July 26, 2026

The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

Category: Gospel

YouTube Evangelism
Evangelism, Gospel

YouTube Evangelism

God calls all of us to “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim 4:5). As Gary Ridley points out in another blog post, this work is not just with non-believers. Nevertheless, those of us who are called to serve as cross-cultural workers look for opportunities to share the Gospel with those who have never heard this good news. Typically, we expect that we will do so through sharing the Gospel in one-on-one conversations with our friends and acquaintances. Sometimes, we have opportunities to present the good news in public events through sermons or testimonies. A few of us might use Gospel tracts or other printed literature. But rarely if ever did we envision that YouTube could be our best platform for evangelism. Digital missions As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have become much more interested in “digital missions” – how to do mission work through… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther2 mins read
Follow-Up: Partnership in the Gospel
Cytonn Photography on Unsplash
Church Planting, Church, Follow-up, Gospel

Follow-Up: Partnership in the Gospel

This entry is part 8 of 13 in the series Follow-upHow does Paul follow-up with the church at Philippi? We have been asking this question in previous posts about Galatia, Thessalonica, and Corinth. Our source of information has been Paul’s letters to these churches. Today we will look at his letter to Philippi. Philippians, a Friendship Letter Many commentators have noted that Philippians has features common to friendship letters in the Greco-Roman world. For instance, expressions of affection and terminology like “yoke-fellow” (Phil. 4:3) were common in letters between friends at that time. Yet the letter is more than just communication between friends. Gordon Fee writes: But “hortatory letter of friendship” is only part of the story, and in many ways the least significant part of that. For in Paul’s hands everything turns into gospel, including both formal and material aspects of such a letter. Most significantly, friendship in particular… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley2 mins read
Follow-up: Understanding Authentic Christian Ministry
Photo by Marc Scaturro on Unsplash
Leadership, Church, Follow-up, Gospel

Follow-up: Understanding Authentic Christian Ministry

This entry is part 7 of 13 in the series Follow-upAs we saw in an earlier post, the Corinthians needed to learn to keep culture in perspective. This was especially true in their understanding of leadership and Christian ministry. The leadership values of the culture were exploited by Paul’s opponents, causing some in Corinth to question Paul’s credentials. George Guthrie observes, In short, in the apostle’s seeming humility (even humiliation 12:21), his taking on the role of a servant, his rejection of patronage and the concomitant rejection of financial gain, and his refusal to advance his status by use of rhetorical skills, he stood in violation of key leadership values and principles embedded in the Corinthian culture. The apostle, on the other hand, presents to the Corinthians an alternative; a theocentric and biblical vision of authentic leadership. While not all cultural leadership values will conflict with authentic Christian ministry, they… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley2 mins read
The Prodigal Prophet: a review
Book Reviews, Gospel, Spiritual Formation

The Prodigal Prophet: a review

Like the two brothers of the parable Many are familiar with Tim Keller’s book, The Prodigal God, published in 2008. In that book, Keller highlighted the grace of God portrayed in the parable of the prodigal son. Similarly, in a more recent book, The Prodigal Prophet, he shows how the story of Jonah gives us an Old Testament illustration of that parable. He writes in the Introduction, Many students of the book have noticed that in the first half Jonah plays the “prodigal son” of Jesus’s famous parable (Luke 15:11-34), who ran from his father. In the second half of the book, however, Jonah is like the “older brother” (Luke 15:25-32), who obeys his father but berates him for his graciousness to repentant sinners. In the Introduction, Keller outlines how the book of Jonah portrays the Prophet’s disobedience (chapters 1 & 2) and then his reluctant obedience (chapters… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley2 mins read
Follow-up: Keep Culture in Perspective
Training, Contextualization, Follow-up, Gospel, Cultural learning

Follow-up: Keep Culture in Perspective

This entry is part 5 of 13 in the series Follow-upCulture is high on the list of mission topics. For example, many colleges and seminaries have renamed their “Mission” departments as “Inter-cultural” departments or something similar. Certainly, cultural studies are essential for anyone proclaiming the gospel to people from other people groups. But we must keep culture in perspective. In 1 Corinthians Paul provides a perspective that both confronts and adapts to culture. Culture does not form the content of the gospel yet it is the context in which the gospel is proclaimed, understood, and lived. Culture is not the source of saving knowledge of God First of all, Paul announces that the wisdom of the world, which is part of culture, does not bring us a saving knowledge of God (1 Cor. 1:18-21). Knowing God depends on God’s revelation (1 Cor. 2:10-13), not on human wisdom. However, the wisdom… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley2 mins read
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