The Five-Year Retrospective of Missions on Point podcast

Episode 260

Released July 18, 2025

Hello, I'm David Meade, and I'm the host and originator of the Missions on Point podcast. I truly thank God that you have found missions on point and are a listener today. Today's episode is number 260, marking the completion of five full years of releasing approximately 15-minute episodes every Friday, without missing a week, for five consecutive years. So, it's special. This episode will be a retrospective of my reflection on five years of Missions on Point Podcasting. I trust that you'll find it interesting and encouraging. I also hope that you will take this landmark opportunity to recommend the podcast to others, share your thoughts on social media, and leave a comment. Over the years, we have been helped by comments and feedback from listeners like you, whether via email, in person, or comments on the podcast through your podcast app.

The first episode was released on July 31, 2020. The original planned name for the podcast was “The Propempo Perspective.” As it got underway, my pastor, friend, and colleague in ministry, John Crotts, suggested that the name "Missions on Point" would be more understandable and cooler. So, we changed the name to "Missions on Point." That name has been helpful in many ways, catching people's attention and drawing them to the podcast's great content.

Fast forward, “Missions on Point” also happens to be the name we've used as the main title of the book "Missions on Point" and now a series of books, collectively known as "The Missions on Point Library." Most people might think that these books are a compilation of notes from the podcast. However, each has its own original content. The first book, “Missions on Point,” is the only book I am aware of that presents a strong biblical argument for the centrality of the local church in missions.

Our goal has always been to provide easy-to-understand, accessible short episodes without any filler or fluff. “No banter, no blather.” We've never had co-hosts or interviews. We have a topic and address it clearly and succinctly, incorporating principles and practical applications, so that the listener can take it home and apply it in their church, on the field, and in their life. We've never formally monetized it, which means we are always under the burden of paying for the technology, media access, and channels to distribute the podcast. If you want to help, the easiest way is to visit sendforward.org and make a donation.

My recording studio has consisted of a laptop, one by one, acquiring better microphones, and some simple, free software. I’ve been in the basement, a side table in my office, and now in a closet with the walls wrapped in a fuzzy blanket. One time, on the road, I recorded an episode in a hotel room with pillows surrounding the laptop and a bedspread covering the area around me. I wait to record during quieter times, such as when my neighbor is not mowing the grass or when there are no thunderstorms in the neighborhood or grandkids are not playing in the room next to the office.

Though our loyal following could always be bigger and better, I'm amazed at how many people listen to the podcast, not just from the United States, but the country list goes through United Kingdom, Australia, India, Uganda, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Morocco, New Zealand, Portugal, Colombia, Dominican Republic, France, Greece, Honduras, Italy, Mexico, Peru, and Thailand.

Missions on Point listeners can access the podcast through Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Podbean, Android Player, Google Chrome, Downcast, Podcast Attic, Fountain, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Pandora, and other platforms.

To date, we have over 54,000 all-time downloads. Of course, the earliest episodes have had more time online. Therefore, they have a head start in terms of downloads. The top ten with the most downloads are, in order:

Episode 1, What is the Propempo perspective?

Episode 2, The Centrality of the Church in Missions, from Ephesians 3

Episode 59, Your Church Missions Profile: Praying, Giving, and Short-Term Missions

Episode 12, The Necessity of Pastoral Leadership of Missions in the Local Church, Part 1 of 4.

Episode 61, Getting the Most from Missionary Biographies, 1 of 2.

Episode 58, Your Church Missions Profile: Church Leaders, Missions Team, and Individual Participation.

Episode 63, The Vision of a Sending Church, 1 of 6, “V” for VISION

Episode 43, Missions Committee Essentials, Part 1.

Episode 211, Church Planting - Seeds of the Future.

Episode 60, Your Church Missions Profile: Missionary Care, Missions Strategy, and Missionary Training.

I've been very encouraged by several churches that tell me they use the Missions on Point podcast as a training requirement for new members or regular discussion content for their Missions Team.

Missions on Point is designed to strengthen and support the local church in all its aspects by providing resources to understand the importance and biblical role of their local church in missions as it equips, affirms, sends, and shepherds missionaries to fulfill the Great Commission. The podcast has elements that are helpful to individuals within the church. It has other components that are important for missionary candidate training and the missionary on the field. Many of the podcast episodes are targeted at leaders in the church, specifically missions leaders, pastors, and elders.

Over the last five years on the podcast, I have provided clear definitions of missions-related terms that sharpen and focus the ministry of missions through the local church. I have been a strong advocate of missions agencies respecting the role of the local church and coming alongside to truly help local churches send well, as the term parachurch implies.

Here are the series topics we've addressed: See if your interest is piqued to go back and listen to them.

The Propempo Perspective, 9 Episodes.

A Biblical Definition of Missions, 2 episodes.

Pastoral Leadership, 4 episodes.

Short-term missions philosophy, 3 episodes.

Missionary Care, 4 episodes.

Bible Translation 2 Episodes.

Keys to Effectiveness as a Missionary, 15 Episodes.

Three Central Truths, 3 episodes.

Missions Committee Essentials, 3 episodes.

Discovering missions throughout the Bible, 5 episodes.

The Help series, 9 episodes.

Your Church Missions Profile, 4 episodes.

The Vision of a Sending Church, 6 episodes.

Hang in there! Here’s more:

Missions Funding, 4 episodes.

Missiology You Need to Know, 6 episodes.

Sending Missionaries From Your Church, 4 episodes.

Church-Based Missionary Training, 14 episodes.

Contemporary Issues in Missions, 14 episodes.

Special Church Missions Issues, 5 episodes.

Propempo Certification, 7 episodes.

Propempo Enters 2023 with MissioSERVE, 1 episode.         

Your Church Missions Handbook, 12 episodes.

Sharing Jesus During Ramadan, 1 episode.

The Centrality of the Local Church in Missions, 8 episodes.

Restoring Missions in the Local Church, 9 episodes.

Local Church-Centered Missions Implemented, 8 episodes.

The Centrality of the Church in Missions, 1 episode.

Missions on Point book - Conclusion, 1 episode.

Missions, Insights from the Old Testament, 5 episodes.

Missions, Insights from the New Testament, 7 episodes.

Discipleship in the Church, 6 episodes by Joel Hollins

Church Partnerships in Missions, 6 episodes by Joel Hollins

Missions Paths, 11 Episodes by Joel Hollins

Church Planting, 8 episodes

HERE to THERE: Missionary Training. 13 episodes.

Preaching about Missions, 19 Episodes by Joel Hollins

The Church and the Parachurch, 6 episodes by Joel Hollins

Training for the Sending Church, 10 episodes.

That’s the list. During the intense period of writing, publishing, and promoting the Missions on Point book over the past year, I was greatly assisted by Joel Hollins, who took responsibility for several series on the podcast, as noted earlier. Thanks, Joel, you are a gifted and like-minded partner in ministry.

I have been thrilled to learn that missionaries have benefited from the podcast and are being better shepherded and supported by their sending churches as a result.

We continue to hear from pastors and missions leaders that the ideas presented in Missions on Point have helped their churches become more effective and focused in their missions vision.

I have also been personally encouraged to think deeply about the material we present. I’ve been teaching these concepts for thirty years, having practiced them in the local church and on the field for twenty years prior. The Lord has used missions on Point to help me crystallize and articulate biblical local-church-centered missions to others. We’re trusting God to continue to grow this tidal wave of realization that local-church-centered thinking is His design for effectively fulfilling the Great Commission.

What do you think? Please let us know.

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You can email me at: David@Propempo.com

The next series to be released will be “The Best of Missions on Point,” a curated selection from the past five years.

For the first time ever, we will rebroadcast the best episodes, accompanied by fresh introductory comments for each one. Stay tuned …