Have you ever caught yourself angling the camera just right, choosing the words that make your ministry sound a little more impressive than it actually is? What if the pressure to perform is actually the thing standing between you and the life God designed you for? What if joy is closer to your insecurity than you ever imagined?

In this episode, Stephanie sits down with author, speaker, and former ambassador Bob Goff for a conversation that is equal parts hilarious and deeply freeing. From Bob's own struggle with insecurity to why we should all aspire to be Roombas, to the time he walked into San Quentin dressed as Santa Claus, this episode will make you laugh, exhale, and give you full permission to stop spinning.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn

• Why the most joyful people are often the most insecure, and what that means for the way you show up on the field
• How to tell the difference between leading from love and leading from fear, and why one of them is slowly exhausting you
• Why God delights in your small, bumbling, imperfect steps far more than you have been giving him credit for

Hey missionaries—how are your finances on the field? At Modern Day Missions, we make it simple for missionaries to receive donations and for donors to give. Serving 1,100+ missionaries worldwide, we free you to focus on your calling. We also offer resources like our weekly podcast, fundraising coaching, and a resource-packed newsletter. Connect with us at modernday.org

Thanks for listening! Email us your questions at care@modernday.org

Website: https://www.modernday.org/podcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu3ie6N7vXvESqcHrM-SRTC7-XoPEmnv6

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moderndaymissions/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moderndaymissions/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@moderndaymissions

X: https://twitter.com/Modern_Day

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moderndaymissions/

Are you preparing for your financial future, or are you hoping it takes care of itself? What does it actually look like to invest on a missionary income? And is it even possible when support fluctuates month to month?

In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Elias Reyes, president of Modern Day Missions and a financial consultant with 25+ years of experience serving missionaries and nonprofit leaders. They talk about the retirement realities most missionaries are not prepared for and simple steps they can take to get on track. This is a conversation about faith, stewardship, and practical things you can do right now, no matter where you are starting from.

In This Episode You’ll Learn:

• Why waiting to invest is one of the costliest decisions a missionary can make, and what the numbers actually look like over time
• How to start investing on an inconsistent income, even if you can only set aside a small amount each month
• The difference between saving and investing, and why you need both working together to protect your family's future

Resources Mentioned:

• Modern Day Missions: modernday.org
• Contact Modern Day about the Guidestone retirement account: office@modernday.org

Investment Platforms Mentioned

• Fidelity: fidelity.com
• Charles Schwab: schwab.com
• TD Ameritrade: tdameritrade.com
• Guidestone: guidestone.org

Thanks for listening! Email us your questions at care@modernday.org

Website: https://www.modernday.org/podcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu3ie6N7vXvESqcHrM-SRTC7-XoPEmnv6

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moderndaymissions/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moderndaymissions/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@moderndaymissions

X: https://twitter.com/Modern_Day

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moderndaymissions/

In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Ben Ankarlo, fundraising coach at Modern Day Missions, to unpack what is really happening beneath the surface of support raising. Together, they explore how fear unknowingly shapes decisions, why some missionaries default to self-funding or scarcity, and how embarrassment and control can distort the way we invite others into partnership. Ben shares from lived experience as a missionary who is still actively fundraising today.

You’ll learn why clarity builds trust, how to remove the awkwardness from the ask, and a simple text-to-text approach that helps you follow through with confidence. If support raising has felt emotionally draining or unnecessarily complicated, this conversation will help you approach it with steadiness, integrity, and a renewed sense of purpose.

Hey missionaries—how are your finances on the field? At Modern Day Missions, we make it simple for missionaries to receive donations and for donors to give. Serving 1,100+ missionaries worldwide, we free you to focus on your calling. We also offer resources like our weekly podcast, fundraising coaching, and a resource-packed newsletter. Connect with us at modernday.org

Thanks for listening! Email us your questions at care@modernday.org

Website: https://www.modernday.org/podcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu3ie6N7vXvESqcHrM-SRTC7-XoPEmnv6

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moderndaymissions/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moderndaymissions/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@moderndaymissions

X: https://twitter.com/Modern_Day

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moderndaymissions/

Have you ever wondered what the Church really believes about Israel? Have you felt confused by replacement theology, one law teaching, or political noise around the Jewish people? And does any of this actually matter for missionaries today?

In this episode, Modern Day Missions Executive Director Marvin Slaton II and Gateway Center for Israel Pastor & Director David Blease explore the three prevailing theologies shaping the global Church’s view of Israel and unpack what Scripture says about covenant, identity, and God’s faithfulness. This conversation is not about politics — it’s about how we read our Bible and how that shapes our theology, our mission, and our confidence in God’s promises.

If you care about the Great Commission, the Jewish roots of your faith, and understanding your identity as a missionary, this episode will challenge and strengthen you.

In This Episode You’ll Learn:

• How replacement theology so often subtly shapes modern missions thinking
• Why understanding Jew and Gentile identity matters for your calling
• Why unity in Christ does not erase identity

Resources Mentioned:

Israel Masterclass by Gateway Center for Israel

Hey missionaries—how are your finances on the field? At Modern Day Missions, we make it simple for missionaries to receive donations and for donors to give. Serving 1,100+ missionaries worldwide, we free you to focus on your calling. We also offer resources like our weekly podcast, fundraising coaching, and a resource-packed newsletter. Connect with us at modernday.org

Thanks for listening! Email us your questions at care@modernday.org

Website: https://www.modernday.org/podcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu3ie6N7vXvESqcHrM-SRTC7-XoPEmnv6

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moderndaymissions/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moderndaymissions/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@moderndaymissions

X: https://twitter.com/Modern_Day

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moderndaymissions/

You didn’t move across the world to lose your family in the process. Mission life is full of purpose, but it can also pull at the very relationships we care about most.
Jonathan and Elizabeth Trotter, missionary parents, writers, and trusted voices in cross-cultural life, open up about what it looks like to stay emotionally connected as a family in the middle of ministry, transition, and loss.

We talk about how to create your own family’s culture (or find it if you’ve lost it), recovering joy when life feels heavy, and how small practices like morning devotionals, Saturday rituals, and even silly moments can become anchors for your home

Your family matters. And it’s worth the work.

✍️ In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to recognize when your family is drifting—and what to do about it
• Creative ways to bring back joy, fun, and laughter when life feels heavy
• How to walk with your kids through change without losing connection

Hey missionaries—how are your finances on the field? At Modern Day Missions, we make it simple for missionaries to receive donations and for donors to give. Serving 1,100+ missionaries worldwide, we free you to focus on your calling. We also offer resources like our weekly podcast, fundraising coaching, and a resource-packed newsletter. Connect with us at modernday.org

Thanks for listening! Email us your questions at care@modernday.org

Website: https://www.modernday.org/podcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu3ie6N7vXvESqcHrM-SRTC7-XoPEmnv6

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moderndaymissions/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moderndaymissions/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@moderndaymissions

X: https://twitter.com/Modern_Day

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moderndaymissions/

AI is changing everything—how we think, work, lead, create…How about how we hear from God? Without realizing it, are we letting it reshape our hearts, our habits, and our spiritual lives, too?

Today, we talk with Carey Nieuwhof about the very real tension missionaries face when using AI for ministry. From sermon prep to leadership decisions, we explore how to use this tool with wisdom, where it may be subtly weakening us, and how to stay rooted in the Holy Spirit with all of the noise around us.

This episode will encourage you to stay curious but also rooted, as we look at how to use AI in ways that align with your calling and keep your heart sensitive to God.

• How AI is already influencing your ministry, whether you realize it or not
• When AI becomes a helpful tool and when it starts replacing spiritual dependence
• Why using AI without discernment can lead to “brain rot” and spiritual drift
• How Carey uses AI for sermon prep and leadership without losing his voice
• What it looks like to stay mentally and spiritually sharp in the age of AI

Carey Nieuwhof

ChatGPT

Claude AI

The Art of Leadership Academy

Hey missionaries—how are your finances on the field? At Modern Day Missions, we make it simple for missionaries to receive donations and for donors to give. Serving 1,100+ missionaries worldwide, we free you to focus on your calling. We also offer resources like our weekly podcast, fundraising coaching, and a resource-packed newsletter. Connect with us at modernday.org

Thanks for listening! Email us your questions at care@modernday.org

Website: https://www.modernday.org/podcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu3ie6N7vXvESqcHrM-SRTC7-XoPEmnv6

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moderndaymissions/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moderndaymissions/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@moderndaymissions

X: https://twitter.com/Modern_Day

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moderndaymissions/

Modern Day Missionaries is a podcast created specifically for missionaries navigating real life on the field.

We talk honestly about the questions missionaries actually ask—

• How do I retain supporters?
• Am I burned out… or heading there?
• How do I stay connected to my spouse in the middle of ministry chaos?
• What does it look like to flourish as a single missionary?

Our heart is simple: help you be well so you can serve well—and truly thrive in your faith, family, finances, and freedom.

Each episode features practical wisdom and encouragement from people who deeply understand the missionary life, including guests like Steve Shadrach, Bob Goff, David Joannes, Curt Thompson, Brian Barcelona, and Mary Ho—voices who love missionaries and get the realities of the field.

Every conversation is designed to give you tangible, practical ideas you can apply immediately, shared by people who know that missionaries live a different kind of life.

Hosted by Stephanie Leigh Gutierrez, who served overseas for a decade with her family, Modern Day Missionaries is the podcast she wishes she’d had on the field—and the one created now, just for you.

Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts or watch on YouTube, and join us as we help missionaries not just stay on the field—but thrive on it.

“Modern Day Missionaries” is a podcast series for Christian missionaries produced by “Modern Day Missions.”

Thanks for listening! Email us your questions at care@modernday.org

Website: https://www.modernday.org/podcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu3ie6N7vXvESqcHrM-SRTC7-XoPEmnv6

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moderndaymissions/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moderndaymissions/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@moderndaymissions

X: https://twitter.com/Modern_Day

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moderndaymissions/

You're serving full-time. You're pouring yourself out. And yet, you still feel like it's not enough.

Many missionaries live with an unnamed pressure, a constant inner drive to do more, be more, prove more. In this powerful conversation, Dr. Curt Thompson helps us uncover the role that shame plays in shaping our stories and how it may be calling the shots in your life and ministry without you even knowing it.

Could shame be behind your exhaustion, disconnection, or sense of not-enoughness?

Discover why shame shows up so shockingly early in all of our lives, how it disconnects us, and what it looks like to become whole again, from the inside out. This episode is an invitation to name what’s really going on beneath the surface and begin a path toward healing, hope, and wholeness.

• Why shame starts early, before we even have words
• How shame can shape your identity and calling without you realizing it
• What happens when disintegration replaces connection in missionary life
• Why the antidote to shame isn't advice, but presence
• How to take your first steps toward healing and wholeness

Hey missionaries—how are your finances on the field? At Modern Day Missions, we make it simple for missionaries to receive donations and for donors to give. Serving 1,100+ missionaries worldwide, we free you to focus on your calling. We also offer resources like our weekly podcast, fundraising coaching, and a resource-packed newsletter. Connect with us at modernday.org

Thanks for listening! Email us your questions at care@modernday.org

Website: https://www.modernday.org/podcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu3ie6N7vXvESqcHrM-SRTC7-XoPEmnv6

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moderndaymissions/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moderndaymissions/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@moderndaymissions

X: https://twitter.com/Modern_Day

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moderndaymissions/