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Be Barnabas Missions Tools and Resources

Ethnocentrism and Missions (Part 2)

In our first post, we defined what ethnocentrism is, its pattern in missions history, how the Bible confronts ethnocentrism, and gave some questions for reflection. In this post, we’ll talk about reasons why ethnocentrism can be extremely damaging to your vision to multiply, and practical ways to address ethnocentrism. Do I Have to be the […]

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Be Barnabas Missions Tools and Resources

Ethnocentrism and Missions

“You can’t work with the Thai church.” “They’re lazy, they don’t show up on time, and they lie to you by saying they’ll do something and then not do it.” This was the repeated sentiment we heard from experienced missionaries during our early years in Thailand. We had learned that most CPMs are started by […]

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Leadership Development Missions Women in Leadership

Men Leading Women

In our last few posts, we’ve talked about why men and women leading together on the field is important, best practices to do that, and specifics for husband and wife leadership teams. In this post, we’ll bring some guidelines for men leading women in missions settings. We think the ideal situation is when there can […]

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Leadership Development Missions Women in Leadership

Husbands and Wives Leading Together

Jenn and I (Steven) leading together got off to a rough start. One of the first things we did as a couple in ministry, before we were even married, was attend a support raising bootcamp with our Thailand team members. At the time, our team was both of us, four of my best friends growing […]

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Leadership Development Missions Women in Leadership

Men and Women Leading Together (Part 2)

The line to talk to Jenn was 10 people deep. I (Steven), on the other hand, had one guy come up to ask a quick question and scuttle off. As an introvert, I was pretty relieved. Jenn and I had just shared the stage together to speak at a conference for aspiring goers. We shared […]

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Church Planting Movements Missions Personal

2025 Year-in-Review

As we look back on another year for the Missions Leaders Blog, we’ve covered a wide range of topics that believe are essential for missions leaders, including Spiritual Gifts, Women in Leadership, Listening Prayer, and Apostolic Leadership. Here are our most-read posts and some of our favorites! Most-Read Posts in 2025 Being Barnabas – the […]

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Leadership Development Missions Women in Leadership

Men and Women Leading Together

Jenn and I (Steven) fought nearly every day for our first year on the field. At the end of our first term of 2.5 years, we did a debrief and noted that second only to learning union with Christ, both of us said our marriage, and our co-leadership of the ministry and team together, was […]

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Be Barnabas Church Planting Movements Missions

Partnering with and Developing an Apostolic Leader

Spiritual Gifts and Apostolic Series In this series, we’ve discovered what the word “apostolic” means, given the 5 essential elements of an apostolic leader, and discussed potential indicators of an emerging apostolic leader. In this final post, we’ll talk about how to partner with and develop these proven or emerging apostolic leaders. We’ve previously given […]

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Be Barnabas Church Planting Movements Missions

Indicators of an Emerging Apostolic Leader

In our last two posts, we’ve defined what the “apostolic” is, and 5 essential elements of an apostolic leader. An apostolic leader needs to have all 5 elements of big vision, risking faith, foundation setting, leader developer, and surrender to God. If you can find a clearly apostolically gifted, mature, national believer to partner with, […]

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Be Barnabas Church Planting Movements Missions

The 5 Essential Elements of an Apostolic Leader

In this series, we’ve explored spiritual gifts and their importance in missions, in the field context, and on missions teams. In the preceding post, we dove into the word ‘apostolic,’ what it means, and why it’s important for movements. In this post we will get more practical with the 5 essential elements of an apostolic […]