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How does a believer's spiritual life grow and flourish in the middle of a harsh life? In this episode, John Bailey and Mark Renfroe talk about a recent conference in Central Asia and how vibrant the church is in a culture that loathes Christianity. The contrast is striking between the wealthy, spiritually cold Western world and the impoverished but spiritually vibrant church in the East. We have many lessons to learn about holy peace from believers in other parts of the world.

Key Points from the Podcast

  • John Bailey shares an update about his trip to India with World Challenge where they were able to minister to pastors, widows, orphans, and lepers. Along the way, they stopped in London to plan a pastors’ conference for next year.

  • The Bible is clear that there are things we must do if we want God’s supernatural peace in our lives.

  • You can’t expect to have peace if your focus is constantly set on all the negativity and chaos in our world today.

  • Understanding God’s sovereignty, that he is over all things, should help give a Christian peace.

  • Jesus reminded us that the Father is good, and we need not worry because he will provide for us.

  • Let all the trouble we see in the world today draw you into a deeper intimacy with God and greater dependency on him.

Bible Verses Referenced in the Podcast

Philippians 4:6–8, 11–13; Colossians 3:2; Ephesians 2:6; Luke 12:22–31; John 14:27; Matthew 24:35

Resources Mentioned in the Podcast

About John Bailey

Pastor John Bailey serves as the Chief Operating Officer at World Challenge. John came to know Christ in jail after some difficult struggles as a young man, and God has done a powerful work of transformation since! Spending 13 years in Next Gen ministry, he excelled in discipleship and helping young leaders discover giftings to serve God. John was called next to serve as a missionary and pastor in Western Europe. John and his family then returned to plant the Springs Church in Jacksonville, Florida. Today, the church is a thriving body of believers excelling in outreach and missions. John has now brought his giftings and vision to World Challenge, accelerating the spread of the gospel in America and around the World.

About Mark Renfroe

Mark married his college sweetheart, Amy, with whom he has four adult children—one girl and three boys. The Renfroes have been involved in field missions work for 30 years. They served in the Arab community of San Francisco for four years before becoming foreign missionaries in 1995. Mark was asked to serve as the Area Director for Assemblies of God World Missions in 2007. As part of his role, he led missionaries and interfaced with national church leaders in the 18 countries of the Arab World. In 2017, Mark created Reaching Africa’s Muslims, an initiative to mobilize, equip, and deploy indigenous African missionaries to reach Muslims on the continent. Mark has graduate degrees in Intercultural Studies and Executive Leadership. He currently serves as the Chief Missions Officer for World Challenge in Colorado Springs.