In this episode of The Go and Send Podcast, Mike and Cody talk with Jeff Brown, a missionary serving in Albania and head of global innovation for WorldVenture. Jeff grew up as a missionary kid in Belgium and Germany, but his own path to the field wasn't a straight line -- he spent years practicing business law in Milwaukee before sensing God's clear call to step into full-time ministry.
In this episode of The Go and Send Podcast, Mike and Cody talk with Jeff Brown, a missionary serving in Albania and head of global innovation for WorldVenture. Jeff grew up as a missionary kid in Belgium and Germany, but his own path to the field wasn't a straight line -- he spent years practicing business law in Milwaukee before sensing God's clear call to step into full-time ministry. Jeff shares how that calling took shape, and how his family landed in Albania, a nation still recovering from decades as the world's first officially atheist state.
Jeff unpacks what ministry looks like in a culture where relationship has to come before belief, and why approaches that work well in America often fall flat elsewhere. He talks candidly about learning language and culture as ministry in itself, building trust through business coaching and community outreach, and why he believes missions organizations need to get more creative about who is equipped to do this work and how they're trained and sent.
Jeff closes with hard-won wisdom on walking through hardship on the field, examining your true motivations before you go, and why there's no such thing as a wasted step when you're following the Lord's leading.
Contact us at goandsend@sonsetsolutions.org
Resources & Links:
● Radical by David Platt
● The Innovation Crisis by Ted Esler
00:00 -- Cold Open: "We Need to Get More Creative"
00:49 -- Meet Jeff Brown: From Law Career to Mission Field in Albania
01:44 -- Why Albanians Need to Belong Before They Believe
02:54 -- The Two-Year Journey of Alma and Mundi
05:08 -- Where in the World Is Albania?
06:40 -- The First Officially Atheist Country in History
08:01 -- No Underground Church: Only 12 Known Believers at Communism's Fall
09:18 -- Growing Up a Missionary Kid in Belgium and Germany
12:03 -- Lessons From Watching His Parents' Faithfulness in a Hard Field
13:35 -- Focusing on the Gospel's Core When Believers Are Few
15:47 -- From Law School to Seven Years as a Business Attorney
17:16 -- Rejecting the Divide Between Sacred and Secular Work
21:06 -- A Mission Trip to Kosovo That Planted a Seed
22:48 -- Life, a Mortgage, and a Minivan Delay the Call
23:29 -- David Platt's "Radical Challenge" and a Trip to Honduras
24:23 -- Finally Hearing God's Clear Call to Full-Time Missions
25:06 -- Choosing an Organization That Valued His Legal Background
28:06 -- The Hardest and Richest Years: Learning Language and Culture
31:01 -- Why American-Style Outreach Doesn't Translate to Albania
33:53 -- Offering Real Value to Earn Trust and Relationship
35:14 -- Launching a Business Coaching Ministry for Local Entrepreneurs
37:03 -- Defining "Business as Missions" and How His Work Differs
39:42 -- Why Missions Must Get More Creative and Innovative
39:56 -- Serving as Head of Global Innovation for WorldVenture
42:25 -- Rethinking How New Missionaries Are Trained and Sent
45:48 -- Finding Perspective Through Hardship on the Field
47:11 -- "Hopeful Realism" and Living as Passers-By
50:35 -- The Hope of Raising Up Albanian Leaders
51:36 -- Encouraged by a New Generation's Passion for Missions
53:19 -- Are You Running Toward Something -- or Away From Something?
54:50 -- The Importance of Being Fully Aligned as a Couple
55:11 -- Getting Excited About God's Love for Every Nation
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Website: https://www.sonsetsolutions.org