Gospel Focus Podcast

Likius Hafeni is a believer from Namibia and joins Joe and Cole on the podcast to discuss how the Gospel is the answer to the current problem of civil unrest in America. He also shares his perspective as someone who grew up during Apartheid in South Africa.

Samuel Stanley, a missionary at Youth With A Mission Salem and ambassador of Gospel Focus Ministries joins Joe and Cole on the podcast to discuss his journey of faith, the contrast of Christianity in India versus the U.S., and the power of the simple Gospel.

Joe and Cole discuss some thoughts on how a believer can remain focused on the gospel in this unprecedented time of quarantine.

Fred Allen, a renowned teacher within Youth With A Mission, is on the podcast to breakdown why he believes the Trinitarian formula for understanding the nature of God does not work, and to discuss why it is important for Christians to be in awe of their Lord rather than trying to place Him in our image and understanding.

Tom Wilson, a retired pediatrician, shares about his journey of faith that eventually spilled over into his practice, and the volunteer service/ministry he continues to pursue at the Salem Free Clinic now that he is retired.

The phrase "fake it till you make it" is often disregarded as disingenuous, but the benefits of such behavior can actually be very useful in bringing the inward transformation to the surface. In this way, Joe and Cole discuss the need to marry the outward conforming aspects of the Christian faith to the inward transformation taking place within us each passing day.

Luba Iliyn joins Joe and Cole on the podcast to discuss her years of ministry in the Soviet Union as well as after it collapsed, and then addresses the difficulties that Christians now face when engaging in evangelism.

Disclaimer: The audio for the last half of this episode includes quite a bit of "clicking" mixed in that we were unable to get rid of, we hope you are still able to enjoy the episode and we apologize for the inconvenience. Addictions are prevalent in a great many people's lives, and the Church is no exception to this truth. In this episode, Cole and Joe look at the different facets, motivations, and stages of addictions in broad scope. Sources for this episode include: Stages of Change: A Christian Response to Addiction, Part 1. A Christian Response to Addiction, Part 2. A Christian Response to Addiction, Part 3.  Changing For Good: A Revolutionary Six-Stage Program for Overcoming Bad Habits and Moving Your Life Positively Forward  

After having Gospel Focus Ministries over to the congregation for many Temple Talks, Reverend Rick Davis from the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem joins Joe on this episode of the GFP. They go into detail as to how "Rev. Rick" came to his position at the congregation, and some of the core covenant values of Unitarian Universalism.

For the first episode of the new year, Cole and Joe dig into the struggle it can be for a Christian to focus on obeying God in the day-to-day rather than constantly analyzing and repeatedly trying to perfectly figure out the "next step" in God's will for one's life. Sources mentioned in this episode: The Practice of the Presence of God.

For our last episode of 2019 we had Linda Cosa, a YWAM DTS student, joining Joe and Cole on the podcast. They discuss her testimony, the experiences that led her to do a DTS as well a how Gospel Focus outreaches have impacted her worldview and witness.

Galen Ball, a student at Chemeketa Community College, has been searching for answers to life's greatest questions and has been slowly but surely finding them in Scripture, the writings of C.S. Lewis as well as while meeting with Tim Walter of Gospel Focus Ministries. In this episode, he opens up about his journey towards faith and the questions that still remain for him.

After interviewing Tim and introducing the Face-to-Face internship, we felt it necessary to have a graduate of the internship on the podcast. That graduate happens to be Kaleb Herring, lead pastor of Salem First Free Methodist.

Tim Walter, director/founder of Gospel Focus Ministries, makes his second appearance on the podcast to update listeners on the most recent evangelistic addition to Gospel Focus' ministries, the Face-to-Face internship. Along with this update, Tim, Cole and Joe discuss the challenges of maintaining a joyous perspective when sharing the "good news".

Disclaimer: The audio in this interview occasionally echoes throughout the podcast and there are some crackling sounds toward the latter part of the episode that we were unable to remove. We hope you are still able to enjoy the conversation we had with Kyle Anderson upon his return to the Gospel Focus office for a continuation of the first interview.

Cole and Joe interview Kyle Anderson, an agnostic/atheist who grew up in the church, and is open to weighing the differences of his worldview against that of the Christian one. This is the first of what will hopefully be a continued series of interviews with Kyle. Stay tuned.

In this episode, Joe and Cole discuss the complex array of emotions and issues that arise from the presence of shame in one's life, specifically a Christian's life. Source for this episode: http://thecommonvision.org/features/shame-good-christian/

In this episode, Joe and Cole interview the base director for the Youth With a Mission Salem campus, Samuel Matthias. Samuel expounds upon the ongoing ministry of the YWAM base both local and abroad, as well as his thoughts towards Gospel Focus Ministries being a part of that.

In this episode, Cole and Joe address the present day apostasy of prominent Christian figures and discuss in broad scope the volitional journey that is apostasy.

In this episode, Cole and Joe interview Brianna Suter, a YWAM Salem DTS student, they discuss her journey from a believer in Mormonism to a believer in Christ.

In this episode, Joe and Cole talk in an overview fashion about science and Christianity in regards to their influence in today's culture as well as cultures past.

In this episode, Joe and Cole talk with Matthew Ralston, a Gospel illusionist, about how he came to faith in Christ, the ministry he now pursues and a host of other topics.

In this episode, Cole and Joe discuss the difficulties in confronting modern day ideologies and the culture that stems from them. They also touch on the importance of educating one's self and making an effort to understand the culture in order to better reach non-believers.

In this episode, Cole and Joe interview David Saffina-Massey, a local college student who happens to be an atheist. They discuss David's spiritual journey into atheistic beliefs, some of David's more core beliefs outside of a faith in God, as well as touching on both a non-believer's struggle and appreciation for the Christian perspective.

In this episode, Joe and Cole discuss with Craig Smith the recent outreach from Gospel Focus Ministries at the UFO Festival in McMinnville, OR. Craig is the teaching elder at Way Of Life church in Salem, Oregon and was one of many who participated in the outreach. They cover things they learned from the experience, the effectiveness of the outreach, and their excitement for similar opportunities in the future.

In this episode, Cole and Joe interview Timo Valencia, a young man who came to Christ through the "Gospel Guy" ministry here in Salem. They discuss the series of events in Timo's life before coming to know Christ and the trajectory he found for his life in his relationship with Christ.

In this episode, Cole and Joe discuss the idea that one does not need to be involved in a church/community to grow in their relationship with Christ. They cover the pitfalls of this belief and it's detrimental results for the believer and the Church as a body.

In this episode, Joe and Cole interview Jason Treadwell, executive pastor at Church on the Hill. They discuss Jason's past and present struggles with depression, his revelations of Christ for lasting hope, as well as how God continues to lead and inspire Jason in ministry.

In this episode, Joe and Cole discuss a belief that is quite common in today's culture and often times very misleading, the belief that one can simply believe their desired realities into existence.

In this episode, Cole and Joe interview Allen Ramsey, a pastor at Calvary Chapel here in Salem, OR. They discuss his recent experience with the ministry "Pulpit to Pavement", a Gospel Focus Ministries outreach specifically geared towards pastors of local churches.

In this episode, Cole and Joe discuss reactions from people when they were shown an image of Christ on the cross. These reactions took place on the streets of downtown Salem and at a local college campus.

In this episode Cole and Joe interview Jacob Van Schenck, a missionary with YWAM Salem. They discuss his past few years of ministry within YWAM and more specifically Jacob's involvement with Gospel Focus Ministries and the perspective he and his family will be taking with them overseas while they serve in France.

In this episode, Joe and Cole discuss the broad and difficult topic of Christians endeavoring to please God in their works and faith.

In this episode, Joe and Cole interview Rabbi Eli of Temple Beth Sholom, located in Salem, OR. They discuss the benefits of the Gospel Focus Network's "Temple Talks", the difficulties Jewish believers face in today's society, and the major differences between Christianity and Judaism.

In this episode, Cole and Joe discuss the question of why evil exists, the complexities that follow that question and some guiding principles by which to navigate to an answer.

In this episode, Joe and Cole talk with Tim Walter, founder of Gospel Focus Ministries. They discuss the beginnings of the ministry, eternity, and what an eternal perspective looks like in the day-to-day.

In this episode, Cole and Joe talk about going through difficult seasons of life while putting faith in God, practical steps to move forward within a season of brokenness, as well as considering how God views suffering and brokenness.

In this episode, Joe and Cole interview Jewel Owen, a student in the Outward Apologetics School that takes place at the Youth With A Mission Salem campus. They discuss Jewel's journey within the school, some of her most practical takeaways and a variety of other topics.

In this episode, Cole and Joe discuss the journey from becoming a Christian to sharing one's new faith for the first time, which things can help a believer continue to share, and what potential changes it can bring to a believer's relationship with Christ.

In this episode, Joe interviews Ryan Hale, pastor of Gateway Community Church in Salem, Oregon. They discuss the beginnings of the Gospel Guy ministry, the influence it has held for Ryan as a pastor, and some of the reasons why evangelism is difficult.

Cole and Joe, participants in Gospel Focus Ministries in Salem, Oregon, discuss evangelism and encounters with Christians on the street.