members in Europe, I recently had the privilege of attending two regional European gatherings, the first to take place since a pandemic-caused hiatus. Late April saw the first of two ...
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Reflecting on His Faithfulness
We applied to Asia Pacific Christian (APCM) in 1997 and were sent out to Papua New Guinea by Pioneers in 1998. We met each other through APCM in 1986 while serving short-term at Rumginae Hospital (Western Province, PNG). At the time of writing this article, we are exploring ministry opportunities ...
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Some Highlights from the Inaugural Diaspora Area Gathering
16th-20th April at the Upper Plenty Conference Centre, Melbourne Amongst the rolling hills and gum trees, many from the Diaspora ministry in Oceania gathered at the Upper Plenty Conference Centre, just north of Melbourne from the 16th until the 20th of April. Travelling locally, interstate and ...
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God knows...
Christians often quote Jeremiah 29:11, ‘“For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord’. There is safety and hope and inspiration in that profound truth. God has always known the plans He intends to fulfil. Just as He has always known the needs of every person in every place. And ...
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Global Mission - Is it really for me?
There are so many needs here, why would I go overseas? The church is growing so fast in other countries, am I really needed in global mission? These are understandable questions, but we need to think about God’s plans for us and the world to really understand if global mission is for ...
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A Rich Heritage
Three mission organisations. Three regions of the world. Three histories. One common purpose… to reach those yet to hear. A vision for the Islands. Florence Young Late in the 1800s, thousands of Pacific Islanders were brought to Australia to work in sugarcane plantations. ...
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Praying through Ramadan
East and Southeast Asia are home to over 287 million Muslim people. That is more than in the whole of the Middle East. For these Muslims, Ramadan is one of the most significant months of the year. Here are three reasons why: 1. Five pillarsObserving Ramadan is part of what it means to be a ...
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Emergency Aid Fund - Turkey and Syria
On February 6th, an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck a region of Turkey and Syria known as Kahramanmaras. Many thousands were killed and others were injured or lost their homes and livelihoods. Pioneers has a standing emergency fund to respond to such disasters. Additionally, ...
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Pioneers Australia 25 Years – the journey so far...
History is a story written by the finger of God - [CS Lewis] I remember my very first day at Pioneers. It was Monday 15 January 2001. It wasn’t the day Pioneers began, but it was the time Tim Meyers, our director then, was ready to grow his small team, and he took a chance on me. I was ...
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Twenty-five and Counting!
It’s important to mark significant milestones, and fun to celebrate special events. This year marks 25 years of Pioneers Australia, and we’re celebrating all that God has done! That’s 25 years of God at work in and through Aussies making Christ Jesus known in places where there ...
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Support, Strengh & Resilience
“…though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him – a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” (Ecc. 4:12) By way of vivid analogy, the Preacher dispels any notion of going at it alone, focusing rather on the essentials of team-centered ministry: support, ...
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Planting seeds of the Gospel
One of the blessings of the heritage of the Australian church is its long history of sending workers into the harvest overseas. In the denomination of our sending church, an alliance for mission support was formed back in 1890! We are thankful that our sending church has been unafraid to innovate ...
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Pioneers, Crossway & Partnerships
"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." African Proverb One of the defining characteristics of Crossway Baptist Church is its engagement in making disciples, whether locally or abroad. Making disciples drives to the very core of who we are as a church. We want to ...
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Sovereign God
As we prepare to head overseas, one of the recurring questions we face is: “What is our risk quotient?” So many decisions are dictated by this simple capacity. Some believe this is a natural inclination we are born with, but we have found that it is something that God can increase as you walk ...
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Risk & Reward
We can take risks for Jesus in every aspect of our lives because they belong to him in the first place. This truth doesn’t always make it easy! As we prepare to go we keep being struck by the risks involved. We try to carefully consider living where resources are less available and everything ...
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Thank You
Fred Dimado Event Thank you for your RSVP! Looking forward to seeing you in August.
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Pioneers Event Featuring Fred Dimado
'Sending the whole world to the world' Come hear Fred Dimado, Pioneers Associate International Director, share how we are embracing the call on the global church to bring the gospel to least reached peoples. Details: Monday 22nd August @7.30 pm (AEST) This event is a hybrid event. Come and ...
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Risk on the field
It was a great joy to see our brother Sam* again, along with his with wife and their 1 year old son. Sam and his family are refugees that have fled the war in Yemen, to the nearby country in which we serve. Sam professed faith in Christ last year while living in the refugee camp in the North of ...
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God Takes No Risks
It was a warm Highlands Day in Papua New Guinea as we passed through Goroka and headed out by road to climb over the 2478 metre Dalu Pass into the Wahgi Valley. Once into the valley it was along the highlands highway to our home at the Christian Leaders’ Training College at Banz. With our three ...
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Risk and Suffering - How do we respond?
We were struck by the pervasive risk aversion! We’d even go as far to say, struck by the drive to eliminate risk. We’d recently returned to live in Australia after living in a nation in South-east Asia. Our life there was immersed in risk. Risk was involved in the simple task of getting around ...
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Wolves, sheep, snakes and doves...
Following Jesus in a spiritual warzone On Anzac Day, I watched a documentary on military chaplains in WW1 – courageous stories of gospel-light shining into the ‘blackout’ of the battlefield. One chaplain had promised a soldier that he would return and deliver him a Bible the next day. ...
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Blessed to be a blessing...
Galena and her daughters (Natasha - 12 & Sabrina 17) were driving from Ukraine to Italy where her husband and mother-in-law are living and working. She rented a car and along the way, but the car ran out of water and since she didn’t know this car well, unfortunately she drove until it ...
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Penetrating the darkness in Ukraine
For most of the Western World, darkness came over Ukraine on 24th of February 2022. For Ukraine however, this darkness has been hovering since 2014, when three large chunks of territory were taken by Russia. We have many friends in one of those areas who lost everything then. Many ...
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It’s all about the cross
I was recently asked to share a biblical reflection on the ‘Role of the Holy Spirit in Mission’. What a vast topic. We could discuss at length the role the Holy Spirit plays in sending missionaries, or His role in sustaining God’s people, or about how He enables, leads, encourages, comforts, ...
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The Power of the Cross: From the Classroom to the Village
It was a long trip. One and a half days in a bus with students from the theological college where I teach, then 4WDs for another day’s travel. Finally, after a brief sleep, we started the last leg of our journey – hiking from dawn till dusk into a mountainous area where a largely isolated ...
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Exploring Opportunities with Pioneers!
Welcome to Pioneers Australia where we value passion for God as we seek to help people take the Good News of Jesus to least reached places of the world. Take some time to read about where those least reached places are and why should we all consider playing a ...
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New Year – New Idea
New Year's resolutions are opportunities for change and improvement. A chance to do something different, something new. What fresh ideas are you looking to implement as you look ahead to 2022? Fact: a staggering 90% of the promises people make on New Year’s Eve will be abandoned before the ...
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JOY TO THE WORLD
Joy is experienced differently around the world for both individuals or collective groups, and special occasions present wonderful opportunities to invite people to celebrate and rejoice. However, our God has provided the means of greatest joy for all the world without the exclusion of any tribe, ...
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Seeds Bearing Fruit in Time
Dr P. passed me in the corridor one day. She looked somewhat pre-occupied and concerned where normally, she is quite bright. "Is everything OK?", I asked. Dr P is the head of Palliative Care in a university hospital and a staunch Buddhist who uses meditation to deal with all difficult issues and ...
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Glad You Asked!
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Christmas Joy
Covid 19 has thrown us many curve balls since March 2020. We were in the country Georgia, and we realised we needed to get to Australia in a hurry or we would get stuck there. We were only there for three conferences. We made it home, one day before the hotel quarantine was made compulsory. At ...
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Compelled by His Love
During November, we aimed to highlight how God’s love should compel us to do extraordinary things for the sake of the Gospel. We will heard stories of what motivated cross cultural workers to take the gospel to the unreached, and why they continue to serve today. Be encouraged as you hear ...
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Life to the Fullest
Our community Based Disability program is based in rural South Asia and serves more than 150 people with disability, mostly children. Our program has been serving those with disability for more than 10 years now. People with disability in rural India face multilevel disadvantage and ...
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Disability in Mission = Mission Possible
“I’m sorry, I don’t think it will be possible for us to send you to the mission field due to your disability”. Perhaps a common response by mission agencies (historically at least). Can this be right response to a person who has a heart to serve in missions? Doesn’t the ...
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Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
When we went onto the mission field in 2018, we knew we had the added challenge of going with a child with a disability. Ben, the eldest of our four children, was diagnosed with autism, global developmental delay, and visual impairment when he was four years old. When we reflect on the past 16 ...
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Hope and a Future
As full-time missionaries with Pioneers Australia fully seconded to work with Hellenic Ministries (HM) in Greece, Heather and I left Australia June 2017. We left knowing that I had a problem with deteriorating eyesight, at that time diagnosed as slow-growing cataracts in both eyes. Following ...
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Ordinary People: Extraordinary God
Greetings in the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ! My name is Uttam from a remote village in western Nepal, the land of Everest. I come from a very religious Hindu family. My grandfather married a Hindu woman and through her Hindu beliefs and worship came to be part of my family history. ...
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Always Faithful – Through It All
It was January 2018. I was contemplating our return to East Asia in a weeks’ time. We had started hearing of the intense government oppression of a large minority people there, and how the police were interrogating expat workers in various parts of the country. The country’s leader was ...
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The Provision of God
There is no doubt that everything we have in our lives comes from the Lord. The Bible says, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). In my early years of study at university, I took advantage of my free time taking ...
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Pioneers Connect 2023
Pioneers Connect 2023 Join us as Simon Longden, our National Director, shares how and why Pioneers teams continue to boldly proclaim the certainty of the gospel in our uncertain world. Be encouraged and inspired as some of our cross-culture workers share their experiences, and enjoy connecting ...
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Many People!
I’d like to say that God has spoken to me in grand visions and an audible voice. But I’m no Paul. In Acts 18, violent religious persecution was a daily possibility. So, God graciously spoke to Paul and said words to the effect, “Though it looks bleak right now, I actually have many people in ...
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Meeting Christ on a Journey
In 2014, J came to Kenya for an academic exchange as a graduate student with a university in China. She fell in love with the country. After her graduation, she became a “非漂fei piao’’ (which means one who wanders in Africa). Many Chinese perceive Africa negatively, but J was different, ...
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开拓澳大利亚的中国团队
This week, we're choosing to post the same article as we did last week, but in Chinese. May we be reminded of the beautiful diversity of God's people. The gospel is not simply for people that look like us and speak English: It is good news for all people of every ethnicity, language, and ...
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A Mandarin-Speaking Team at Pioneers Australia
As we pray for more workers for the mission fields ripe for harvest, God is answering! He is raising up new workers from traditional missionary-sending countries like Australia, and from within Global South churches. This latter group of churches are in countries that were solely receiving ...
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The Millenial Investment
In his provocative 2019 book, The Future is Asian, commentator Parag Khanna argues that while the nineteenth century could be characterised as the ‘European century’, and the twentieth century the ‘American century’, the twenty first century will be shown to have been the ‘Asian ...
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The Digital World, our New Reality
Almost three decades ago, while I was still at university, the Dean used to say, “Tomorrow’s virtual world is more real than today’s real world”, and ''New wine requires new wineskin''. While I was in Sydney, pioneering and planting churches among Nepalese communities, a group of ...
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'New Hope'
My wife Rhondda and I have been called primarily to reach out to people living in South Sudan or to South Sudanese refugees in Kenya and Uganda. We were both teachers in Australia and have spent the past 34 years (for Rhondda) and 37 years (for me) moving between the three countries mentioned, ...
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Extending our Reach
As followers of Jesus, we are familiar with the great commission (Matt 28:19) ''Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.'' But what does ‘go’ mean in the age of videoconferencing? Can we make disciples ...
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Been to any ‘good’ Zoom meetings lately?
Around the globe, people have become used to online meetings for business as well as social connection. Across the Arab World, too, there’s now a greater willingness to meet together online. This year, our media ministry team started gathering new and isolated Arab believers online for ...
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A Piece of the Puzzle
My cross-cultural journey began as a teenager, when my family moved to a hippie commune in NSW. The alternate community was a cultural group, full of spiritual seekers needing the gospel. We spent Sundays at the local markets, and had church in our living room with a handful of other believers. ...
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Bearing Fruit
Like many other churches around the world, the pandemic meant we could not meet physically as a church for several months. However, one Sunday, we were able to meet in the open and have a small service followed by a BBQ at a beautiful location near the border of two countries. We were ...
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Take Heart!
Of course, you’re not naive. You know to expect that it will be challenging to serve overseas. But what will that actually look like? Yesterday I spent the day hiding in my house, because I couldn’t handle all the demands waiting to pounce once I entered someone’s house on a ...
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Lessons I have Learned...
As I stare at a blank page with this heading, my mind is equally blank. What have I learned? Where do I start? I’ve been overseas for long enough now that the things I’ve learnt seem to be a part of me, and I’m only aware of how much I still need to learn. Yet if I was to bring it all back ...
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The ‘Village Fools’!
This month we’re celebrating two years since arriving to this lush, tropical land we love called Paraguay. During a short-term trip here years earlier, we’d found ourselves in a rural Paraguayan town which had neither believers nor a church. It confronted us with the reality of whole ...
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Where God wants you to be
Do you ever feel small and insignificant? The famous Bible character we know as Queen Esther probably did too. In her story we have a young, unassuming woman who probably doesn’t feel that her life is very significant. She’s part of a people group living in exile-the nobodies in town. She’s ...
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‘What if…?’
I remember my high school English teacher dropping a random comment in a conversation one day: “I think that one day you’re going to be a missionary”. I laughed… and I laughed… and I laughed. A missionary? Me? In my mind, a ‘missionary’ was first and foremost a white person (probably ...
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Counting on God’s Provision – It all adds up
Most of us, from time to time, experience the stress and pressure of managing our finances and making ends meet. For those sent out as cross-cultural workers, financial stress levels can become really high. Workers are often a long way from home and without the kind of safety nets that provide ...
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Helping our Members Thrive
Ten months into our first term of cross-cultural ministry we felt the need for a break. We had hit the ground running as we engaged life in our new city. Setting up home, learning how to shop for food, helping kids adjust to the whirlwind of change, learning a new language and very different ...
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The Pioneers Story (in brief!)
How important it is to pause and reflect. In Scripture we find a heavy emphasis on remembering who God is and all that He has done and taught us. We don’t want to fixate on the past, but we do want our history to inform and inspire us for the days to come. The history of Pioneers begins with ...
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Innovation and Flexibility in Mission
Although the gospel message remains unchanged, the ways we share it depend on the leading of the Holy Spirit, circumstance, context and our own gifting. That’s why at Pioneers we embrace innovative and flexible approaches as we seek to reach more and more people with news about who Jesus is and ...
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Xpress Magazine
Three times a year we produce a fantastic magazine packed with interesting stories from the field, information about Pioneers, words of encouragement from our National Director, and more! Subscribe ❯
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Serving in rural Mongolia
In many countries, you won’t be issued a visa to be a missionary. Mongolia is one of those places, considered by missionary organizations as a “creative access country”. This means that when God called us to serve there, discipling the young Mongolian church, we needed to find a way to enter ...
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Education makes a Difference
In many of the communities where cross-cultural workers serve, the people who are spiritually poor are also often economically poor. In most cases, people in poverty need a helping hand to get out of this cycle that has kept them that way for generations and education is one of the most ...
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OARF Projects
In the face of constant change, effectively increasing impact and achieving major goals, requires relentless innovation. Proactively generating and executing new ideas that add value helps us quickly respond to new challenges by developing human and technological resources to do things ...
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Reaching the People He loves
“Baseline!” It was a familiar command from our coach at a summer pre-season basketball training session in Perth, January 2006. Twenty or so of us guys aged between 18 and 30 were on Court 3—the one without air conditioning—and it was a dry Sunday afternoon of about 36 degrees. It ...
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Embracing Innovation in Mission
Sitting wherever you are right now, please read and consider this:The world is changing faster than it ever has before, and yet this rate of change is the slowest it will ever be again.I don’t know about you, but that is a scary thought! Some days it feels like we’re barely keeping up with ...
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Undeniably at Work
The hand of God touching and working through our neighbours in SE Asia is far beyond what we ever imagined. I often talk about how living the Christian life is like being at a football game as both a player and spectator. We are players under the coaching prowess of the Holy Spirit but so often ...
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Innovation in Mission
Meet ‘Beni’ I’m thinking of Beni. He’s not a real person - just a ‘persona’, an imaginary member of a real unreached people group. ‘Beni’ is unemployed, and 25 years old. His life is full of problems and he feels hopeless. The government is hostile to Christians, and he ...
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Developing software and connecting people to Jesus
What do you do? My passion finds itself at the intersection between software development and church planting efforts. Specifically, I build mobile apps to further church planting among unreached peoples. The field-driven element means that teams on the ground communicate their vision for how ...
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Stepping into Mission
God works in mysterious ways to call His sons and daughters to the mission field. For my husband Kurt and I, this call was crystal clear—and God connected our paths in ways we couldn’t have planned ourselves. Both of us have pasts filled with wanderlust, a love of adventure, and a ...
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The Place of Training in Cross-Cultural Mission
In our first six years serving as missionaries among the Unreached of Asia, we saw 12 units come and go. Lovely families who had uprooted their children and moved them across oceans, only to be back where they started within sometimes as little as nine months on the field. Single missionaries ...
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Step by step, led by the Spirit
Right now, when it's difficult to get permission to even leave Australia, there is an enormous barrier to serving amongst the unreached to bring the good news of Jesus. When barriers seem insurmountable, Jesus reminds us that 'God is Spirit' (John 4:24). This means that he can cross any barrier: ...
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A Pilgrimage into Mission
My journey into cross-cultural mission actually started with books. As a child, I went through Mum and Dad’s bookshelf reading anything I could find and soon latched on to the missionary biographies I found there. My parents encouraged this and each Christmas and birthday, I’d be ...
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I lost much but gained everything
*B is a valued Papuan-born member of Pioneers Australia. She studied microbiology in SE Asia and attended Bible College in Australia. Here, she writes about the challenges and blessings of traversing two cultures for the sake of the gospel and precious peoples. What were the reasons these ...
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Tried by Fire
“My head still hurts sometimes.” says the 30-year-old former Muslim man. His eyes have bags under them but his smile is genuine. Who could have known that a cocky youth whose father was a high ranking hit-man for the former administration of a North African nation would have such a deep ...
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The Story of Aisha
Living as a believer in a predominantly Muslim country in West Africa came with numerous challenges. She had experienced rejection by family and friends. She had experienced persecution several times and understood well the risk of holding on to and living out her faith daily. It was a bright ...
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The Story of Keketso
“It has been a great and wonderful journey. I started in the Jewels of Hope program in April of 2015 and since then it has become my pillar of strength. Truly speaking, I am who I am today because of Jewels of Hope”. Keketso, who lives in Maseru, the capital city of Lesotho in Southern ...
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Our Ministry Goals for 2021
‘Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be.’ (John 12:26). As we look to 2021, we are asking our Lord to help us be where He is and do all things together with Him. My husband is currently leading a team of men who are building new staff quarters and ...
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Getting Ready for Christmas on the Field
I love Christmas! I love everything about it ... well, maybe not the Christmas carols on repeat in the shopping centres. But living in rural Mongolia, there is no risk of that! In fact, Christmas is a non-event. It’s a normal workday; banks are open, classes are on at school ... just another ...
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Let's Meet Up
Thanks for contacting us! We will get in touch with you shortly.
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The benefits of raising kids on the field
When we sensed the Lord's call to cross-cultural ministry and prayerfully decided to move overseas, we counted the cost. But it wasn't until we were on our survey trip, holding our 2-year-old daughter as she lay, weak from illness, in a developing nation where we weren't sure if we could trust ...
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Welcome Students!
Welcome to Pioneers Australia where we value passion for God as we seek to help people take the Good News of Jesus to least reached places of the world. Take some time to read about where those least reached places are and why should we all consider playing a ...
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The Joy of Serving Together as a Family
An air of unveiled excitement has overtaken our family here in Tarija, Bolivia. The thought of Christmas which is fast approaching, has directed all our focus to celebrate God's fulfilment of our much-awaited Saviour; the birth of His Son Jesus Christ. As our Siembra ministry's principal goal is ...
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COVID-19 | Mission | Pioneers | You
What will it take to reach the nations?The mother of one of the 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians beheaded by terrorists in Libya in February 2015 was asked: “what would you do if you met the man who beheaded your son?” Witnesses at the site of that massacre spoke about the river turning red with ...
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What are practical ways a little Aussie church can have big global influence?
When we think about church sizes, most churches in Australia might describe themselves as “little.” But Jesus taught us not to despise little things: a tiny mustard seed can grow large enough to give shelter to the birds. I’ve had the privilege of being part of a suburban church that has ...
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The Australian Church - Chinese Christians
For many Chinese migrants in Australia’s history, religion plays an important part of their integration into their new Australian life. Some of the earliest Chinese migrants came to seek their fortune in the mid-1800s during the gold-rush era. This brought about the beginnings ...
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Local Church, Global Mission?
I vividly remember a moment in a sermon on Revelation 7 nearly thirty years ago when I was a university student considering missionary service. The preacher read the description of the great multitude from every nation, tribe, people and language standing before God’s throne and before the Lamb ...
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Book Review: 1000 Cups of Tea: Gospel Fluency Across Cultures by Preston Fidler
As a keen observer of the language learning experience and a missionary at heart, it was a pleasant surprise to come across this challenging, encouraging book that intersects over missions and language learning. Preston Fidler resides in South East Asia as a missionary and his wealth of experience ...
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Proficiency Scales: A Language Learning Roadmap
Have you ever arrived at a destination and had to get to your hotel without any maps? Imagine not being able to read any of the signs. And not being able to communicate with the people around you. How do you do it? Is your natural reaction to figure it out by any means necessary? Or are you more ...
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A Cow, a Chicken, and the God who forgives: Concept Exploration bridges to the Gospel
Words do not translate neatly between languages. Very rarely is there one-to-one correspondence in the meaning of a word in one language and its nearest equivalent in another. This is true even of nouns used to indicate simple objects but becomes more and more true with words and phrases ...
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You CAN learn a language!
An encouragement for people pondering cross-cultural ministry who doubt their ability to acquire a new language. If you are someone whose heart has been gripped by the call to serve God to the ends of the earth, welcome! If you are someone who is invigorated by new experiences in order to ...
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Language…Why Bother?
Message and Para-Message 'Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews… To those not having the law I became like one not having the law… so as to win those not having the ...
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Finding my team
Right now, in Melbourne, we are going through one of the longest and strictest Coronavirus lockdowns in the world. Today as my wife and I went for a walk in our permitted exercise time, we passed an oval and discussed how sport is so important to a lot of people. One of the many reasons is that it ...
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The mission field needs older blokes
There I was, as a young bloke on our family dairy farm in country NSW, looking up at this amazingly agile crop-duster spreading fertilizer on our neighbour’s grass pasture. It was then that I wanted to be a crop-duster pilot and enjoy such freedoms. How times change! Now, ...
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OARF COVID-19 Relief Programs
THESE ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE OARF PROJECTS Many of our members are seeking to support people around them affected by COVID-19 in some way or another. The following two OARF projects are addressing urgent needs related to the pandemic and can receive tax-deductable donations. BALI COVID-19 ...
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Fiona's Story
Fiona served with her family in Island South East Asia for close to 15 years. She and her husband gave themselves to church planting among unreached peoples and to the development of others. Fiona is a Registered Nurse married to Mike, and has four growing kids! Why Pioneers? We chose ...
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OARF and COVID-19
Some Pioneers workers are involved in aid and development work through OARF projects that reflect an acknowledgement and understanding of the UN Sustainable Development Goals through a Christian faith perspective. These projects work with communities, seeking to improve conditions in a ...
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Caught Between the Times
2020 was not meant to look like this. I was meant to be in Kenya by now. I was meant to be serving at IAfrika by now. I was meant to be leaving for Kenya in February. Then, it was pushed out until April. Now, I am really not sure when I will be able to get on the plane. So many grand plans have ...
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Serving God’s multi-ethnic household
You are thousands of miles from your home country amongst people you really don’t know that well when you are introduced to a young woman whose first language just happens to be English! Not only are you talking with a stranger but within ten minutes of the conversation, you find yourself ...
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God, COVID19 and a Young Girl
Our plans were in place! A day of intentional praying, thoughtful discussion, and excited planning had resulted in our mapping out the coming year. Driven by our passion to see lives transformed by the power of God’s love and lifted out of poverty, particularly through the empowering ...
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God Doesn’t Need You!
This COVID lockdown has brought many challenges, but one of the unexpected joys was watching Colin Buchanan’s live Facebook videos with my family. We’d gather around the TV and sing along with all our favourites. We even did the actions! “My God is so big, so strong and so mighty. ...
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The Mountains Development Project
We had heard their stories for years. The bombing and the loss of homes and farmland. The broken bodies and trauma. We also had read the church history of these people – SUM Bible College first reaching these lands 100 years ago, the translation of scriptures, the disciples that were made, and ...
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Our Policies
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Whistleblower Policy
Introduction This Whistleblower Policy has been developed because whistleblowing can protect Pioneers of Australia (PoA) and its related entities from significant legal, financial, cultural and reputational risks. It provides a process for individuals to ...
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Privacy Policy
Introduction The purpose of this policy is for Pioneers of Australia (PoA) to communicate to the general public how PoA handles personal information including the collection, use, disclosure and protection of such information in compliance with the Australian Privacy Principles. ...
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Our Values
Passion for God Our passion is to glorify God throughout the nations of the world, through obedience to the Bible and by living and proclaiming the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. It is an act of worship to actively participate in some way in the Great Commission. Unreached People ...
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Our Board
Meet the Board Helping Us Reach the World The Pioneers Board comprises dedicated servants representing a range of church backgrounds who generously volunteer time and talent to global mission. Each loves the Lord Jesus and brings to the important task of governance expertise from valuable ...
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Coronavirus, Fear and the Australian Soul
Fear has gone viral. But will the Australian soul have the resources to cope? It has been eerie for me to realise how much our family is drawing on our experiences in South Sudan as we deal with COVID-19. During our five years there, we faced Ebola threats, tribal conflict, hyperinflation, ...
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A Furnace of Transformation
Andrew here from Fukuoka, Japan. The Japanese government has just declared this week (from Wednesday, April 8) a ‘state of emergency’ for 7 prefectures in Japan (including where I’m currently living, Fukuoka). This is not technically the same as ‘lockdowns’ in Australia, and many other ...
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Working in Media for the Lord
The beginning of Kathy's journey Back in high school I excelled as a student of French language and chose Islamic Art & Architecture as my art history subject for the High School Certificate – with no idea that both would be so relevant and useful in my future endeavours! But the Lord ...
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All things are possible with Him
Retirement planning has become quite an industry in Australia. For me, Colin, I didn't take it all that seriously knowing God had placed me in a position where I did not need to worry too much about it. Throughout my career as a teacher, I had often heard of the need for teachers in many ...
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An Uncommon Retirement
Darwin. 1998 – 2000. The memories are vivid of this hot steamy tropical city. Our family had relocated there in accordance with my husband’s posting with the Australian Army, resulting in our leaving behind family, friends, jobs, schools, church…everything that was familiar and ...
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Medical mission saving lives
HIV impacts all facets of life, including physical, emotional, social and spiritual. As a medical student on elective in Kenya in 2002, I was touched by the story of Grace. She had contracted HIV, which became apparent to all when she developed shingles on her face. Fortunately, ...
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An Unexpected Turn of Events
Heading overseas with graduate qualifications and years of experience in healthcare, I was certain God would use these skills in the developing world. Little did I know that the Lord had other plans… from the time that I touched down overseas, He slowly but surely began to steer me and my ...
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An Environmental Scientist Teaching English Literature
It wasn’t in my plans to become a teacher. Even though I studied Environmental Science, I knew I was called overseas. So, I became a teacher to enter the country where I serve. I quizzed all my teacher friends, read a few articles and off I went! A few months later I was teaching English ...
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Serving in mission on a university campus
Adrian* is from a wealthy Bengali M’lim family. His father sent him to Sydney from Bangladesh to study business at university. Despite his family’s wealth, student life in Australia wasn’t easy for Adrian who was struggling with addictions to alcohol and cigarettes. One day while out with ...
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We want to shine brightly in Gijon for you, Lord
I don't think there was ever one specific time or event that motivated me to work cross-culturally, but looking back it seems that somehow God just wove the desire into my fabric without me even realising. It started with my first trip to Europe when I was in my early twenties as that definitely ...
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Compassion, more than a feeling
It was compassion that initially motivated me to become a cross-cultural worker. A speaker at a mission conference said that 90% of workers ministering to children are working amongst only 10% of the worlds’ children. This touched my heart. The unfairness. I am passionate about children’s ...
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Sure-footed on God’s word
“I need to know if Christianity works, otherwise I just need to get on with my life.” This was the ultimatum I put to God as I headed off to do a six-month discipleship training school. Growing up in a Christian family and church, I knew the Bible stories and I knew about God. But by ...
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Pioneers International – There’s More to be Done
‘Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men’ (Matthew 4:19) Despite the ongoing work of the gospel and the continual growth of the global church, some 40% of the world remains 'unreached' today. Many of us here have heard the message of God’s love in Jesus Christ countless times while ...
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Practical ways for the Aussie church to get involved in global mission
Whether you are a pastor, small group leader, part of the youth team or simply attending church on a Sunday, what could you do to help yourself and those around you get more involved in global mission in 2020? In the children’s animation movie, ‘Roberts’, there is a catch line, “see a ...
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Thank goodness for Skype!
When we left for Papua New Guinea many years ago Skype didn't exist. In fact, we couldn’t even talk by telephone to family back in Australia and mail came very irregularly. We had little idea what our parents felt and how much they missed our children. But we know all too well now, for we are ...
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From being a TCK to a TCKs' parent
“Mum, do you have any childhood stories that don’t involve Papua New Guinea?” my children ask. Shortly before my 7th birthday, my parents responded to an urgent request for teachers for a tiny TCK (third culture kid) school in Tari, in the southern highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG). I ...
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I'm "Airportian"
Our kids weren’t always Third Culture Kids (TCKs). They started out their lives in the ‘burbs of Sydney, doing all the usual things kids do - soccer, piano lessons, swimming, Little Athletics. They went to the local preschool and primary school, we were part of a local church, and our kids had ...
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A Long-Term Collaboration
An interview with Paul Rayside, the Member Care and Development team leader. What is Member Care and Development? It is about our coming alongside Pioneers members [missionaries] from the beginning to the end of their cross-cultural mission involvement. lt is about pastoral care, life-long ...
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A Decisive Moment
I grew up a fairly cynical kid; I attended a Catholic primary school for about 12 weeks and my clearest memory of religious classes was writing a controversial limerick about the school's patron saint. When I was about 11 or 12 I started calling myself a Christian, but my 'Christian' ...
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The Role of the Church in Saving Humanity
We often think of the day of Pentecost as the moment when the church was born. When thousands of people speaking myriad languages all heard the Gospel and were cut to the heart. But before any of that, before the crowds knew what they were in for, one moment changed everything. ‘Jesus ...
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Growing Through Defeat
When Ronald and Tatiana enter a room, excitement and energy follow them. Ronald is used to the attention. As a professional 1st division soccer player in a soccer-mad country, his name and face are renowned. But in this house, they are among friends. Tatiana was an absolute unbeliever when ...
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Walking Alongside You
Mission is all about living as an authentic follower of Jesus in a postcode of the world where Jesus is not known. Mobilisation is all about walking alongside the Aussie church as they send men, women, boys and girls to those new and sometimes isolated postcodes. If the Spirit of God is nudging ...
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From Receiving to Sending
The church in Papua New Guinea has been born out of the sacrificial love and service of missionaries that came from many other nations. But these days Papua New Guinea is sending their own missionaries out to other nations. How did this inspiring transformation take place? The initial ...
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Message - Biblical mission
In Acts 4:4 we read ‘many who heard the message believed’. It was this personal response to the message of the gospel that was crucial in conversion. The saying, "Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary" is erroneously attributed to St. Francis of Assisi – founder of the ...
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Model - No cookie-cutter approach
The Bible is a missionary book from beginning to end. God not only reveals his love, justice and grace through his Word, he also uses it to prepare us to serve in his mission. He provides a model of how mission is to be accomplished and the many ways that his grace might be extended to the ends ...
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Means – People of God
I’ve been reading Corinthians of late. In 2 Corinthians 10:10 Paul quotes others by saying, ‘For some say, ‘Paul’s letters are demanding and forceful, but in person he is weak, and his speeches are worthless!’’ Wouldn’t it be wonderful if a hidden camera had been planted, so that we ...
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Mandate – It’s not optional
When I entered the auditorium of a church in Perth this week I was immediately struck by a massive sign painted on one interior wall. The pastors explained they had recently completed a massive renovation of the building, creating a new look and breathing vitality to an otherwise ageing complex. ...
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Raising support is hard
“We raised all we needed in six weeks.” “God called us, and a few months later, here we are!” “I’m fully supported by my church – I didn’t have to ask anyone else.” Support raising. They make it sound so easy, right? I mean, if God called you to cross-cultural ...
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I'm too old for mission
Reasons not to go No.4 Do you think you are too old for mission? If you are able to speak of your love for Jesus and what he has done on the cross, what difference knowing his love has made in your life, then you are ready for mission, be it at home or overseas. Having just ...
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Pioneers Connect Melbourne
Pioneers Connect 2019 God’s plan involves the engagement of His global church. One day, all the pieces of the puzzle will be in place and the church will be complete! This annual event is an opportunity for you to hear current stories from workers who serve among unreached peoples. Come and ...
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My family opposes the idea
Reasons not to go No.2 ‘A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.’ (Proverbs 10:1). “If you want to go with this ministry thing, that’s fine,” said my dad, “I have other sons who will listen to me. I don’t need you to be my son.” My ...
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Mission? Isn’t there a great need in my own community?
Reasons not to go No.1 There sure is! The vast majority of people who live and work near you don’t know Jesus. And, if the Bible is to be believed, they desperately need to. But asking questions about where the greatest needs are may not be the most helpful questions. There is much to be ...
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Employment Opportunities
There are currently no available positions.
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More than Training...Skills for Life
Sharon is one of our ‘super women’. She has been serving the Lord in Uganda for 17 years (and counting). I sat down with her a few weeks ago to ask about life and ministry in Africa… Sharon, something that I find really interesting is the Vocational Training School that you started in ...
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God on the Move
In a world that has an estimated 68.5 million people who have been forcibly displaced from their homes*, we want to echo God’s heart for the vulnerable, the disempowered and the displaced. People from some of the most ‘unreached’ places on earth are coming to Australia. Their decision to ...
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Sharing - The Profound Impact
What is it to share? - What is the Impact? When we think of sharing what comes to mind is the 'giving away' - the freedom to pass on something of value; large or small. In this simple act of exchange one is the giver and one is the receiver with a mutual benefit for both from what is ...
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Better Learning Brighter Lives
Teachers are influential. They can reinforce the status quo or be a catalyst for change that can extend far beyond the school gate. Among Indonesia’s 267 million people, countless towns and villages have endured generational poverty. But there seem to be positives. Twelve years of schooling is ...
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Thailand – A Glimpse Below The Surface
Thailand is a beautiful place. There are grand, dazzling temples and gardens full of exotic flowers. There are parades and festivals that feature incredible floats of intricate design and colour. The surface of Thailand is so glossy that most people don’t see the fractures that lie ...
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Jesus and Stories
How is it that nobody has articulated any moral advance since Jesus’ teaching? What is it about this remarkable teacher? And the fact that none greater has emerged or even looks like emerging? Not only is He the greatest teacher who ever lived, He is the source of all great teaching and all ...
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Jesus, Easter Eggs, and Marvel Movies
It was one of those days when you’ve got an endless ‘To do’ list but you just ignore it. I was cosy, had my PJs on and couldn’t be bothered to get off my comfy couch. After a couple of hours doing practically nothing, my husband arrived and asked me if I wanted to watch the latest Marvel ...
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The Eunuch Confusion
He was almost 50 years old when he was baptised. As he emerged from the water, he splashed and hooted pure joy – something unusual for a culturally reserved society. After that day he told us “Nothing will ever separate us because we are family now”. I serve in a rural area of a very small ...
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'Live in Tents Build Only Altars', by David Price
This is a significant evaluative biography of an effective mid-20th century missionary grappling with the changing dynamics of mission in the transition from pioneers to parents to partners in the relations between service agencies and the younger churches. It is a must read for any missionary ...
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When Romans 8:28 Doesn’t Make Any Sense
'And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.' (Romans 8:28). I grew up in a small village in the heart of the New Forest, England. In the pursuit of a better future, my parents decided to move to Australia to raise ...
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Following the Call of a Faithful God
My life didn’t turn out the way I thought when I was in medical college. I always thought I would work somewhere in a little remote village in north India. That was my idea of the path of my life. But God had other plans which were far greater. Through my life’s adventures, I have learnt that ...
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A Young Woman and her Relentless Passion
Why do I feel this way? I used to think that telling people about Jesus was the coolest thing to do. However, as I grew older, I quickly realised that although people saw the need for it and that it was important, they didn't feel the urge to share the gospel like I did. I was ten years old ...
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An Artist Serving in a Remote Area in South Asia
Background I moved from South Africa to Australia with my family when I was about eleven years old. For me, it was incredibly difficult to adapt to this new country and all the changes that I was going through, triggering anxiety and sleeping problems. It was during this season of great ...
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Building Healthy Church Partnerships
When I was a pastor, I enjoyed seeing the fruit of healthy partnerships with Pioneers and other mission agencies. But this is not every church leader’s experience. Local churches often feel mission organisations view them as mere sources of money and personnel. There are many pressing ‘local’ ...
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When Things Go Wrong
“The driver texted. He’ll be here in 20 minutes.” He was coming to take us to the airport, and Katrina wanted to know when I’d be home. We were headed back to Australia to wait for baby #5 to make his grand entrance into the world. When she called, I was a 20-minute bike ride away, ...
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Mentoring for Missions
You are not alone on this journey When Ted Fletcher, who with his wife Peggy founded Pioneers, asked: “What will it take to reach Saudi Arabia for Christ? What will it take to see Saudi Arabians and Kurds and Fulani and Sundanese worshipping around the throne of God someday, ...
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A Highly Relational Approach to Mission
In Pioneers we want to go far. One of the striking characteristics of the Pioneers global movement is that we highly prize what God produces through shared vision and collaboration within community. You see this in our commitment to Team, one of our core values. This commitment is played out in ...
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In the Stars
One of the Wise Men stared into the night sky, mapping the stars again in his mind as he’d done a thousand times before. In the distance, one seemed to hang brighter than the others. Its playful sparkle beckoned him into the night, onward to whatever lay ahead. When we picture the nativity ...
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How The Angels Saw It
The Christmas story has plenty of angels in it. They’re not the main characters, yet they are right there in the middle of things, playing a supporting role. Powerful, faithful servants of God. What were they thinking, these ancient created beings, as they watched the nativity story ...
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Coloured Flags
Among the various strands of Buddhism, the one most popular in Australia is probably Tibetan Buddhism. Many Aussies admire this "religion of peace," venerate the Dalai Lama, and idealise their imagination of Shangri-la – a beautiful scene with snow-capped mountains in the background and colourful ...
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Escaping Sin
I am currently working among followers of Theravada Buddhism, which differs from other kinds of Buddhism such as Mahayana or Zen Buddhism. The word “Theravada” translates as “Teachings of the elders.” Theravada Buddhists study, and are familiar with, their scriptures called the ...
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Buddha, the Burqa and Christian kids!
Our cities are multicultural - an amazing mix of people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. This often means there is the visible presence of many religions in our neighbourhoods, our shopping centres and in our schools. How do we teach our children about the religions around us, ...
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Trainer of Trainers
Trainer of Trainers 1 - Community Health Evangelism A five day course in December 2018 When Monday 10th December – Friday 14th December 2018 Where Abbotsford Presbyterian Church, 443 Great North Road, Abbotsford, NSW 2046 Cost $220 (non-refundable) – includes costs for all training ...
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Chloe's Story
While Pioneers serve among hundreds of people groups worldwide, Field Leadership continues to identify unreached groups they believe God would have us engage with. Moroccans in Spain is one of those groups. This video was produced for our Canadian Pioneers office. If you are in Australia, ...
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10 Tips To Finding Your Perfect Fit
Are you sensing God's leading to serve in cross cultural ministry? With so many mission organisations to choose from, how do you find the right organisation that will embrace your unique personality, gifts and skills? Here’s some tips on how to find the right fit for you: 1. Where to ...
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Sign up
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Living through the Lombok Earthquakes
When we follow God’s call to another place and a different culture, we expect big challenges will come our way. But Mandy* never imagined ground shaking earthquakes would be part of her overseas service. Here is her first-hand account of what went down … Last month a neighbouring island ...
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Pioneers Connect Thank You
Pioneers Connect 2023 Thank you for your RSVP! Looking forward to seeing you this week!
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Xpress Magazine
Do you live in Australia? We will post a copy of our latest issue to your address at no cost.
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Pioneers Connect Sydney
Pioneers Connect 2019 Real stories, great people, and tasty treats! Our annual event in Sydney is an opportunity for you to personally connect with Pioneers missionaries and staff, and to hear first-hand what God is doing in other cultures. If you have a heart for the great commission, if you are a ...
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The Father of Fathers
Kian* came to our church more than two years ago, a 33 year old man from Iran with his 7 year old son, Aram*. Aram was very quiet and thin, and looked malnourished. Jesus commanded us to love them, clothe and feed them, and we did that for several months whenever we could. Every Sunday they ...
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Coming Home Wounded
It’s always difficult moving back home after living overseas. There are books written about how hard “re-entry” to your home culture will be, with long lists of the challenges to be faced. Some returning missionaries have time and space to prepare for the rough ride ahead, but others find ...
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Two Families and The Gospel
Two weeks ago, we had a guest at our Pioneers office, a beautiful Christian brother from the Middle East. He shared with us that one of the main challenges for new believers from a Muslim background is the lack of discipleship. There is virtually none available on the ground for the many ...
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Thinking Long-Term?
Pioneers Sends All Sorts The truth is that we have too many opportunities to list here. The Pioneers family is big! With more than 320 teams in over 100 countries it is fair to say we do a lot of different things in a lot of places. There is no ‘typical’ Pioneers missionary, just real people ...
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Booklist
Need some food for your soul? Check out our recommended reading list to find your next good read, and be encouraged in your faith, while growing your heart for the lost. Read Here ❯
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The Arab World
Through interacting with seekers online, Arab World Media, a ministry of Pioneers, is seeing former Muslims pass from death into life in Christ every day. God is at work in the Arab world!
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Tax Deductible Projects
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Training and Serving
How did God lead you to go? We've been hearing stories of God working in that part of the world so there was a desire to go see it, learn from it and bring it back home. Also, I wanted to be exposed to something new & different. What did a typical week in the field look like? During ...
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Serving in Love
How did God lead you to go? God has been leading me for a number of years wherever I have been living and working. However this region has been in my prayers for a long time. As a chef and teacher I am able to utilise my work skills and build relationships for Christ. God very specifically ...
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Physiotherapy and Education
How did God lead you to go? We had an understanding of the place of missions in the church, and had felt that this was something God was calling us to. After hearing about the social injustice that many experienced in this country, and the impact of the gospel, our heart broke for South ...
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Projects
Pioneers believes that good news is not just something to be spoken but is often best communicated by actions. Through our projects we can show Jesus’ love as we care for people’s needs. Discover how we are serving communities around the globe. View our current projects ❯
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Arua Vocational Training - Uganda
A dream was realised as all 14 students gathered one Thursday in April to graduate from our vocational program. The ceremony was made all the more significant as many of the students had not finished high school. Tertiary study had never been an option for them and their opportunities were limited. ...
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Kingdom Kids - Thailand
Gamon* came to Kingdom Kids at age 2 and weighed 5kgs. With huge unresolved infant feeding problems because of he was born prematurely, he had been fed rice water by his 9 year old brother and kept in a dark, dilapidated bamboo hut, uncared for by his alcoholic mother. Three years later, he is a ...
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Rumginae Health Centre - PNG
If you are willing to take a heart-stopping ride in a small plane, or if you can find a boat to take you on the week long journey up the Fly River, then you may be able to find Rumginae Hospital! It was established in the 1960s by APCM medical professionals and is now a 60-bed facility that ...
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Enabled Development - North India
Community Health Driving on roads that dropped away to wide chasms below, we made our way to the clinic. Hours later we arrived to find that people from several villages had gathered for medical care. This was their only chance in a long time to see a doctor, to ask advice and seek relief. ...
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Operation Foundation - Fiji
"Several weeks ago," begins one of the prison facilitation team, "I was sitting having a catch-up and coffee with one of my recently released prisoners when I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was another ex-prison, a man who we had previously counselled and helped. He had just happened to see me as he ...
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ACROSS Radio - South Sudan
Across Radio serves the people of South Sudan, who in recent years have been suffering from the impact of civil war. The project includes work amongst South Sudanese displaced within their country, as well as those living as refugees in Uganda. Across uses different forms of media ...
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How to Make Prayer Happen
How can you fit praying for missionaries into your busy life? Here are a few tips: 1 Create a prayer diary with specific people/things to pray for on each day of the week. Add current prayer requests as they come up (either on a sticky note or with a printed version of a newsletter). Keep it ...
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Thanks for subscribing!
We are so grateful for the role you play in sharing the life-giving news of Jesus Christ with people who have the least opportunity to hear. Check out our latest stories ❯
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Discover
This is Us! We are people from all around the world who love God passionately, who long to see his name glorified, and who are committed to sharing the truth of Jesus' love and sacrifice with people that have not yet heard, or are yet to understand. We hope you will discover lots about us by ...
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Practical Partnership
Supporting missions can be so much more than financial gifts. Our missionaries need partners at home who help sustain them in practical ways like: sending care packages, staying connected, and generally showing them that their friends and church back home have not forgotten them. Here's some ...
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Contact Our Mission Mentors
We'd love to connect with you and discover together what God has for you!
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Our Mission
Pioneers mobilises teams to glorify God among unreached peoples by initiating church planting movements in partnership with local churches.
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Privacy Policy
Pioneers of Australia (PoA) and its related entities are committed to protecting each individual’s personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth as described in this Policy. The nature of personal information we collect and retain PoA collects personal information ...
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Booklist
Recommended Reading List When God Comes Calling by Ted Fletcher 'When God Comes Calling' is a story about a man who had achieved remarkable success, but wasn't content. Ted had a vision for the world; that people everywhere would learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ. "Why should some ...
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Get Interceding
Pray for countries, pray for people groups, pray for missionaries, pray for those who have no access to the gospel. Get yourself a copy of Operation World or visit http://www.operationworld.org/ to help you pray specifically for different countries. Pray along with prayer casts which show video ...
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Get Informed
Do the Kairos Course or the Perspectives Course and learn what the bible has to say about missions. Subscribe to Missions Frontiers online magazine and keep up with latest in missions strategies and happenings worldwide. Become a map nerd and get to know all the amazing places in our world. ...
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Get Inspired
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up-to-date with our latest articles, stories, events, or subscribe to receive our monthly newsletter. Read Missions Biographies or books that delve into current hot topics in missions. Check out our recommendations here. Sign up to a mission blog like ...
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Get Influenced
Hang out with former missionaries, or current missionaries when they’re home. Invite them over or take them out, ask lots of questions and hear their stories. Get on the mailing list of missionaries from your church, or who are working in places you’re interested in. Receive their ...
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Beauty and Tragedy on the River
Tim is an ordinary Aussie guy living a very unordinary life. God has led him far from his coastal home south of Sydney, and into the jungles of Peru. Tim is working amongst the Kichwa people on the Napo river, which runs from Ecuador into Peru, eventually feeding into the Amazon River. Tim is ...
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Words of Life
Heartache and hopelessness is the experience of many in South Sudan. Poverty, conflict with North Sudan, and violent civil war amongst their own tribal groups have all taken their toll. Yet because of a simple device, placed right into peoples’ hands, words of hope and peace are being spoken ...
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Nursing and Midwifery
How did God lead you to go? I always loved the idea of using my skill set to serve people who are disadvantaged, and be able to pass on my skills to create sustainability. God challenged me in my comfort, he challenged me in my desire to serve and in my trust of him, actually surrendering it all ...
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Sharing God in the Mountains
How did God lead you to go? By meeting many East Asian people in our very own Sydney, we saw that God has opened the hearts of people from unreached people groups there. The more we explored opportunities, the more we were instilled with the vision that as East Asia becomes so dominant in world ...
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Serving Missions through Teaching
How did God lead you to go? I adore teaching, and I wanted to use my skills to travel, serve, and experience other cultures. I love seeing more of the scope of God’s creation, both in nature and in people. By teaching other missionaries’ kids, families are able to stay on the field and serve ...
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Bringing hope to the hopeless
How did God lead you to go? During a year of study at seminary, I was wrestling with Psalm 37 - ‘Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.’ I was asking God to show me the desires he had put in my heart to serve Him and love others. I felt that He was ...
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Enjoy Your Flight: Top Tips From Our Frequent Flyers
Missionaries travel a lot! They fly to the countries they work in, and they fly home again. They also fly in and out of countries to get visas, to go to conferences, to get extra training, for counselling, or for respite. You get the picture, they really do fly a lot. So, who better than our ...
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Reproduction Beyond Belief
The rawboned Indian man stands at the front of the room, he's not sure where exactly to begin. He's nervous, he knows that many of the foreigners listening have degrees, masters or even doctorates in theology. What could he possibly teach them about church planting that they didn't already learn in ...
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Pray for our world
Here are some helpful websites to visit to help you pray for our world. Prayer Cast Voice of the Martyrs Operation World
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What to Pray for Missionaries
If you’ve signed up to receive newsletters from a missionary, you’ll find plenty of fuel for prayer in their emails. If not, here are some general prayer points you can use anytime: Relationship with God Awareness of God’s power Consistent and profitable times in prayer and the ...
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What does a Pioneers team look like?
Pioneers is committed to the principle of body life, or team. There really is no typical team today, we simply know that we need each other. Our teams are often multi-faceted and culturally diverse, seeking to demonstrate love in a powerful way.
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How much money do I need to raise?
The cost of living varies dramatically from country to country. By drawing on the experience of our many workers across the world, we’ll help you determine an appropriate budget for you and your family.
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How long do I go for?
From two years to fifty years! We are committed to making disciples of Jesus Christ, which means we are committed to serving long-term by learning language, adapting to culture, and serving people. Our goal is that the good news of Jesus is shared with people who don’t know him and that ...
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How long does it take to prepare?
Together, we can determine the answer to this question. It may take weeks, months or even years. The goal is to prepare well so you can serve well. It is not uncommon for people to be overseas within a year or so of joining Pioneers.
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Do I need to raise my own funds?
Yes. All our members trust the Lord Jesus to meet their financial needs. Most seek the commitment of financial partnerships before they leave. Others have a portion of their financial needs met through employment when they are overseas, or through other forms of income generation.
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Can my skills be used in mission?
Absolutely! Mission is about living as a passionate follower of the Lord Jesus Christ in some other postcode of the world. You get to be yourself, living and serving and sharing life through the gifts and skills that make you who you are. All over the world, every day, followers of Jesus are using ...
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How does my church get involved?
Pioneers is a servant of local churches because local churches are mandated to engage in mission activity. Your church will be your sending body and we will work with you to ensure your church understands the responsibility they embrace when they send their members to other parts of the ...
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What preparation does Pioneers require?
We'll answer this question by asking you some questions first! What are you planning to do in mission? What is your past experience? How has God wired you? What skills and gifts do you have? Do you have a good understanding of the bible? Can you share it with people of other ...
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Where can I serve with Pioneers?
We serve where unreached peoples live – places where there are no churches or where the church is not sufficiently able to reach their own peoples with the gospel without outside help. We currently have 324 teams serving in 104 countries. Our teams are always looking for new members! Equally ...
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What are steps to serving with Pioneers?
Relationships are important to us. We want to get to know you and we invite you to get to know us. This relational approach involves several important steps, including: Endorsement by your church Application papers Medical and psychosocial review Gathering of feedback from referees ...
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Our Faith
WE BELIEVE that the Holy Scriptures, consisting of Old and New Testaments, were originally given by God, divinely inspired, without error, infallible, and are entirely trustworthy and the supreme authority in all matters of faith and practice. WE BELIEVE in one God, Creator of all things, ...
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FAQs
Do you have a question that's not here? Please contact us as we'd love to help
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Learn
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Stories
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Welcome to Pioneers
From the Director... Whatever God calls us to do in his worldwide mission, we are connectors. A person’s choice to follow Christ (or not) is a personal one, but before they can consider the claims of Jesus they need believers like you and me to share relevant information with them. When ...
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Partnering through Prayer
"The history of missions is the history of answered prayer.” Samuel M. Zwemer We need people who will stand in the gap, people who long to see the impact of prayer spread throughout the world as God moves in response to the cries of His people. Want to pray for missions but not sure how? ...
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For Churches
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Helping You Get Ready
Not Quite Ready to Get Packing? Here’s some practical ways to find out what’s happening in missions, to start preparing and to allow the Lord to start to speak to your heart … Check out how this couple discovered where God was calling them
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Short-Term Opportunities
Join a team for 6 months - 2 years Are you keen to pursue God's call on your heart, but not sure how or where God is leading you? Talk with us about serving on an existing Pioneers team for a set period of time. You will have the opportunity to be a blessing to others, and at the same time discover ...
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Contact
Have a question about Pioneers, serving in missions, or supporting missions? Need to connect to one of our staff team? We would love to help you, so just send a message or give us a call. Phone Phone: 03 8814 4444 Free Call: 1800 78 78 89 Street Address 1/39 Railway Road BLACKBURN VIC ...
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Resources
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About
Jesus. You. Unreached People. Whatever God calls us to do in his worldwide mission, we are connectors. A person’s choice to follow Christ (or not) is a personal one, but before they can consider the claims of Jesus they need believers like you and me to share relevant information with ...
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Go
Messengers Wanted! The message of the gospel is timeless: Jesus loves the whole world. It’s a message intended for every person on the planet, but who will take the good news to those who have not yet heard? At Pioneers, we believe that we all have unique personalities, gifts and skills that we ...
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Partner
We are Better Together Global mission is a partnership. Missionaries, supporters and sending churches each taking hold of Jesus commission – to proclaim to the whole world the good news of peace with God through Jesus Christ. Just as God calls the missionary to go, he also calls supporters ...
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Sharing Faith Close to Home
It can be especially difficult to share our faith with our own families. If you are the only member of your family who believes in Jesus, it’s even harder. But what if you were the only believer in your whole neighbourhood, and everyone else followed a completely different religion. One of ...
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Owning Easter
Our family lived in India for 3 years. Our kids were 4, 6 and 9 when we arrived. We lived in Delhi in a wonderful, colourful, chaotic world of noise, and smells and lots of people. Delhi’s calendar was filled with Hindu festivals. Lots of them. Festivals happening all around us with ...
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The Woman at the Railway Station
It was freezing outside, -16°C early February 2018. She was trying to get warm in the drafty railway station where she had been escorted out a few times previously because it ‘looked unsightly’ to have a middle-aged woman in rags lying on the station bench trying to get some sleep. It was ...
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Living in the Danger Zone
Missionaries face all sorts of challenges. For some, it's physical things: like heat and humidity, or contaminated food. For others, it might be danger: like civil war, armed robberies and kidnappings. In another country there might be hostility to Christianity, so that sharing the gospel can lead ...
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Caring for Cambodia
The kingdom of Cambodia is home to the Khmer people, and famous for the large temple complex of Angkor Wat, a popular tourist destination. Cambodia has a complex religious culture, with strong roots in Buddhism and Hinduism. Australian Pioneers worker Joanna* has been serving in Cambodia as a ...
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Midwife in the Pacific
This is a picture of baby Alim, not long after I first met him two years ago. Alim was only 6 weeks old and was severely malnourished and dehydrated. He couldn’t suck and swallow properly because of his extensive cleft lip and palate. If we didn’t intervene he would have only had days to live. ...
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Midwife in Africa
It's nearly midnight and I've finally got my head around which patients are on the ward, when this beautiful, tall but tiny young woman waddles into the labour ward explaining to me that she has twins inside her and she is ready to push. An hour later, we have a beautiful and healthy baby boy and ...
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News From Home
You might think the recently returned missionary at your church has terrible fashion sense, and seems generally clueless about normal life. You might be right! When someone has been living in a totally different culture for two or three years at a time, they are going to have some big blanks when ...
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Following Jesus and Counting the Cost
Arab World Media is a ministry of Pioneers, based in Europe. They tell this story: Jesus’ teaching continues to powerfully transform lives today – as it did his first followers in the Middle East. This testimony illustrates how the good news is changing hard hearts in the Arab world and ...
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Our 2017: Visual Highlights of a year in Africa
Choosing to live in a refugee camp, as part of the community, is an unusual lifestyle choice for a young Aussie/US family. But Chris, Nadia, and their son Manny, have made themselves a home amongst people who can’t go home. They share their lives and their skills, but most importantly they ...
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The God of New Beginnings
As we begin 2018, I am reminded of just how good our God is. He created our universe in such a way that we have constant opportunities to start again. Every twenty-four hours we have a brand-new day to be lived. We experience the uniqueness of each new season, where our routines need to adapt and ...
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Go, Tell It
At the peak of the Christmas story, just after the Christ-child is born, we are introduced to some very ordinary guys who are about to have a very extraordinary evening. Shepherds. Not the ones portrayed in our nativity plays, you know the ones I mean with the stripy tea-towel hats. Real, down to ...
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Everybody Deserves a Break (even a missionary!)
If missionaries don’t learn to rest well, to take time out with their family or for themselves, it can impact their mental health and family wellbeing, and may even lead to coming home earlier than they had hoped. In order to be there for the long haul, it is important they learn ways to deal ...
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Are you listening?
‘Cross-cultural workers could more effectively minister the gospel of Christ if they did not think they were so superior to us.’ This was the surprising and disturbing answer that Duane Elmer received when asking various international people: ‘What could cross cultural workers do to more ...
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How deep is your love?
‘We love because he first loved us’ (1 John 4:19). It’s one of the shorter verses in the bible, yet so profound. It teaches us that we are loved by God, and it has nothing to do with what we have ever done for Him. No matter who we are, where we’ve come from, or what we’ve done (be it ...
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Are you a team player?
One of the greatest joys and challenges of mission is team life. When team life works, it’s wonderful! It helps with clear Kingdom vision and mission purpose, divided responsibilities and a sense of synergy which reminds us that we are better together. As we reflect Biblical interdependence, we ...
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Do you know what you're on about?
I remember hearing the story of a father and son sitting on their porch one warm summer evening. The child was fascinated by the sound of crickets chirping, while the father listened to a choir singing in a nearby church. Trying to lead his son into a deeper appreciation of the arts, the father ...
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Do you have what it takes?
Missionaries have a very mixed reputation. They can be revered, loved, avoided or even hated. Missionaries are scoffed at for being old fashioned and out of date. They can be judged for trying to push their own religious agenda on other cultures. They might simply be considered weird. Yet ...
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The Sharpest Tool
When I want to teach something to my young adult daughter, I really want to show her how to do it the way I think is best, the way that I like to do it. But she prefers some space to test things for herself, to succeed and fail, and work things out in her own time and her own way. Better for ...
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Christmas to Go
Missionaries serving overseas can feel especially lonely and homesick at Christmas time. Even though it can be fun and exotic to experience Christmas in another culture, it is difficult to be far away from family and much-loved traditions. Why not send a missionary you know a Christmas package to ...
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The God of Surprises
I’ll be giving my age away here, but a few days ago a song came lilting through my mind that I used to sing in Sunday School: Count your blessings, name them one by one Count your blessings, see what God has done Count your blessings, name them one by one And it will surprise you what the ...
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North of New Dehli
India is the birthplace of several world religions. Hinduism is the largest, with about 650 million followers. Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism also owe their origins to India. India’s Muslim population exceeds 100 million, making it one of the four largest Muslim populations in the world. From ...
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Where Does Jesus Live?
When we first met Grandmother Pon she spoke of having no hope. She had no desire to live. She was 86 years old and had so much pain in her right leg that she needed help to walk. Having had two severe falls already she said, “If I fall once more, I do not want to live”. Her lack of hope stirred ...
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Coffee and Community
‘Peace to you my neighbor, the coffee is ground, the incense is bringing forth its fragrance.’ My neighbours sing this song in Arabic as one beats the coffee rhythmically with the mortar and pestle and the others clap or beat what ever else they can find unison. This coffee ceremony is ...
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Dining with the King
My husband László and I have been missionaries in Hungary for more than ten years, and we continue to be amazed at the wide variety of ways that we can witness to people about Jesus. One of these ways is sharing ourselves and our food with the people we meet, just as the Lord himself did so many ...
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Spaghetti, Served with Love
In Thai communities, food is a common feature whenever people gather together. Here in Isaan in the north-east, when there is a special event everyone brings along food to share. It is a joy to see the sense of community. When I've asked our Thai friends what can I bring, they will often say ...
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And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?
You become a vital part of Pioneers ministries among the least reached when you financially support one of our workers or projects. Choosing to make regular support donations is a wonderful way to partner with specific workers and contribute to their ministry costs. Occasional gifts assist with ...
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Special thanks from Pioneers
#gform_wrapper_8 {width:calc(100%)!important;} #gform_submit_button_8 {color:white;} Thank you for your donation. You will receive email confirmation shortly. Want to know more about Pioneers and stay up to date with what we are doing? Subscribe to our bi-monthly updates straight into your inbox!
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Soup for the Soul
When Elizabeth embarked on a short-term missions trip to Bolivia, she did not realise that God had set some very long term plans in motion. Now, 10 years on, she is married to a godly Bolivian believer, Oscar, and they have two beautiful girls. As Pioneers Australia missionaries, they write, ...
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A Slice of Heaven
Peter and Jill live and serve on an island in Fiji, a popular holiday destination. But away from the resorts, the harsh reality of life in Fiji is complex, and often spiritually dark. The Fijians that Peter and Jill are called to serve are not on the beaches, in the markets, or even in the many ...
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Taste and See
Food. It’s one of the essential things we need to sustain life. It’s a part of every single day. We hunger for it. Think about it. Buy it. Peel it. Chop it. Cook it. Touch it. Smell it. Taste it. But it’s so much more than just nourishment. There is something dynamic that happens ...
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School of Change
There is a village tucked away on an island in Indonesia that is hidden from most of the eyes of the world. It is off the beaten track, secluded and poor. The people living there refuse to sell their village land to the plantation owners around them, and so have not received the payoff ...
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The Missionary Single
Alison embarked on a great adventure with God. As a vibrant Australian single woman, she went with Pioneers to Mongolia, the land of Genghis Khan, the Gobi desert and the Thousand Camel Festival. Was life a bit of a letdown, coming back to the Aussie suburbs? We asked Allie about her experience ...
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The Missionary Mum
Many of our Pioneers office staff have previously served as missionaries. This experience brings wisdom, empathy, and unique insights into helping others do well overseas. In our current series on Life after Missions, we asked one of our staff about the change from field worker to office worker. ...
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The Missionary Veterans
For Howard and Pip Mychael, serving in Nigeria for 23 years has meant great sacrifice, physical and emotional endurance, and faith in the God who has sustained them all the way. Now back in Australia, let’s catch up with them and see how they are tackling life on this side of the ...
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The Missionary Family
It was a huge decision for Simon and Annie* to move their family of five to the Middle East. But the heart-wrenching seemed even greater when they found themselves needing to resettle back in Australia, much sooner than they had ever expected. This week, in our series on Life After Missions, we ...
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The Missionary Kid
It is no easy task to make Australia home again when you have served overseas for many years. In fact, the ‘reverse culture shock’ you experience on return can often be more disorientating than adjusting to a brand-new culture overseas. In this month’s blog series, we are going to drop in on ...
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Amending the Ending
Our team has a practice of starting our team meetings with a meditation on Scripture, and prayer. Every week one of the team members has the opportunity and responsibility of leading us through the next assigned passage. Recently we came to the end of what has proved a years-long ramble through the ...
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Obey or Delay
Luke records that one day, while walking along the road, Jesus encountered three individuals with whom he had conversations about the cost of appropriating his teaching. When Jesus beckoned the second of the three to follow him, the man requested permission to first take leave to bury his father. ...
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Verses With Curses
“By the rivers of Babylon, where we sat down. Where we wept and we remembered Zion. How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” These well-loved words - popularised in the classic song by Boney M. in the 1970s - actually begin Psalm 137. One of my South Sudanese students told me ...
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The Submission Condition
Mathilde* was smart, thoughtful and honest with herself and others. She was not one to make rash decisions, or to agree with others’ opinions blindly. She liked to think things through for herself. Through a café ministry in her French city, Mathilde came to hear and understand the gospel ...
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Parents of Missionaries
My Mum passed away last year, and just a couple of weeks ago my sisters and I started to sort through her things. We found some hand-written notes of a talk she must have given years ago at our home church, St Philips Caringbah, when my husband and I were in our first few years as missionaries in ...
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The Tale of the Wealthy Frenchman
Pioneers workers Peter and Ruth* live in a beautiful city in the South of France, and serve in a small but growing church. France enforces its secular state, discouraging any public display or discussion of faith. The tiny evangelical church is widely considered to be a money-hungry sect, and even ...
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Pray for Thailand: Thailand and the Kingdom
Thailand is a proud land. Almost 85% of Thais are Buddhist, and the landscape is dotted with lavishly ornamented temples. Thais are fiercely proud of their national identity and extremely loyal to their king. The word ‘Thailand’ literally means the land of the free, and it is one of the few ...
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The Soul of Surin
A new Pioneers team moves into a small city in North Thailand full of vision and passion, but soon discover that they have entered into an intense spiritual battle. Hear the team members explain what God has been teaching them about the people they are reaching out to, and how you can join with ...
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Thailand: A Cultural Tour in Pictures
Sometimes called the Land of Smiles, Thailand is a nation of contrasts. It's people are gentle, friendly, welcoming and peace-loving. But under this calm surface there is a broiling turmoil. It's a troubling affair, striving for health, wealth and prosperity as Thai's seek to appease the spirits ...
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Baan Rai: Thailand and the Kingdom
In 2009 Greg and Chris moved their family from a city in rural Victoria to a city in the north of Thailand. They planned to live in a local village community, a “baan”, praying that as they shared life with others in the community, God would open ways for them to share Jesus. Seven years on, ...
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An Interactive Prayer Time For Groups That You Can Lead
This is an easy-to-follow guide for a one hour prayer event for church groups, small groups, youth groups, or even a group of friends. And you won’t be just sitting in your chairs! Your group will get to move around the room, be a bit creative, and get to learn more about the nation and ...
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A Heavenly Perspective
The husband looked at us and said, “People are always asking if they can pray for me for healing, and I tell them, how do you know I am not already healed? We need to stop praying people out of heaven, and start praying them into heaven”. There is a holy quietness that comes on me as I ...
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Walking Down the Rocky Path
Noora* is a young wife and mother living in Saudi Arabia. You can read Part 1 of her story and how she came to faith in Jesus in last weeks’ blog. This week we will hear what it is like for Noora to try and continue to live out her faith in such a hostile environment. At first, her newfound ...
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Entering Through the Narrow Gate
Noora’s story shows how immense pressure from family makes following Christ in Saudi Arabia extremely difficult for believers from a Muslim background. The biggest challenge for this young Saudi woman - and for many others like her - was not to start following Jesus but to keep following Him ...
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Stepping Stones in Togo
I drew two lines in the sand, then picked up two rocks and placed one on the outside of each line. I said; “This space between the lines is a river. You want to get from one rock to the other, but how will you get across the river?” In the last day of a two-year training program for ...
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Community Connections in Peru
In the South American nation of Peru, you will find the Amazon River, the Andes mountains and the famous ruins of Machu Picchu. But with over 80% of the people identifying as Roman Catholic, you will also find a hunger for genuine faith, a thirst for the word of God, and a desire for deeper ...
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No Church is an Island
On a unique, ethnically diverse island in the middle of the Indian Ocean there is a new church struggling to get established. The island has a population that is almost 50% Hindu, and large Catholic and Muslim sectors, making for some hard soil to break through when planting a church here. A ...
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Opening Doors in Thailand
Thailand is a proud Buddhist nation that has been resistant to the gospel over many decades. The middle to upper classes are especially unengaged and untouched by the gospel. A new church is being launched in an up-market area of Chiang Mai with the vision to reach this specific group of people. ...
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Solo Mums in South West Sydney
In 2016, after living and serving in South East Asia for more than 10 years, a Pioneers family have settled themselves in South West Sydney. You might think they have hung up their missionary hats, but in fact they are still full time Pioneers workers, now reaching out to their neighbours from ...
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Dreaming of Earthbags in Arnhem Land
Did you know that communities can build dwellings using earthbags? Filled with local soils, they can create structures which are both strong and inexpensive. Fabio, his wife Maria and their kids have been living and serving in Arnhem Land for 10 years. They have recently joined Pioneers as part ...
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Loving Strangers in Melbourne
A Pioneers team based in Melbourne is bringing the gospel to asylum seekers and refugees through a ministry of love. Naomi, the team leader, shares what this love in action looks like: As an Afghan and a Muslim girl, the last place 17 year old Salma* ever thought she’d find herself, was ...
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Discovering Your Call
We may think of hearing God’s call as a mysterious moment: a voice, a dream, or maybe some writing on the wall! But for most missionaries, the Lord speaks his calling over a number of years. Keeping their eyes and ears open, they walk a path of obedience, and discover the signposts God places ...
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Where do you think you're going?
With over 300 teams worldwide, there’s a broad range of opportunities to serve short-term with Pioneers. If you know the Lord is stirring something in your heart for the lost, but you’re not ready to jump into a long-term commitment, this could be the next step for you. Why not scroll through ...
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A Uni Internship
Pioneers placed a University student from Melbourne in a remote area of Indonesia where he could immerse himself in culture and language, while serving in the local library. He came home with the vastly improved language skills he was seeking, but so much more… Around a year ago, at the end ...
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Getting your feet wet
There are lots of opportunities these days to go on a short-term missions trip. Churches, youth groups, schools, campus groups – all run their own outreaches. How awesome is that! At Pioneers Australia, we provide the next level of missions experience. Our short-term opportunities are ...
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He Answers (Part Three)
"The person you have called is not available, please try again later, or leave a message after the tone”. Don’t you just hate it when you really want to talk to someone and you hear that recording. You’ll never be put on hold, screened, or swiped left when you call out to God. Although it ...
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God Answers Prayer
God has always shown his faithfulness in answering very specific prayers in incredible ways since the day I first believed. This intensified when I moved overseas in missions. Here are some answered prayers from the past four weeks alone Our newly formed church had big dreams regarding outreach ...
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He Answers (Part Two)
Prayer is an invitation to our loving and all powerful God to impact our situations. What joy it must bring to his father heart when we ask him for help! Of course, God can do whatever he wants whenever he wants, but he loves to respond to our prayers. Here are some of the ways he has answered ...
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He Answers (Part One)
A missionary’s life is saturated in prayer. Their own prayers, their team’s prayers, the prayers of their home churches, supporters and family. For the next few weeks we are going to hear how many of those prayers were answered. Be prepared to be impressed by how good God is, our loving ...
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Resolutions
I love new starts. 2016 was a tough year for me, so getting a whole new number on the end of the date feels like a fresh beginning, a clean white page to start writing on. But what should my position be on New Year’s resolutions? As a Christian? As a task-orientated achiever? As a tired, ...
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The Lord of Lourdes
If I said the words “Madonna and Lourdes” you might start thinking about the controversial singer and her daughter. But did you know that Lourdes is a town in France that is captivated by worship of The Madonna, the mother of Jesus? Lourdes is a Catholic town with a population of around ...
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Giving Thanks
Here is a quilt made from pieces of the heartfelt thanks of some of our Pioneers Australia staff. We hope you are encouraged by their words.
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Further Up and Further In
The missionaries in our history books often made the decision to go to the mission field for the rest of their lives, it was their one vocation and calling. We now live in a society where it is normal to have 5 or 6 different careers in our lifetime, and this impacts the missions world too. ...
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Tethered or Adrift
I’ve heard the role of a sending church described like this: it’s like a ship sending out a small boat into the ocean. The ship ties a strong rope to the small boat. The boat goes off into the dangerous sea, but the rope keeps it connected to the ship. At any time, the ship can pull the ...
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Home and Away
Long term missionaries set up a house, build a life, join a church and establish friendships in the place where they live overseas. As the years go on, as they learn the local language and adapt to the culture, they become further bonded into their ‘foreign’ community. There comes a point ...
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Should I Stay or Should I Go?
About a month before leaving Australia to serve overseas in missions, my husband and I met with our home church pastor. Having been a missionary himself for 14 years, we knew that his advice would be pure gold. This is what he told us: one of your main goals is just to stay there. The ...
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Cultural Bloopers
Here are some entertaining anecdotes and awkward faux pas from our well-travelled Pioneers Australia office team: South Africa Still battling with the language, I was pulled over by a policeman. As he came to the window he wasn’t all that happy, pointing back to where I had just driven over ...
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The Drukpa
The small landlocked nation of Bhutan, cradled between India and China, is home to the Bhutanese people group, the Drukpa. Bhutan only spans about 300 km at its widest point, but with its mountainous landscape, travel within the nation is not for the feint-hearted. The Drukpa inhabit the hilly ...
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The Druze
Identity There are about one million Druze, most living in the Middle East. Druze do not seek their own country, but they are loyal to the country which governs their land. They can be found in Israel, Lebanon, and Syria, and are said to be the best warriors because they are not afraid to die. ...
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The Pumi
Identity Though officially Tibetan Buddhists, the Pumi have a culture steeped in ancestor worship and fear of the spirit world. They believe in gods who live in their fireplace, the cupboard in the corner of their house, and in the mountains surrounding their villages. The Pumi’s remote ...
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Discovering a Highway to Love: A Dare to Live Differently
Untisam chuckled as she watched me copy her spinning the large wooden spoon-like thing called a ‘Mufrak’ to stir the ochre and dill sauce. I didn’t quite have the knack yet… I will keep trying. Manal also watched laughing and said, “Tomorrow I will teach you again to make Keesera.” ...
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Sending First Time Missionaries: What they wish you knew
Imagine for a moment that you have moved out of your home, left your job and sold most of your possessions. You know what city you will be going to live in but not exactly where, or what it will be like, or what you will do. You are completely dependent on others for your income and you daily ...
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Sending First Time Missionaries: Praying through the storms
Prayer is one of the most important roles that senders can play in the Great Commission. Your prayers directly impact what is happening in the lives of missionaries. We’ve identified 5 struggles new missionaries most frequently experience during the first 6 months in their new location, and how ...
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Sending First Time Missionaries: Finance on the Field
Sometimes the Kingdom of God is very unAustralian. Our tall poppy syndrome does not sit comfortably with the biblical mandate to respect those in authority. In the same way, prospective missionaries asking other Aussies for money can be very uncomfortable both for those asking and those being ...
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Sending First-Time Missionaries: Five Hurdles Before Take Off
It takes a lot of planning and preparation to get from a decision to serve the Lord overseas in missions, to the point of actually stepping onto a plane. In the final months before a missionary goes onto the mission field for the first time, there can be huge hurdles to ...
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Colours of Northern India
India is a land of great diversity and complexity. You will find the extremely rich amongst the poorest of the poor. It is a land of spirituality and devotion, yet with so many gods on offer, there are still those who have never heard of Jesus. Over 67,000 km of track stretch ...
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The Fear Factor
OK, so I am not the bravest of women. Not the type to enjoy a good thrill ride at Luna Park. Not the type to strap myself to a skydiver (even if he is the spitting image of Chris Hemsworth) and be hurled from a plane. I am up for an adventure though, especially when I know that the Lord is in ...
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From Paddy Field to Prison
One of the great highlights for us these past few months was getting to know Colleen, an 82 year old spiritual sister from the USA. She came to South East Asia for a holiday, staying close to where we live. We may have only just began to get to know her but already our love and admiration for her ...
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The Talented Tailor
Rakesh has been one of the pillars of the Restore India project in Delhi since it started four years ago. Serving now as one of the Project Coordinators, he and his family began work at the centre initially as volunteers but are now staff members in the community development work and lay leaders in ...
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The Unnamed Hero
When my sister produced my mother’s first grandchild, there was a dilemma regarding what the new grandmother was to be called. Nanna? Nan? Granny? My Mum balked at them all. After a few weeks of indecision, my sister said she would be referring to Mum as “No-Name” until she chose a ...
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Captain Keith and Norma the Nurturer
Keith started life in 1939 in Papua New Guinea where his parents were missionaries. From age 3, he grew up in Melbourne and then in Tahlee (near Port Stephens NSW) where his Dad was on staff at the bible college there. During these years he was greatly influenced by his parent’s missions ...
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Doctor Dedication
Since my teens, I always believed I would become a medical missionary and had Africa in mind. I grew up on a farm among a big family and thought that the practical skills of farm life would be good training for wherever God sent me. However, we had very little exposure to people from other ...
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Ways your church could multiply its global impact
God invites and commands every local church to join him in extending the ministry of the gospel in every nation, tribe and tongue, but what does that look like? In this follow-up post to last week's piece, here are five practical suggestions for how your church might multiply its impact ...
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Why your church should care about global mission
Churches are busy places. There is a lot to do and barely enough people or money to do what is needed. So why would a local church want to put time, energy and money into mission overseas? Here are five reasons that local churches need to serve God’s mission across the street and across the ...
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What we wish you knew
Ben has been support-raising with his family for 18 months now. Here he shares a couple of things that may be helpful for you to know about the whole process: What we wish you knew is that we don't like this process! We would rather perform open-heart surgery on ourselves with a corkscrew then ...
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5 exciting resources from other organisations
Fun, engaging videos—heartbreaking, informative videos—interactive maps—a four-week, mission-focused Bible study—free wallpaper for your desktop computer... just a few of the resources that made this list! Here are five of our favourites: Learning Arabic A young new missionary with OM in ...
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In-house mission lingo unpacked
Church planting movements (CPM) Essentially, it's a process of local churches multiplying—churches that are planting churches, which in turn plant churches. It all comes back to sharing the gospel with peoples of the world, with the aim of making disciples who make disciples. Unreached ...
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6 easy tips for posting a care parcel
How many of us are guilty of good intentions when it comes to packing and posting a care package? It has to be one of the easiest ways to support a cross-cultrual worker. Use this guide to turn your procrastination into reality! 1. Pack something fun Sure, there could be fun (random) things your ...
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On Learning Language
When you’ve moved halfway around the world for one reason—to share the gospel with those who haven’t yet heard—you can understand why language learning is so important! To say it’s not an easy task would be an understatement. Here are a few quotes from a number of Pioneers workers who ...
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Dreams and visions
Sometimes you have a bad day. And some days it seems like everything in your life is falling apart. That’s what happened to Dave*, a 35-year-old Pioneers worker. He found himself fighting for his life on a stiff hospital bed, his wife and children at his side, wondering how and why God would ...
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Never doubt how much you're needed
Have you ever read missions-related articles urging you to give up your ‘comfortable’ life in Australia? You know the ones – as soon as you finish reading them you become vaguely aware of the rumblings of discontent in your heart. Subconsciously you start questioning why God has you here and ...
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Save the Humans
This is not for the fainthearted. Nor is it particularly PC, but I’ll cut to the chase - “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10).” When all is said and done, this is what Jesus gave his life to do. The gospel is the best and the most important news any human being ...
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Discovery Bible Studies
Before arriving in-country about seven years ago, we really didn’t know much about church planting or, in fact, what Church Planting Movements were all about. Our team knew we wanted to see churches planted, but how we were going to go about it? What were some of the practical steps? We were ...
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Change... what we must and must not do
Recently I celebrated one of those ‘milestone’ birthdays that most people commiserate, I turned 40. Turning 40, however, gave my wife and I a great excuse to get together and party with friends, family and people I had gone to school with many, many years earlier. There was much laughter, ...
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Core Values Matter... One Degree Makes a Difference
One degree can make all the difference. A close compass reading may seem adequate at first, but along the way you may discover that you missed your destination. And all because of a 'minor' detail! Mission agencies have many similarities, yet each has it's own organizational culture and ...
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Arab World Ministries... The full story
Founded in 1881, Arab World Ministries is an evangelical, international mission specifically focused on making disciples and establishing churches among Muslims of the Arab world. In 2010, there were more than 400 AWM personnel serving in North Africa, the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula, ...
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An Ethos of Grace... in Europe and the Americas
Pioneers affirms that God's grace operates uniquely in the life of every believer. We endeavour, in all our relationships, to cultivate an atmosphere of mutual acceptance and respect. This encourages each of us to attain our full potential in Christ. An ethos of grace means acceptance ...
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Servant Leadership... Oil in the Machinery
The remote Western Province of PNG has many health needs. For the 200,000 people in this province where there are very few roads, it can be a very long and difficult journey to get help in times of sickness. Illness is a part of life in this predominantly tribal rain forest area. On average, one ...
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Parties, sharing God, dinners...
Parties. Dinners. Games. Writing references and job applications. Reading assignments. Sharing about God. More parties. Relationship counselling. Helping move house. Teaching English. Baking brownies. Playing cards. Teaching people to drive. Providing short-term accommodation. More parties. Picking ...
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Making Jewellery, Making Disciples
When Paballo was 11 years old and in Grade 5 at school his mother became mentally ill and had to give up her work in a bookshop. As a result Paballo became completely dependent on his father. He was devastated when his father died just four years later. As there was now no means of raising the ...
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Teams... Embracing the Challenges
It has been said that teams are what keep missionaries on the field, and what send many missionaries home. Teams can be places of incredible warmth and support, providing a caring environment for personal and spiritual growth; our ‘safe place' when we are working in a dark and hostile ...
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Are they friends with Jesus? A challenge from the young.
Kindergarten has stretched our five year old son's view of the world. Until this year, he has been surrounded by Christian family and friends. Now at school, interaction with his classmates and teachers has raised lots of questions. One of these big questions has been, ‘Dad, Is Miss ... ...
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A Passion for God... Am I Obsessive About the Right Things?
It's funny how a passing comment can spin us into deeper thought. My sister jokingly called me obsessive because I was keeping my receipts, trying to keep tabs on my accounts. And it got me thinking, what am I obsessive about? Am I obsessive about the right things? At the moment I've ...
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Instrument of Love In South America
I answered the knock at the door. It was Dr. Steve, my SIM co-worker in the mountain Quechua village of Yawisla. “The infection in Maria’s leg is spreading. She needs surgery in Potosí. Could you go with her?” I could hardly believe it. A few days before, Maria tripped in the courtyard of ...
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God's Patchwork Quilt... The peoples living on one island
Indonesia, though 10 percent Christian, has many ethnic groups and areas with little or no gospel witness. One such area is the province of South Sumatra, home to over 20 different unreached people groups. Much of South Sumatra is isolated, with only minimal educational opportunities outside the ...
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South Asia... A Patchwork of Cultures
There is nothing in the world quite like the regions of South Asia and Southeast Asia. As Sarah McDonald states regarding India "it is beyond statement, for anything you say, the opposite is also true. It's rich and poor, spiritual and material, cruel and kind, angry but peaceful, ugly and ...
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Birthing New Hope in Nigeria
Rahilla collapses back onto the thatched mat overcome with pain and exhaustion as the sweat runs down her body before soaking into her dirty clothes. Her limbs are shaking with fatigue and her body is burning with fever as malaria (and possibly typhoid) compounds the effects of her labouring for ...
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Eurasia... Boundless Opportunities
It was a warm, sun-swept day on the island. As I hung the bag on the quaint blue gate, a woman emerged from the cottage looking irate. This was my third day handing out Bible bags, so her appearance neither frightened me nor took me by surprise. 'Ena thoraki' (this is a gift). I offered the ...
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Hands of Healing in Cambodia
After five years of brutal civil war, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia in April 1975. They envisaged a perfect society where all were equal and all were rice-farmers. All cities and towns were evacuated, and the elimination or 'purification' of all urban dwellers was begun. Many died ...
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A Cry in the Darkness in Bolivia
'Nothing exciting ever happens to me,' I grumbled, as the ancient, rattling bus carried me toward the Quechua farming centre of Quilla Collo. Later, I figured I must have been dreaming to have made that remark, for I returned from that very bus ride with a premature, one-month old baby in my arms ...
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Why God? A simple but profound question.
When great calamity strikes, like the 2005 tsunami in Indonesia and Southeast Asia that swept away over 250,000 lives, our minds are filled with questions: 'Why did this happen?' 'Can anything be done to prevent it happening again?' 'What should our response be?' While science can offer one answer ...
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Released Without Charge in Central Asia
'Moloko…' ('Milk…' for sale), 'Smetana… ('Sour cream…)' -- the chants of early morning vendors rang out as they walked up and down the dusty streets of the neighbourhood. Their voices blended with the many noises and bustle of a typical Central Asian morning. A little more noise added to ...
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Pioneering the Pacific... The Story of Asia Pacific Christian Mission
In 1931, the “Unevangelised Fields Mission” was formed in England, with a vision to initiate the planting of churches among unreached peoples around the world. Over thirty men and women joined UFM in those early days, with a vision for Africa. Far away however, in Melbourne, Australia, a young ...
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A Vision for the Islands
The Story of the South Seas Evangelical Mission Late in the 1800s, thousand of indentured labourers from the Pacific Islands were brought to Australia to work in virtual slavery on the Queensland sugar cane plantations. Most Australians regarded these ‘Kanakas’ as little more than savages. ...
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Niger to the Nile... The Story of SUM/Action Partners
In the office of Rev. Alexander Lar, President of the Church of Christ in Nigeria, in a place of prominence, hangs a dusty, fading black and white photograph of a rather handsome, austere looking gentleman. It’s a classic, framed Georgian portrait; head and shoulders, of a man with well groomed, ...
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The Beginnings of Pioneers
This story all started when God gave Ted and Peggy Fletcher a vision for the world. In faith, Ted left a secure position at the Wall Street Journal to pursue missions. Three years later, after every other traditional mission option closed, the former marine and his wife started Pioneers. ...
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Cultural Diversity... A Biblical Perspective
Dr Kofi Anane-Fenin, Department of Physics, University of Cape Coast, Ghana West Africa. Presented at the Pioneers International Conference 4, November 1999 Pattaya, Thailand. How should cultural diversity be understood and evaluated in the Biblical perspective? The behaviour of a person from ...
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The Best Kept Secret... Buddhists
John, the regional leader for South Asia/Pacific, recently wrote the following: 'Have you ever spent much time thinking about Cambodia or Vietnam, Thailand or Myanmar? In many ways, I wonder if the Buddhist world is not one of the best kept secrets in missions. As Buddhists do not tend to be ...