Mission Shift: The Barnabas Factor | Special Release

About Mission Shift: The Barnabas Factor | Special Release

This is a special, one-season release of the Mission Shift podcast from IVP author, Josh Irby. To continue listening to the podcast after Episode 5, subscribe to the full Mission Shift podcast here: Apple Podcasts (https://www.cru.org/us/en/train-and-grow/audio/mission-shift.html#s) Spotify (https://www.cru.org/us/en/train-and-grow/audio/mission-shift.html#season1) iHeartRadio (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-mission-shift-podcast-93602039) Podcast Addict (https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/mission-shift-podcast/3986163) Mission Shift is a podcast exploring how global missions is changing, especially as mission leadership and engagement increasingly come from everywhere to everywhere. Through conversations with global leaders, practitioners, and thinkers, each episode helps listeners pursue missions with humility, partnership, and wisdom. Welcome to Season 3 of Mission Shift “How does crosscultural partnership amplify global missions?” Let’s talk about it! Building directly on previous seasons—which shined a spotlight on the global church on mission (Season 1) and explored how the West can best partner with them (Season 2)—this season dives into the central theme of cross-cultural partnership through the lens of the biblical figure Barnabas. As the “modern missions era” gives way to the “new era of missions” and mission activity morphs from “the west to the rest” to “everywhere to everywhere,” Barnabas’ approach to mission is a compelling model to examine and learn from. Throughout the season, we dialog with an array of international mission leaders and authors to unpack topics from the new InterVarsity Press book, The Barnabas Factor (https://www.ivpress.com/the-barnabas-factor). We’ll explore how humility, advocacy, mutual accountability, relational presence, and other factors can amplify global mission efforts in a shifting world.

Publisher

InterVarsity Press

Category

arts · business · religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

3 Sept 2026

Latest episode

1 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

5 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   1 Oct 2026

   Episode 5 – The Visibility & Mutuality Factors

   SPECIAL OFFER | As a listener of the show, you can get 25% off Josh Irby's new book, The Barnabas Factor (https://www.ivpress.com/the-barnabas-factor), by using the code IVPOD25 at checkout at ivpress.com. We hope you enjoy this season! [Editor’s note: Unfortunately, after the wonderful conversation we had with Layo and Kate, we discovered there were significant problems with the audio files. The conversation was too good to throw out, so we did all we could to rescue the audio. Please excuse the issues, and press through–the conversation is worth it!] In Season 3 of Mission Shift, we engage in round-table conversations with contributors to the new InterVarsity Press book, The Barnabas Factor (https://www.ivpress.com/the-barnabas-factor). Join us as contributors from around the world examine different parts of Barnabas’ life, ministry, and character–and then consider how they apply in this exciting era of global missions. If you’re engaged in global missions, the topics are pertinent and conversations are challenging–but the occasional discomfort is worthwhile as we all seek to help everyone, everywhere make their best contribution to God’s global mission. In this episode we talk to Kate Pocklington and Layo Leiva about visibility and mutuality as seen in the life and ministry of Barnabas. Find guest bios below and past episodes of Mission Shift here (https://cru.org/MissionShift). Guests Kate Pocklington Kate Pocklington has been involved in God’s beautifully complex mission all of her life, based in four nations across three continents. She currently has a dual role in global mission, where she oversees leadership development and mission formation for the Pioneers Oceania Region, while also seeing Pioneers adopt the rich peacemaking framework and shared language at a global level. Kate has a Doctorate of Intercultural Studies from Fuller Seminary, with a focus in prayer. Her first book, Shaped by the Spirit, was released in 2024. You can enjoy more of Kate’s mission formation writing at Substack's Shaped by the Spirit. Layo Leiva H. Ladislao Leiva, originally from El Salvador, began his ministry as a full-time missionary with Campus Crusade for Christ on October 1, 1978, after completing his training in Cuernavaca, Mexico. He studied linguistics and journalism at the José Simeón Cañas University in San Salvador, El Salvador. In 2006 he did postgraduate studies on transformational leadership at the Universidad Iberoamericana de Liderazgo in Orlando, Florida, USA. He is also a certified life coach. Recently, he served as the area team leader for Latin America and the Caribbean from 2010 to 2021. Since 2022 he has served as the regional facilitator for the Leader Strategies Network, coordinating twelve Campus Crusade for Christ ministries that seek to reach and mobilize leaders and influencers in the major Latin American and Caribbean cities. For almost five decades, Ladislao and his wife have disci-pled, taught, mentored, and coached multiple generations of missionaries, students, professionals, executives, politicians, and entrepreneurs, helping them become principled leaders impacting their cities and nations with the gospel of the king-dom. Happily married to Luchy since 1981, they have three adult sons, three granddaughters, and one grandson. They reside in San José, Costa Rica, where they have lived since 2013.

2. 

   24 Sept 2026

   Episode 4 – The Encouragement & “Along-siding” Factors

   SPECIAL OFFER | As a listener of the show, you can get 25% off Josh Irby's new book, The Barnabas Factor (https://www.ivpress.com/the-barnabas-factor), by using the code IVPOD25 at checkout at ivpress.com. We hope you enjoy this season! In Season 3 of Mission Shift, we engage in round-table conversations with contributors to the new InterVarsity Press book, The Barnabas Factor (https://www.ivpress.com/the-barnabas-factor). Join us as contributors from around the world examine different parts of Barnabas’ life, ministry, and character–and then consider how they apply in this exciting era of global missions. If you’re engaged in global missions, the topics are pertinent and conversations are challenging–but the occasional discomfort is worthwhile as we all seek to help everyone, everywhere make their best contribution to God’s global mission. In this episode we talk to Jay Mātenga and Ron & Star Nelson about encouragement and “along-siding” as seen in the life and ministry of Barnabas. Find guest bios below and past episodes of Mission Shift here (https://cru.org/MissionShift). Guests Ron & Star Nelson Ron and Star Nelson are a devoted husband-and-wife team who founded Sowing Seeds of Joy Ministries in 2007 to mobilize and equip people of color for crosscultural mission work. Ron, a former world-class sprinter, police officer, military veteran, US Postal Inspector, and ordained minister, serves as a mission mobilizer and Perspectives course coordinator and instructor. Star, a retired postmaster with decades of government and IRS service, brings strong logistical expertise and training skills to coleading mission mobilization efforts and coordinating numerous teams. Together, their passion has taken them to dozens of countries, and they've inspired churches, particularly those among underrepresented communities, to actively engage in global missions. Jay Mātenga Dr Jamie (Jay) Mātenga is a contextual theologian of Māori heritage with over 30 years of experience serving cross-cultural missions. In addition to his ministry among Māori, Jamie is the Co-Leader of the World Evangelical Alliance Mission Commission and the Opinion Editor at Christian Daily International. These roles combine his passion to encourage participation in the purposes of God by amplifying least heard Christian voices, while also promoting discussions in contextual theology and the Church’s unity within tensions created by diversity and a maturing world Christianity. Jamie keeps an archive of presentation material and blog essays on his website: https://jamiematenga.com.

3. 

   17 Sept 2026

   Episode 3 – The Sent, Koinonia, and Suffering Factors

   SPECIAL OFFER | As a listener of the show, you can get 25% off Josh Irby's new book, The Barnabas Factor (https://www.ivpress.com/the-barnabas-factor), by using the code IVPOD25 at checkout at ivpress.com. We hope you enjoy this season! In Season 3 of Mission Shift, we engage in round-table conversations with contributors to the new InterVarsity Press book, The Barnabas Factor (https://www.ivpress.com/the-barnabas-factor). Join us as contributors from around the world examine different parts of Barnabas’ life, ministry, and character–and then consider how they apply in this exciting era of global missions. If you’re engaged in global missions, the topics are pertinent and conversations are challenging–but the occasional discomfort is worthwhile as we all seek to help everyone, everywhere make their best contribution to God’s global mission. In this episode we talk to Slavko Hadžić, Lazarus Phiri, and Rev. Jun Than about sent-ness, Koinonia, and suffering as seen in the life and ministry of Barnabas. Find guest bios below and past episodes of Mission Shift here (https://cru.org/MissionShift). Guests Slavko Hadžić Slavko Hadžić is the husband of Sanja and father of Jovana and David. He lives in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he pastored a local evangelical church for sixteen years. His passion in ministry is evangelism and preaching. Today he serves as chairman and evangelist with FEUER (Fellowship of Evangelists at Universities of Europe, the associate director for Langham Preaching in Europe and the Caribbean, and president of the association Good News. He is coauthor of the evangelistic book Cross on a Hill (2018). Lazarus Phiri Lazarus Phiri is married to Rachel, and they have two grown sons, Immanuel and Jeremiah, who is married to Taryn. Lazarus is a globally recognized Zambian scholar and leader deeply invested in Christian mission, theological education, and anticorruption advocacy. His comprehensive international academic training and leadership roles-including at Lausanne congresses and in higher education-equip him to contribute to the missiological reflection of the global church. Lazarus serves with Pioneers and actively leads integrity-focused initiatives that call the global church to ethical, justice-oriented engagement. Rev. Jun Tan Rev. Jun Tan is a multicultural pastor, Bible teacher, and former rocket scientist-in-training whose journey from the tea fields of Hunan to the pulpits of Melbourne reflects a life transformed by Christ. Born and raised in China as a staunch atheist, he encountered Jesus in 1998 after immigrating to Australia. He now serves as senior pastor at Balwyn Baptist Church, where he champions intercultural discipleship, sacrificial community, gospel-shaped transformation, and incarnational mission. Jun holds three master’s degrees—two in theology and one in materials science—and lectures part-time in theological education. His short-term mission work in China and Hong Kong continues to challenge the church to embrace costly communion over comfort and presence over performance.

4. 

   10 Sept 2026

   Episode 2 – The Generosity and Trustworthiness Factors

   SPECIAL OFFER | As a listener of the show, you can get 25% off Josh Irby's new book, The Barnabas Factor (https://www.ivpress.com/the-barnabas-factor), by using the code IVPOD25 at checkout at ivpress.com. We hope you enjoy this season! In Season 3 of Mission Shift, we engage in round-table conversations with contributors to the new InterVarsity Press book, The Barnabas Factor (https://www.ivpress.com/the-barnabas-factor). Join us as contributors from around the world examine different parts of Barnabas’ life, ministry, and character–and then consider how they apply in this exciting era of global missions. If you’re engaged in global missions, the topics are pertinent and conversations are challenging–but the occasional discomfort is worthwhile as we all seek to help everyone, everywhere make their best contribution to God’s global mission. In this episode we talk to Nydia Garcia-Schmidt and Mary Lederleitner about generosity and trustworthiness as seen in the life and ministry of Barnabas. Find guest bios below and past episodes of Mission Shift here (https://cru.org/MissionShift). Guests Nydia R. Garcia-Schmidt Nydia is originally from Monterrey, NL and began her theological studies at the age of 16 at the El Calvario Bible Institute in Nuevo León. After this, at the age of 18, she continued her theological studies and in 1991 obtained her degree from the Rio Grande Theological Seminary, USA. She earned her Master's in Intercultural Leadership in 2011 from Crown College. In 1999, with her husband Jim and three children, they served on the mission field in the Philippines, Indonesia and Mexico with Wycliffe Bible Translators. Nydia's ministry experience has been with the Bible Translation ministry since 1999, and has held various positions in the Americas within the Wycliffe Global Alliance (formerly Wycliffe International). Since 2003 as director of Human Resources, then as associate Area Director of the Americas Area and from 2013-22 as director of the Americas Area, this last position being the first woman to assume it in the 70-year history of the ministry. Nydia currently leads the fundraising department with Instituto Linguistico de Verano in México and participates in the Global Generosity Network representing Latin America. Nydia received her PhD in 2026 from the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies in England, researching factors that facilitate and hinder the creation of a movement of generosity and stewardship in Latin America. Nydia and her husband Jim live in Mexico City. Mary Lederleitner Mary Lederleitner authored the book Cross-Cultural Partnerships: Navigating the Complexities of Money and Mission which is now in its 7 th printing. She also authored Women In God’s Mission which won a book-of-the-year award from Christianity Today in the missions / global church category. Mary held global leadership roles with Wycliffe for twenty years. She teaches in the strategic leadership track of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School’s Doctor of Ministry Program, and she has been a leadership consultant for many mission organizations and churches. She is also on the Global Board of Operation Mobilization. Mary currently serves as an Associate Professor in the MA and PhD programs at William Carey International University and she is the Director of their Women’s Institute which works with leaders in mission around the globe.

5. 

   3 Sept 2026

   Episode 1 – The Advocacy and Empowerment Factors

   SPECIAL OFFER | As a listener of the show, you can get 25% off Josh Irby's new book, The Barnabas Factor (https://www.ivpress.com/the-barnabas-factor), by using the code IVPOD25 at checkout at ivpress.com. We hope you enjoy this season! In Season 3 of Mission Shift, we engage in round-table conversations with contributors to the new InterVarsity Press book, The Barnabas Factor (https://www.ivpress.com/the-barnabas-factor). Join us as contributors from around the world examine different parts of Barnabas’ life, ministry, and character–and then consider how they apply in this exciting era of global missions. If you’re engaged in global missions, the topics are pertinent and conversations are challenging–but the occasional discomfort is worthwhile as we all seek to help everyone, everywhere make their best contribution to God’s global mission. In this episode we talk to Delanyo Adadevoh and Paul Borthwick about advocacy and empowerment as seen in the life and ministry of Barnabas. Find guest bios below and past episodes of Mission Shift here (https://Cru.org/MissionShift). Guests Delanyo Adadevoh Delanyo Adadevoh is founder and president of the International Leadership Foundation (ILF). Adadevoh has a passion to see Africa and the world transformed with the unique distinctive of compelling moral vision based on God-centered values. ILF has expanded from Africa to Latin America, Europe, Asia, and North America. For more than four decades, he has shared insights and experiences regarding leadership development with tens of thousands of students, professionals, rell-gious leaders, executives, diplomats, and heads of state. Dela has received degrees from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana; Azusa Pacific University in California; and Leeds University, England. He is the author of numerous books on transformation and leadership. A citizen of Ghana, Professor Adadevoh has also lived in Nigeria, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have three adult children and five granddaughters. They reside in Orlando, Florida, USA. Paul Borthwick Paul Borthwick, with his wife, Christie, served on the staff of DAI (Development Associates International), a training group dedicated to the character and ministry development of leaders in the under-resourced world (daintl.org) from 1998 to 2024. They retired from DAI, but Paul now serves on its board. Paul also served as an adjunct professor in Global Christianity at Gordon College from 1985 to 2015. For decades, Paul and Christie have spent one to two months each year in ministry in other countries, mostly in the Global South Africa, Asia, and Latin America). Paul has written fifteen books. While some are on topics related to youth ministry and Christian leadership, his primary writing focus has been making the Great Commission accessible to Christians. Paul and Christie have been married since 1979 and split their year between Lexington, Massachusetts, and Sanibel, Florida. They are members of Grace Chapel (http://grace.org). Their website is paulborthwick.com (http://paulborthwick.com).

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