Welcome to the For the Gospel podcast, where we're all about sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Costi Hinn, and on today's episode, I'm joined by the executive director of For the Gospel, Brett Skinner, and we're going to be discussing a phrase that we use a ton in our meetings behind the scenes. Maybe you've never heard of it before, maybe you've heard us mention it before. We want to answer some questions about this particular phrase so you can understand the driving mission at for the gospel. So here's my preface statement. Stick with us. I think you'll enjoy it. We'll answer every single question you could think of on this particular issue as best as we can. And here's the phrase Digital missions. Ooh, you said it is the phrase. Brett Skinner, welcome to the For the Gospel podcast, brother.
SPEAKER_00Hey, it's a joy to be back on, brother.
SPEAKER_01Well, I did say the phrase, and this is something you and I talk about a whole lot behind the scenes as well with Justin Bond and our team, our board across a lot of different meeting spheres. Digital missions is a phrase we're using. Now we're not trying to be overly clever. Nothing's being replaced. We're going to explain that. Let's start with this question. Why should people care about digital missions even before we have defined it? Why should anyone care about this so-called phrase?
SPEAKER_00I'm glad you're asking that one first, because if we get right into the definition, everyone's just going to move on to the next podcast. So yeah, let's talk about it. Um, you know, I think it's kind of a simple answer. Um, you know, but basically we live in a rapidly progressive digital world. I mean, I think we see that online um through social media, through everything that's um being uh published by um street preachers to uh political activists to everything. People are consuming data at a remarkable, remarkable um amount. And we've got guys like Steven Furtick, Judith Smith, and Bill Johnson that are reaching the next generation by the millions with a an abhorrent gospel. Uh they figured out years ago that technology today uh gives them an unbridled access to the next generation where they're at, where they live on that little tiny 6.1 inch retina screen that sits in the palm of their hand that they always have with them. Yes, sir. So what we're seeing today is really, you know, a propagation of false teaching pouring into the minds of the next generation. And very few faithful Bible teachers are putting as much time and effort into the digital space. We've got some guys that are doing great work. We've got our Grace to You friends, we've got uh Ligonier Ministries, we've got Paul Washer, um, those guys come up often. Um, but you know, outside of those guys, uh, you know, really they're putting their efforts into a number of different spaces. But um, you know, one of the things I think for us to keep in mind is, you know, just to help our our our listeners as we keep going on this podcast, you know, setting kind of a benchmark for everybody to be thinking about is I took a look uh last week at the the top ranked Christian podcast on Apple. You know, and here's what I saw listed in the top 20. The number one Christian podcast is Ascension Catholic Faith Formation. The number four podcast was our buddy Joel Osteen, which I wasn't super excited about. Uh, the number five podcast was Hank Smith and John Byteway, which is an LDS podcast that's Mormons, if you don't know what LDS is. Um, in addition to that, in the top 20, you know, we had Elevation Church with Steven Furtick, we had Joyce Meyer, uh, we had Rick Warren all sitting at the top ranks. And for what we see is from this list is one, the world doesn't know what Christianity is. They they lump all of this heresy together, um, which pushes good theology down on the list because we're not pushing as hard. I mean, you've got you've got Catholics, Mormons, health and wealth, and prosperity all labeled under the same banner of Christianity. But that's the problem. We have millions of people searching for gospel truth, and the faithful teaching is buried several pages down in Google, or it's not even ranked under Christian top ten lists. Um, anyways, I mean, there's a lot to that. I could go on and on, but um, you know, I think there's work to be done here.
SPEAKER_01I would agree. I think it's important that people understand this is not something that's gonna go away fast. It's not going anywhere for a long time. This is the new normal, and there's a lot to this, but give us a brief definition now of what we mean when we use the term digital missions. And here's why I want this defined, and I know you're really passionate about this as well. Is I've got friends, you've got friends, really amazing missionary friends. We've got people going throughout the nations to take the gospel to unreach people groups and to people who uh maybe are steeped in false teaching. I just got an email before we started recording this from TMAI, the Masters Academy International, Mark Tatlock, and the team there. I love those guys to the nth degree, have gotten to preach with them, but more importantly, even on a trip to India, I got to hear about some of the impact that they're making. They're putting training centers around the world. That's not digital quote missions, that's in-person training centers being built up, donors putting money and effort and time behind building up seminaries around the world. And they are, I think, approaching. I haven't checked their most recent numbers, but I think they're approaching or going to eclipse 20 training centers globally. We're talking Africa, everywhere, you can imagine, South America. And then I think a Brooks Buser, who's one of our contributors here, just preached at our church about reaching unreached people group. We as a church plant have a missions budget already, and we're looking to raise people up and train them out to go. I also, last one that came to mind just off the cuff, Smedley Yates, the pastor of Grace Bible Church in Tempe, they're kind of our neighbors, Warren Chandler. He's a TMS graduate. This guy is on fire. I was just over at their church for an institute for creation research event, and he they have the Bible, the entire Bible on their walls of the church, they're missional. They're sending people to Papua New Guinea. They have an initiative, an initiative to just reach the unreached. So I'm thinking of our friends who might go, Whoa, Costi Brett. Hey, easy, take it easy, guys. We're what are you doing? Digital. What? Don't don't give up on the mission field. Define digital missions, what we're trying to accomplish for the gospel, and then also what what we're not doing and saying we shouldn't be doing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, I think it's important to start with the the not part because um, yeah, our unreached people group friends, our high church brothers, like we're not trying to say this is the new thing, everybody should divert all their funds, all their energy into this. Not at all. I think our our brothers who are reaching unreached people groups need to keep doing that. Uh, I think our churches need to keep pressing forward in missions, local, regional, global. We've got to keep all that. So, you know, let me start by maybe addressing a couple things, a set context before we actually get in and give kind of a vague definition to this. You know, first, you know, let me stress that the Great Commission is first and foremost a Christian responsibility to make disciples. We all have to be doing this. You know, it's something that all disciples must be pursuing in order to live faithfully. We're to be lifelong learners and believers of and in Christ. And we must go and make additional lifelong learners and believers of and in Christ. That's what it means to make disciples. And so as we talk about digital missions, we're simply surfacing one of the many opportunities in my mind to spread the gospel far and wide in our generation. You know, secondly, um, you know, I'd like to stress the importance of uh the church as the ultimate missions methodology. Nothing can replace the church or ever will place the church or the spread and establishment of more local churches. We need them by the thousands. Uh, after all, that's what Christ came and died for. Ephesians 5.25. It says that Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. And we should be doing the same. And that's why, you know, the life I live, the life you live, Cossi, with my family, is all within the local church and reaching out to people within my local community. Uh, maybe thirdly, uh, I want to clarify that digital missions is not and will never be online church. Uh, there's much to argue here, uh, from defining terms such as ecclesia, um, which is the Greek word translated church in our Bibles, uh, to reviewing biblical systematic theologies, especially in the area of ecclesiology or uh the study of church and the historic worship of God, much more than we have time to get into in this podcast. But um as we move forward, uh please know I'm not making a case for online church here. Um I don't want people tweeting at me and yelling at me. That's not my that's not my point here. Um so with all that out of the way, you know, let me answer the question as simply as I can. Digital missions, as I've established, is not a replacement for the church, but it is a digital pathway into the minds of millions, perhaps even billions of people at the click of a button. Um way that I like to think of it, it's it's the new digital gospel track in an era where people are hesitant to open their doors and have a conversation. It's a way of teaching sound doctrine beyond the scale of a sanctuary. Um, it's a way to provide biblical answers to the millions of questions asked online each year. Uh, and that's kind of the simple answer. I love the the digital gospel tracks. I think it it takes some of the weight off of people's shoulders and they're like, oh, okay, yeah, this is just a way to share our faith. This is a way to teach sound doctrine, this is a way to love people, to reach people in a new and I would say remarkable uh way in our era. So I hope that helps frame uh frame the idea here.
SPEAKER_01Great, great answer. The only thing I would add to that is just a practical element, which is when people see us posting on our social media pages at For the Gospel, or we do a video and the caption or the video says, you know, learn, grow, and share. That I think encompasses everything you've said. That's our action item for people. We want them learning, that's part of digital missions. In that space, people will grab their phone and they'll learn. Then we want them growing. People can binge watch things and grow. And what's funny, well, how did you grow and learn? How did I grow and learn in so many different areas of my theological formation and even the genesis of understanding the true gospel and all of that? It's the YouTube rabbit hole, it's staying up till 3 a.m. watching stuff. So there's grow and then share. People, I just got a message yesterday. A woman in our church sent me a screenshot of her Facebook page, and she said, Hey, Pastor, uh, I I'm not gonna debate or engage this person aggressively, but I just wanted you to see I had shared the sermon from this, this, and that on this topic, and it was on eternal security and and your salvation and all that. And she said, But I in sharing that, I'm praying that the gospel seeds were planted. This is what people are doing. They're going, What should I share? Roe v. Wade was just overturned. What should I say? What should I share? Of course, we're all praising God, and you should praise God unapologetically. Then what do you share? Or an issue comes up about somebody saying, I'm a gay Christian, or somebody goes through a challenging season in their marriage. What do you do? So, our goal, learn, grow, share, is helping people do that. So, why are we making such a big deal about digital missions at for the gospel in particular? Like, why are we why did we decide like this is the thing we gotta do?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's the fun question. Um, well, if you'll bear with me, uh let me answer this um a bit more technically. I might bore a couple people, but I think it's important to get into this. Um, and I want to break this into a few different compartments. Um, let's maybe talk about the landscape, the avenues, and the realities of digital missions. Um, so let me start with the first one the landscape of digital missions. Um, so digital missions, you really what we've seen is as remarkable the potential in tech-based societies, which at this point is most of the world. Uh today we see that over 84% of the world's population, just so everyone knows, that's about 6.6 billion people, have a smartphone. Uh, four and a half billion people are on social media, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, Twitter, Snapchat, and all the other cliche name tech giants. Um and the average American adult consumes, now this is the one that was remarkable to me, consumes over five hours of video content each day, making video the most consumed type of media in the world. Um on top of that, we see even audio being the second most at two and a half hours a day. So uh, although we're doing this podcast and it'll reach people, it'll only reach half as many people as our videos will, supposedly. So, you know, the landscape of digital missions bears immediate access uh to just such tremendous portions of the world that we haven't seen in any other time in human history. The marketplace for digital missions is vast, it's broad, and uh it's giving a high yield um on investment, which we'll talk about. Uh but number two, let me talk about uh we'll call it the avenues of digital missions. Really, if you look at platforms like Instagram, uh they're planning to pour $200 billion into enhancing Reels and other video content on their platform in the coming years. YouTube's pushing hard on their version of Reels, and they call them shorts, uh, Facebook or Meta as they're changing their name, is also dumping tons of money into all things related to video. Even platforms like Pinterest. Uh, I was talking to a buddy of mine who's uh an influencer on um on uh um what's it called? Oh, Instagram. Sorry, I forgot which one it was. You're listing too many platforms. I know they're all rattled up in my head. Uh I was talking with him, and he was telling me that even Pinterest is trying to push into video, and they're giving video content creators access to massive amounts of organic reach, which means you don't have to pay for them with hardly any effort at all. Um, you know, these platforms are adjusting, they're refining their algorithms uh to benefit engaging content, engaging videos. Um and they'll push our content, your content, if it's engaging enough, to audiences that don't even follow you. Um social media is a it's a weird word because it makes you think one thing, but it's it's it's not that. Social media is no longer, if it ever was, about being social and connecting with friends for whatever that whatever that's worth. Um but it's solely now focused on keeping people addicted to their screens by surfacing endless amounts of content. Engaging content. Uh so the ability to produce high quality, engaging content can ultimately unlock access to millions of unsaved people, which leaves room for remarkable levels of ministry uh to take place. Um and maybe for the third one, the realities of digital missions. Um, you know, let's talk about that. Uh so for many people, uh Google has become their best friend. Google knows more about each of us than most people uh by the things we buy online, the blogs we read, or the endless questions we ask and type into that little size 16 font search bar. Um, we don't get judgment, there's no shame in what we type in there, um, and without and there's no concern for what other people uh may think. We can virtually type anything we want into that search bar and it doesn't yell back at us. And so the reality is that millions of people are asking deep moral and spiritual questions on Google. Uh, for example, I I did some research, there's some tools out there to do this kind of stuff on certain search queries. Um, and here are a couple of them that will provide some food for thought for everybody. So uh millions of people each year Google this specific question. Is homosexuality a sin? Millions are asking that question in Google. Uh millions also are asking each year in Google, who is Jesus? And millions of people, uh, millions of searches are made each and every day related to morality, sin, religion, and so much more. I think the big question is, you know, what are they finding half a second after they hit the return key? Right? Is it good doctrine? Is it bad doctrine? Is it false doctrine? Um, all of these things are things to think about. Um, you know, kind of by way of illustration, you know, let's say a homosexual man or woman is that's feeling a pinch of conviction about their lifestyle. You know, we know this is true at some level. Romans 2.15 says the work of the law is written on their hearts. Um, you know, who do they talk to about this? Where do they go to get answers? Uh it's not to their friends, uh, for even the question of whether living a homosexual lifestyle is wrong could have them ostracized, right? Their friends be like, hey, what are you doing? Get out of here, right? Um they're like they're not likely, sadly, going down to the local church to talk with the pastor. They've been told their entire life as a gay person that those people hate you, right? So they don't want to have anything to do with them. No, you know, as they sit in bed or on the couch late at night, uh, you know, they'll pull out that little 6.1-inch friend in their pocket and they'll type in the words, you know, is ging is being gay wrong, is homosexuality wrong, right? Maybe if they grew up in a Christian home, they'll actually use the word, is it sin? Um, knowing that Google is not going to judge their question, but allow them ultimately to freely search for answers until they find them. You know, another reality, this is kind of a one that hit me in the face um early last year, um, is from conversations with you. I know conversations with other pastors um I've also found to be true in their churches. You know, normally, you know, in our church we have maybe, you know, two to five to six baptisms or so a month. Um, you know, we're we're after our you know our new converts meet with the pastor, you know, they share their testimony, um, they get up in front of the congregation and and they share, you know, really, you know, the story of them coming out of sin, their eyes being opened and being brought into light. Uh, it's one of my favorite parts of worship. We get to see it's a reminder of our own depravity. It's such a reminder of God's amazing grace. Uh, but there was something I picked up on last year. You know, so many of the testimonies that I'm hearing today, at some point in the testimony, talk about the Paul Washer sermon they watched on YouTube or uh how they came across American gospel documentary on Netflix. There's some form of digital content that caused them to ask any number of critical questions about their lives, about their faith. Um, you know, really digital missions is an entry point for so many people these days to learn sound doctrine or hear the gospel for the first time through digital means. So, yeah, I think for all those reasons, um, yeah, we're making a big deal out of it. Um, I think it's for the right reasons, and I think what we're seeing so far is that it's proving to be a beneficial.
SPEAKER_01I could not agree more, and I'm gonna before I ask the next question, I I want to say this too. The the concern that I would want to maybe address or or or put in front of people is for a very long time the use of online platforms and the use of digital media has been labeled in the Christian world as you know trying to pl trying to build a platform or build a name for yourself or what have you. And I agree that there are many in these spheres that are trying to do that. No doubt, that is a thing. Becoming an influencer. I remember a young man I sat with a few years ago, an intern, and you know, I gave him a book by John MacArthur on pastoral ministry, because he said he wanted to be a pastor. And so I gave him the book, I said, write me a 10-page paper on why you want to be a pastor and what being a pastor is all about after you read the book. And you know, by the end of it, he hadn't really written the paper for a long time. It was some six months later. I kept checking in and it was sort of a test. And at the same time, I genuinely wanted to know, and I wanted him to read the book. It's a life-changing book. And when we sat down to talk about it, he was really disappointed. And I said, Well, what what did you think this was? And he said, Well, I you know, I I thought you were gonna kind of like teach me how to be an influencer, man. And I was like, dude, I look, I love you, and I I I can help you try to use the online space effectively, but my job isn't to make you like the next male version of Sadie Robinson, like Robertson. I my goal and my job is not to make you Tim Tebow, it's to to put pastoral ministry at right. So there's this danger that you know, I think is out there. But it's one of the reasons why we we even say it for the gospel. We're about we're not about one man, we're about one mission. Like this isn't the Costi Hinn show, this isn't my platform, this is something we're all doing together, and it's about the mission of God. And so, with that, I want to caution all of us against shoving off digital spaces as some platforming thing, or oh, look at so-and-so trying to make a name for himself or herself. We've got to see this as a mission field. No one would say that about you know, somebody going to China to try to reach people, they're not like, oh, look at him trying to be the next Hudson Taylor. Who does he think he is? Like it's we would be celebrating that. So, with that, you know, Brett, is the concept of digital missions new to our generation? Let's say the millennial generation and younger, and then maybe if you have any thoughts on the the platforming accuracy. Side of things, does that sometimes get in the way of us embracing we're normal people, we change our kids' diapers, we don't think we're famous, no one's trying to be famous, we're just trying to use digital media. I don't care if we do it or someone else does it, just somebody and a whole bunch of you get out there and get the gospel out and then go home, love your wives, and get off your phone. Speak to all of that huge thing I just sort of threw out there.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, the reality is we live in a fall we live in a fallen world, right? So there are beautiful things that God has created that man is super good at perverting. Um, vice versa, there are things that that man creates um to do bad things, and it's amazing and remarkable how um you know good people with high character can redeem those things and and use them for good. But yeah, I mean it's a great question. Um, you know, in regards to this, is this something new? Um, you know, I think mostly yes, uh, but I don't think it's uh I think people would be surprised at how long digital missions has really been around. Um, you know, at least from what I've seen, 50, 60, maybe even 70 years, uh, we've been seeing people use these mediums to reach people in in large quantities. But um, you know, even before we tackle the digital mission side of things, I think it's really important and insightful to look back over history and how the Lord has constantly used modern means the spreading of the gospel, you know, all the way back to Paul, using the Romans, the Roman Empire's road systems to quickly spread the gospel to the Gentile nations. That was something that was relatively new and allowed for the gospel to be spread much quicker and much more efficiently uh than it would have. Or even the you know, explosion of revival uh coming out of the Protestant Reformation with the help of the invention of the printing press, you know, which ultimately brought the word of God to the common people. You know, even how the invention of planes and helicopters has allowed missionaries like Jim Elliott to reach the Aka Indians in Ecuador. You know, these God has always used modern means in reaching his people. And I think the same is true today. You know, now specifically regarding digital technology, I think one of the most remarkable forms of digital missions I've heard recently was actually um with John MacArthur, Grace Community Church, and and you mentioned them earlier, the Masters Academy International. Um I was listening to the the new uh MacArthur Center podcast, which is awesome. Um season uh two, episode three, there uh there's an episode titled MacArthur and the Russians. Uh it's a great it's a great one. The production on it's great. You've got all that like Russian music in the background, it's it's really manly and masculine. It totally brings you back to like the Soviet era. It's it's really good. Uh but they talk about, you know, in this episode, they talk about how they use these massive radio towers to broadcast MacArthur sermons that were translated into Russian across the Berlin Wall, deep into the heart of Russia. Um, you know, this is an atheist communist regime, and they had no way to stop or jam the signal. And this allowed, I think MacArthur mentioned in one of his sermons, uh, an estimated 14 to 20 million people in communist Russia to hear the truth of God's word. And we have to remember, you know, prior to the Iron Curtain falling in Russia in 1991, there was limited access into Russia. All religions during the USSR were were banned. Um, so being that effective in reaching that many people was really an unfathomable reality, I would say, even in today's standards. Totally. Uh, Dr. Bob Provost, who's one of the leading voices in uh reaching Russia with the gospel, you know, back then, even today, you know, he said this in the podcast. To this day, the leading theological influence in the Russian-speaking world is Dr. John MacArthur. I mean, how remarkable is that? You have this for all of these years, he's the dominant voice because you know, you don't have the the health, wealth, and prosperity preachers don't want to go to the USSR. There's no money there, right? So they're not spending their time and energy. Nobody really started trying to bring their false doctrine, you know. I'm not saying nobody ever tried, but for the most part, they didn't try to bring that in there prior to to the Berlin Wall falling and um the USSR crashing down. It wouldn't have worked anyway. No, no, no. It would have looked like a crazy. Yeah. And I think it's so remarkable, right? Like, you know, radio is something that anybody who's millennial or Gen Z or younger, they're like, Oh, what's radio? Oh, is it that thing that there's like that app it's called iHeartRadio? And like I listen to it on my my iPhone, right? You know, something so simple to us today, you know, borderline obsolete for the next generation, you know, really was the leading edge technology that pushed the gospel beyond the walls of oppressive regimes and into the minds of hungry Christians. And so, yeah, I think digital missions is is unique to our generation. Um, but the concept itself of using modern means to reach people with gospel truth, I think has been used you know all the way back to Paul in the book of Acts. So good, man.
SPEAKER_01I'm just that's enough there. I'm gonna leave that. There's nothing to say. I just marvel at it. That's all. It makes me and I'm I, you know, I read the I read the our pre-show transcripts and and look through all the stuff that's been laid out. And one of the things that gets me every time, I listen to that MacArthur and the Russians podcast three times, and once with our kiddos in the house, just hanging out one of the days. We usually do family stuff, and I had it on the background, and then a couple more times on a recent little family road trip. Um I marvel at it because I love missions and I love that real deal reach, meaning in places that it's not likely unless God does it, and that people don't want to go, and then truth goes in there, an incredible generation is changed. Like that's you you hear the stories of the Zekavich brothers and then the families who are there. That stuff is gonna continue to be talked about long after J Max's gone, you will hear about gospel transformation. I think that's the cool part with you know digital missions, is you're just leaving a you're leaving a seed planted, and it's a it's a digital footprint that's there, and you go on, you die, you're you're forgotten, you're up in glory and joy in the presence of God, and no more sin, no more brokenness on this world, it's crazy landscape, and then the gospel's still going out. So, one final question for you. Yeah, with all of this, uh tell us about where we're going with for the gospel, help people understand what's ahead in the coming months, what do we got in the pipeline? You know, what are we doing with all of this passion and drive for digital missions? Sure thing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you know, I think I think the opportunity to reach millions, even billions, is is is right in front of us. You know, every generation before us has carved their own unique path at distributing the truth of God's word and making disciples. We too must use what the Lord's given us to put the truth of God's word into the the next generation's hands. So, you know, I think it's what's fascinating. If you look back at last year, you know, that was our first year at For the Gospel. We set off to reach one million people. We were like, if we can reach one million people with sound doctrine, that'll be a phenomenal year. You know, we ended up reaching just about 5.3 million people. Um the coolest part of that to me is, you know, that was one, just you know, a few of us just kind of on the side saying, hey, let's see what we can do. Um but really uh what was really cool, kind of looking back at the last year is really looking at the the scale and efficiency of digital means, you know, we were able to do all of that for only four cents per person. That's what it that's what it rounded out, what we spent, how many people we reached, simple math, four cents a person, you know, which coming from the business world is a remarkable return on investment. Um and as we kind of push forward into 2022, um what we're seeing so far through the month of May is that we've been able to cut that cost in half at only two cents a person. Um and we've already reached, you know, as of let's see, as of May, so the first uh five months of the year, we've reached 4.5 million people this year. Um and we initially set out to reach 10, but honestly, I think in a prayerful that we'll we'll reach 15 million by the end of the year and hopefully even go beyond that. And I know um I know in the recent podcast you did with uh with Tony, the new family podcast, the date night with the woods, yeah, we talked about uh releasing that. Uh we're hoping to release even more content like that, really just hitting a broad range of topics and ideas uh ultimately to help Christians mature and grow in their faith in the Word of God. Uh but one of them that I'm really particularly excited about, I think you mentioned that in the Should Women Be Pastors podcast, um, is a new series we just launched called Truth and Love. Um we'll dive deep into categories of specific false teachings or ideologies, and we'll we want to attack those from a biblical perspective. Um, the first one of the series that's now live and available, um, I've already gotten a ton of people reaching out to me saying that they're sending it to friends and they're very excited about it. It's for it's available for free at forthegospel.org is on Roman Catholicism. Um not only do we do we hope that these pages can be a training resource for Christians to bulk up and witness to friends and family, but you know, we plan on pumping quite a bit of money on ad spend to surface these videos and topics to commonly search keywords. You know, we want this resource to be widely found by Catholics who are looking for answers. And you know, Lord willing, we can use things like Google Ads, SEO, and other digital strategies to reach far and wide with the hope of the glorious gospel. Um the next one, we're gonna continue this series. We're gonna keep hitting them, hopefully, Lord willing. Uh, but the next one in the Truth and Love series that we hope to release this fall uh will be on Mormonism. And I believe you're reconnecting with your good buddy Michael Wilder, uh, which is super awesome. Um the podcasts he did um mid-last year were amazing. Um, and the the idea and the hope is we want to drop over 50 resources on all things related to Mormonism. And depending on how helpful these resources prove to be, um, you know, ultimately we plan on hitting others as well. I know we've talked about the New Apostolic Reformation, we've talked about Islam, uh, there's just so many of these that we can hit. So I think we've got a series that will potentially run for um certainly months and hopefully even a few years. Uh, but what's cool though is we're actually in the process of fundraising for the new Mormonism project. You know, if you're listening to this and Mormonism and um countering Mormonism and the false doctrine there is a passion for you, you can actually help us fund the video production, the editing, and ultimately the massive marketing campaign that we want to launch behind this series. You know, donations to this campaign will specifically help us reach millions with biblical responses to a growing cult in America today. If you head over to forthegospel.org, uh you can find a banner for this upcoming campaign should you want to help us in this production. Uh but beyond that, as always, uh, you know, thanks to people who generously give, uh, we're going to continue to pump out new content each week to help provide sound doctrine for everyday people.
SPEAKER_01I love it. Man, I am thrilled and thankful to the Lord for the way that He's developed this ministry into something. I to give people like a 20-second snapshot, I don't even remember what year it was. Must have been five years ago now. It was a blog, and the current pastor of family, I believe, Desmond Outlaw at Mission Bible Church. Yeah. Is that his title? Did I get it right? Family Pastor. He's awesome at it too. He was he was our youth intern, and I said, Hey man, side gig for you, could you just whip up a blog and come up with a logo and figure this thing out? Um, you know, in your spare time, in your in your free time. And so for the gospel was born. And then I look back all these years later, and not even that many years, just like five years later, and the way the Lord's brought together an incredible team, I just want to say, even publicly, I'm so thankful for you. I still can't believe you said yes when I was like, hey man, I got this idea. Here's what we're thinking, but I really need somebody way smarter and way more gifted than me in these other areas to run the business, the brain of this thing. And just let me be me. I'll be the gospel guy. But um, so I'm thankful to you, brother, for jumping on and thankful to guys like Justin Bond using their creative talents and all of the collective wisdom that has come. God is using it, and so honestly, thanks, man. Grateful for you.
SPEAKER_00Brother, it's such a privilege. I mean, I just I love the ministry. Um, I truly mean what I say. I think we have a unique opportunity to reach so many people with the wonderful word of God, and uh it's a privilege, brother. Thank you for letting me be a part of it.
SPEAKER_01Oh, grateful. Well, thank you all as well for listening. Thank you for your support. Thank you for sharing these resources. Keep going, be bold, be courageous, be unashamed, be unapologetic, be loving by giving people gospel truth. A reminder, as always, YouTube is there for you to use and learn and grow from. Our YouTube channel can be subscribed to so you get new resources right to your inbox. You'll be notified whenever new videos come out. And I would encourage you to look at the playlists. There's a lot of different topics. It's not just the weekly videos that come out on Instagram or TikTok and Facebook and Twitter. Those are there for you, and you can immediately share those and watch them. But there is a log of resources, uh, an archive on YouTube there for you as well. Go to forthegospel.org and check out more about our team, ways to give, partner, sign up for reoccurring giving to support, and then as well, use all the free resources. Use them in your church, use them in your small group. However, we can serve you, it's there. So use the digital space and pump sound doctrine into every area the Lord takes you. Thank you again. We love you and are excited for what the Lord is still going to do. We'll be back next week with another episode. For now, keep on living for the gospel.