In western Christianity, we often fail to choose leaders in a biblical way. Persecuted believers also raise up and train leaders. Nik walks through the spiritual, biological, and cultural profiles of pastors, teachers, evangelists, and church planters in parts of the world defined by persecution.
Every persecuted believer gets knocked down at some point. Many of them, through Spirit-empowered victorious faith, get back up and stay in God’s story. The unfortunate reality, though, is that some deny their faith or—worse—fill the role of Judas as betrayer. Nik shares several stories about the experiences of individuals enduring persecution.
* For the safety of those mentioned in this episode, their names have either been changed or edited out.
In light of Ramadan, we are sharing this episode from the Our Urban Voices podcast that Ruth Ripken was a part of. From her experience of over 35 years in missions, Ruth discusses four ways Christians can overcome fear. She also describes why Christian women must reach out to Muslim women with hospitality and what it means to love our neighbors well.
Learn more about our ministry at NikRipken.com
What is discipleship? Are you practicing it biblically? In this episode, Nik explores the true nature of biblical discipleship. Jesus modeled for us how to choose disciples, live in community, and raise up the next generation of leaders and workers. Learn more about our ministry at NikRipken.com
As Ramadan approaches, Nik takes to dive into the practical elements of meeting and engaging your Muslim friends and neighbors. Nik shares special insight from 3 decades on the mission field and gives practical tools that every believer you can use to overcome fear of Islam and engaging Muslims.
We’re taking a short break from recording new podcast episodes, so we thought we’d share this nugget of blessing with you all.
Nik Ripken gave a talk at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary recently! Join Nik and the SEBTS community as he preaches from Matthew 27 on the hardships faced internationally by unbelievers and how it is our mission to go and tell them about our King, Jesus Christ.
Thank you for Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary for the opportunity and video! Learn more about the ministry at NikRipken.com
Nik and Ruth love college students! Not only have they been the recipient of years of encouragement and love at the hands of college and university students, but they have been able to pour back into them in recent years. In this epsiode, Nik shares a story of interacting with a Muslim-background college student, and the difficult truth that we can sometimes trade the truth of the real Gospel for an artifically flavored cultural Christianity.
Learn more about Nik Ripken’s Ministries at NikRipken.com
Nik shares a story from believers in persecution that he has never told before. In this narrative, we see how persecution often repeats itself and is in present active tense. Nik challenges listeners to not view persecution in present active tense, but the Bible in past tense.
Diving deeper into the larger story of his time in the Ogaden region of the Ethiopian desert, Nik shares one of the most miraculous encounters he’s ever experienced. “Are you the one? Have you come?” Nik asks this question of listeners who might need spiritual motivation to be the one who offers hope and truth in the darkest times of peoples lives.
Nik recounts his time coming face to face with the terrorist group al-ittihad in his Somali years. Encountering starving children on the brink of death, Nik confronts his own lack of faith and how he has personally seen that God works in present-active tense today.