Mission Frontiers Sep-Oct 2025

The Edges of Mission
Over the last 50 years what has changed in God’s mission to glorify himself at the edges? Do we still have pioneer settings? Should we still prioritize them? Are any people groups hidden from maps today? Where are the edges? Come on a journey with us through this issue and decide for yourself.
Download the whole issue or go here for individual articles:

• Some Edges Are Hiding in Plain Sight
  Duke Dillard - Editor
  I took the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course in 1993, and by 1997 we were on our way to the edges, literally. We landed on the shores of the Caspian Sea, seemingly on the edge of the world, with big dreams of planting Kazakh-led churches.
• Letters to the Editor
  Various
  I am a senior of Armenian descent...As I read about MKs in your May/June issue,...
• Advancing the Kingdom Extending Christ’s Mission
  RW LEWIS
  "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached…” (Luke 16:16).
• Between the First and the Next: The Dividing Line of Faith Within Hindu Families
  SCOTT WALKER
  It was springtime in India, and the local Saraswati festival was quickly approaching. A new Hindu friend, Saikat (pseudonym), had invited me to join his family’s celebration at their home for this religious holiday.1 Saikat had quickly become something of a local host for me, and I was grateful to be invited to his extended family’s gathering.
• Transformation from Within: Christ-Centered Movements in Muslim Societies
  STEVE AND KITTY HOLLOWAY
  Hakeem and I were well into our second cups of chai—and our second hour of conversation—when he suddenly grew quiet. I could tell he was processing something important. Finally, my curiosity got the best of me, and I broke our shared silence. “What’s going on? What are you thinking about?” His response still echoes in my mind: “Why has no one ever told me this before? Why has no one ever taught me how to listen to God and let him speak to me personally?”
• Following Jesus at the Edges of Buddhist Identity: Beyond Christian Forms and Identities
  JENS BERNHARD and PHILIP SHIELDS
  In today’s Buddhist-majority societies, particularly in Thailand, the missional challenge is not singular but twofold, presenting unique challenges. The first edge lies within Thai society itself, especially among the younger generation. It is marked by a deep and growing disengagement from Buddhism. We’ll refer to this as post-Buddhist disaffiliation.
• Christianity and the Challenge of Religions: Challenges and Contextual Approaches
  Dr. KANG-SAN TAN
  Christian mission originates in the nature of the Trinitarian God, whose essence is love, and whose desire is to draw all people into a relationship of worship and communion with him. The Church, as a missional community, is not only the recipient of salvation but also a participant in bearing witness to God’s redemptive love in Christ to the world. This calling entails engaging the frontiers of globalization, poverty, and religion— domains that are deeply interrelated and require thoughtful, strategic approaches to mission.
• A Nomadic Journey Through Scripture & Beyond
  RON AHLBRECHT
  When we look at Scripture through a nomadic lens, we see that God has been fulfilling his purposes through nomadic culture since the first chapters of the Bible. Almost all the positive role models in the Old Testament were nomads. God has always blessed and used nomadic ethos to build his kingdom. And we see that commands for believers today are in line with standard nomadic practice. Let’s look at what God is doing with and through nomads and join him!
• An Asian Missiology? Re-imagining Mission Beyond the Western Conception of Religion
  CLAIRE TC CHONG
  In 1555, Gaspar da Cruz, a Portuguese Dominican, was the first-known missionary to have arrived in Lovek (Cambodia). However, after one year, he abandoned his mission, concluding that the Khmers were impenetrable to the gospel because of their loyalty to the king and their religious way of life.1 In 2025, the echoes of this reason still ring true; it is not uncommon to hear Cambodians say, “Your Jesus is good, but you have your religion, and I have mine.”
• PRESS START: Mission at the Edge of the Screen
  ANDREW FENG and ROMANS TEN (Pseudonym)
  At 2 a.m., a Roblox clan leader named Aria poured out her nihilism on Discord. Fifty teammates listened. No Christian spoke.
• Bitcoin Is Bridging Barriers in Global Missions
  NATE SCHOLZ and AHSHUWAH HAWTHORNE
  The final words of Jesus on earth still echo as the Church’s unfinished assignment: “Go make disciples of all nations...” Yet as global missions have expanded in reach, many remain cut off not only by language and religion, but by economic systems, political barriers, and failing infrastructure. As traditional methods strain under new global realities, a surprising ally has emerged from the world of decentralized digital technology. Could bitcoin offer strategic advantages for engaging the hardest-to-reach peoples on earth?
• Redefining Mission: From Fixed Frontiers to Fluid Edges
  JOSEPH W. HANDLEY, President, A3
  Forty years ago, the “edges” of mission were relatively clear. Unreached people groups were primarily mapped geographically, pioneering missions meant long journeys to faraway lands, and “access” was defined by political and physical barriers. But in today’s hyper-connected, globalized, and mobile world, the edges are not just geographical or based on ethnicity—they can be everywhere. That said, despite major progress, the frontier task remains. There are still more than 2 billion people with no known access to a viable, contextual gospel witness.
• From Azerbaijan to the World: The Ongoing Journey of a Least-Reached People
  Chris Jones
  In thinking about the edges, we must consider how those being reached can join the work of seeing the gospel go to all the earth. This article considers how the Azeris, an unreached people group with a growing church, are on that journey.
• 5 Principles for Movement Servants
  KYLE MILLS and PHOEBE (Pseudonym)
  How do movements start? The best way to start a disciple making movement is to already have one. Research shows that 80-90% of movements have been started by other movements.
• The Edges of God’s Kingdom: A Call to Learn, Listen, and Serve
  GREG H. PARSONS
  Since the founding of Frontier Ventures in 1976, we have been about what is “not yet.”1 Meaning that we want to see God’s kingdom come to all peoples, especially those in which that hasn’t happened yet.
• Cynicism and Surrender A Gen Z Perspective on Missions
  ROME WILLIAMS
  Growing up with an iPhone, I’d never encountered a language barrier before. The advantage of traveling in a digital world was that if all else failed, either Google Translate or ChatGPT could always find me a bathroom, directions, or a meal. But here I was in the middle of rural Romania, without food, money, a phone, or a Romanian interpreter, and my mission team hadn’t eaten in almost a day.
• Color the World Kody Friesen
• FINAL REFLECTION: May I Have This Dance
  RICHARD H. BARRY