The Great Commission Today

Dr. John Currie, pastor at Proclamation Presbyterian Church in Bryn Mawr, PA, professor of pastoral theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, and author of The Pastor as Leader, joins Daniel Vos on The Great Commission Today Podcast to talk about what it actually looks like to labor faithfully while trusting God alone for the growth. Dr. Currie walks through a tension every Reformed pastor has to work out: how do you hold firmly to God’s sovereignty in salvation while still working hard, planning wisely, and shouldering real responsibility as a leader? Using examples from Nehemiah 4, 1 Corinthians 3, and the ministries […]

Many Christians assume evangelism is for the “gifted few” — the outgoing personality, the trained apologist, the person who can strike up a spiritual conversation with a stranger at the grocery store. In this episode of the Great Commission Today podcast, host Daniel Vos talks with Matt Schmidt, founder of Engage 360 Ministries, about why that assumption is wrong — and what a truly biblical approach to evangelism actually looks like. Matt makes the case that Scripture itself, especially the contrast between Acts 2 and Acts 17, shows a model of evangelism that starts with the other person — not with […]

Ordinary Faithfulness: How Harvest Church Cultivates a Culture of Outreach In this episode of The Great Commission Today, host Daniel Vos sits down with Adrian Crum, Pastor of Youth and Evangelism at Harvest Church in Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan. Harvest is a Dutch Reformed congregation with deep roots in the community — and a growing conviction that every believer, not just the pastoral staff, is called to bear witness to Christ. Crum speaks candidly about the strengths and blind spots of ministering in a “Reformed subculture,” where church attendance and right doctrine can quietly substitute for the personal transformation the gospel […]

When Robert Knuth arrived in Ann Arbor in the fall of 2019 to plant Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) at the University of Michigan — the first RUF chapter in the state — he had no idea a global pandemic was six months away. Seven years later, what’s grown out of that uncertain start is one of the larger RUF ministries outside the Southeast, and a model for how campus ministry and the local church can work together for the long haul. In this episode of The Great Commission Today, host Daniel Vos sits down with Knuth to talk about his own […]

What does it actually take to bring a dying church back to life? Not gimmicks. Not celebrity guest speakers. Not a bigger building. In this episode of The Great Commission Today, host Daniel Vos sits down with Pastor Brian Cosby — pastor of Wayside Presbyterian Church in Tennessee, professor at Reformed Theological Seminary, and creator of the popular YouTube channel “Provide and Protect” — to talk about one of the most overlooked and urgent needs in American Christianity: church revitalization. When Brian arrived at Wayside in 2011, the church had about 40 people (mostly older), one child in attendance, seven burned-out […]

What does it actually look like to build a healthy church in a working-class neighborhood — one that prioritizes the ordinary means of grace over growth metrics, takes church discipline seriously, and invites people into real membership rather than comfortable anonymity? In this episode of The Great Commission Today host Daniel Vos sits down with Nathan Strom, pastor of Breakwater Church in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Breakwater Church launched its first worship service on June 12, 2022, on the south side of Sheboygan — a blue-collar neighborhood the team believed was underserved by gospel-centered ministry. Four years in, Nathan shares honestly about what […]

Most church growth conversations focus on established congregations looking to grow. This episode is different. Rev. Brad Peppo is a regional home missionary with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church who arrived in Cottonwood, Arizona last January without a single contact — not a name, not a face, not a connection. What he had was a calling, a camera, and a blog. In this episode of The Great Commission Today, host Daniel Vos talks with Brad about what it actually looks like to plant a church from the ground up in an unchurched and culturally diverse community. Brad’s story is compelling not […]

What does it look like when God grows a church through faithful preaching, a praying congregation, and members who actually tell their neighbors about Jesus? Rev. Carl Miller of Heritage OPC, New Braunfels, Texas joins Daniel Vos to trace the Lord’s hand across nearly a decade of church planting, growth, and intentional outreach. This is a story worth hearing — and a conversation full of wisdom you can apply this week. Episode Summary New Braunfels, Texas has been one of the fastest-growing cities in America for years. It’s a city full of young families, rich German heritage, and a steady […]

Planting a Church in America’s Most Arab City What does it look like to plant a church in America’s most Arab city — with no building, no elders, and no guarantees? Pastor Jerry Riendeau of Grace Presbyterian Church in Dearborn, Michigan has been finding out for the last four years. His story is honest, surprising, and full of grace. About This Episode Church planting is hard anywhere. In Dearborn, Michigan — a city of 110,000 where roughly half the population traces its roots to the Arab world — it might seem harder still. But Pastor Jerry Riendeau of Grace Presbyterian […]

What does faithfulness to the Great Commission look like when it doesn’t make headlines? In this episode of The Great Commission Today, our guest Rev. David Stewart, pastor of Grace PCA in Lake Suzy, Florida, reflects on discipleship, the ordinary means of grace, and what it means to trust God with the results of faithful ministry. The Great Commission Belongs to the Whole Church Rev. Stewart walks through Matthew 28:16–20 with careful attention, noting that the primary command is not to go but to make disciples — and that this commission belongs not just to ordained officers but to the […]

What does it look like to live a life completely sold out to Christ—and still experience joy, peace, and fulfillment? In this episode of The Great Commission Today, we sit down with Dr. Steve Hake, a man who has pursued that question for over fifty years as a missionary, professor, and church elder. Dr. Hake’s journey began in the countercultural upheaval of the 1960s. As a self-described “wannabe hippie existentialist,” he entered college full of himself and spiritually lost. Then, in his words, “God smashed my life.” That divine disruption set him on a path that would include nearly twenty […]

In this historically rich, and pastorally sober conversation, Rev. David Gilleran—Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of the Blue Ridge (PCA), longtime pastor, and former U.S. Army National Guard chaplain—joins The Great Commission Today to reflect on Christ’s command to make disciples in a fractured, isolated, and spiritually hungry age. Drawing from more than five decades of ministry, military chaplaincy in Iraq and Kuwait, presbytery leadership, and deep engagement with Scripture and church history, David offers a robust, church-centered vision of the Great Commission. He emphasizes Christ’s authority and presence as the foundation of mission, the necessity of both proclamation and […]

PCA pastor John “Penny” Pennylegion (Christ the King PCA, Roanoke, VA) joins the conversation for a warm and highly practical discussion, guiding church leaders through a grounded vision for Great Commission faithfulness—one that’s deeply biblical, patiently relational, and confident in Christ’s authority and presence.  Penny shares his powerful conversion story, the mentors God used to shape his ministry, and why disciple-making must include both evangelism and ongoing sanctification. He also reflects on the challenges of a post-Christian cultural moment—especially among younger adults—and offers wise, steady counsel: embrace a posture of exile, cultivate long-term relationships, practice tangible hospitality, and don’t be […]

Chris Tapp, pastor of Stanmore Chapel in London, England, joins The Great Commission Today to explore what faithful disciple-making looks like in a global city shaped by diversity, secularism, immigration, and spiritual searching. Drawing from his own testimony, years of pastoral ministry, and deep engagement with Matthew’s Gospel, Chris helps listeners recover a worship-centered, church-shaped understanding of the Great Commission. He shows how disciple-making flows naturally out of worship, is sustained by Christ’s authority and presence, and is carried forward by ordinary believers living faithfully together as the people of God. From reflecting on the disciples as worshipers and doubters, […]

In this visionary, wide-ranging, and deeply pastoral conversation, Rev. Richard Dalton—church planter, Anglican minister, and founder of Look Up Detroit—joins The Great Commission Today to explore how Christians can reclaim a faithful, visible, and redemptive presence in the digital public square. Drawing from his conversion story, decades of ministry, and a growing burden for cities, Richard presents Look Up Detroit as a compelling experiment in Christian collaboration, hospitality, and civic blessing. Rather than another siloed church website or algorithm-controlled social media feed, Look Up Detroit functions as a city-wide digital front porch—a place where churches, service organizations, libraries, nonprofits, and […]

In this thoughtful and deeply pastoral conversation, Rev. Pete Hurst—retired Presbyterian minister, businessman, writer, and founder of PeteHurst.com—joins The Great Commission Today to reflect on a lifetime of ministry, vocation, and obedience to Christ’s Great Commission. Drawing from decades of pastoral service, involvement in the early formation of the PCA, current membership in an OPC church plant, and years of experience in business and real estate, Pete offers a rich, whole-life vision of disciple-making rooted in the authority and presence of Christ. He explores how the Great Commission encompasses not only evangelism and church planting, but also stewardship, work, worldview […]

In this rich and candid conversation, Rev. Paul Murphy, Pastor of Evangelism and Pastor Emeritus at Messiah’s Reformed Fellowship (URC) in New York City, reflects on more than four decades of gospel ministry and evangelistic labor in one of the most challenging mission fields in North America. Drawing from his own dramatic conversion out of Roman Catholicism and existentialism, his role in the formation of the United Reformed Churches, and over twenty years of evangelistic ministry in New York City, Paul offers a deeply Reformed, church-centered vision of the Great Commission. He emphasizes Christ’s sovereign authority, the primacy of worship, […]

In this biblically rooted and thoughtful conversation, Andrew Martin, church planter of Lumberton Mission Church (PCA) in Lumberton, North Carolina, joins The Great Commission Today to reflect on disciple-making at ground level. Drawing from his background as a missionary kid, youth pastor, seminary graduate, and now church planter, Andrew offers a deeply biblical and practical vision for the Great Commission rooted in worship, community, and the ordinary rhythms of life. Andrew shares how God is at work through simple faithfulness—building relationships, opening homes, teaching Scripture, and patiently walking with people toward Christ. From reflecting on Matthew 28 to unpacking outreach […]

In this thoughtful, wide-ranging, and theologically grounded conversation, Rev. Chris Byrd—regional home evangelist for the OPC Presbytery of New Jersey, co-director of the historic Boardwalk Chapel, and longtime trainer in biblical evangelism—joins The Great Commission Today for a comprehensive discussion of evangelism, discipleship, and church-wide mission. Drawing from his covenant upbringing, conversion experience, seminary training, and more than a decade of hands-on evangelistic ministry, Chris unpacks the Great Commission as the mission of the whole church—not merely individual Christians or ordained officers. He shows how evangelism and discipleship belong together under the single command to “make disciples,” and how this […]

In this rich and far-reaching conversation, OPC ruling elder John Terpstra (South Austin Presbyterian Church) helps church leaders recover a deeply biblical, confessional, and worship-centered understanding of the Great Commission. Drawing on decades of service in the OPC, hands-on church-planting experience, and a lifetime immersed in Scripture and Reformed theology, John shows how disciple-making flows out of worship, covenant community, and the ongoing presence of the Holy Spirit. He speaks candidly about the obstacles churches face today—distraction, cultural confusion, technological upheaval, and declining religious affiliation—yet he frames each challenge as a tremendous gospel opportunity. From the role of home visitation […]