by the Rev. Tad de Bordenave It’s Easter. Again. How do I know? Because this Sunday, each and every church sign will say so. Yeah, you know. Same words once again, stating the obvious. And that’s swell if we want to remind those who already know. I started noticing these church signs years ago and asking […]

by the Rev. Tad de Bordenave Allow me the liberty of conflating the dialogue of the lawyer and Jesus with the parable of the Good Samaritan. That places the lawyer and the Samaritan side by side. I have written about the insights the lawyer gained from the Samaritan and his compassion. Here I take the […]

by the Rev. Tad de Bordenave The dialogue of Jesus and the lawyer came to an end with the telling of the Good Samaritan. It began with lawyer’s the opening question: What must I do to inherit eternal life? That question determined the course of the conversation. From then on, Jesus directed the conversation to […]

by the Rev. Tad de Bordenave When Jesus introduced the Samaritan in the parable, he introduced drama and ill will. This man was the foil who would illustrate lessons for the lawyer and for us. Before we look at him in the story, we first must understand the hostility of Jew and Samaritan. It began […]

by the Rev. Tad de Bordenave We move now to the point in the story where the Good Samaritan stops and administers compassion to the man in the ditch. This man Jesus describes as “beaten, stripped, and dying.” We will transpose him to today’s world and examine compassion from two different perspectives. One shows biblical […]

by the Rev. Tad de Bordenave We return to the dialogue between the lawyer and Jesus. We left them when the lawyer had asked the question, “Who is my neighbor?” In response Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan. With this parable Jesus was prodding the lawyer to acknowledge a relation with God he […]

by Tad de Bordenave Last week I described the contemporary “man in the ditch” as four groups: indigenous people, the unborn child, nomads, and Muslims in our neighborhoods. This week we bring in the priest and the Levite of today. These two men “passed by on the other side.” What would that look like today? […]

Tad de Bordenave We now turn our attention to the parable of the Good Samaritan and the central character of the story —  the man in the ditch. Jesus described him with terms that are brief and grim. The man was “stripped, wounded, and left half-dead.” This was not a pretty sight! No wonder the priest […]

Was it only two weeks since we put aside the story of the Good Samaritan, the visit of the lawyer and Jesus? In the interim we have had shopping, lists, family, decorations, lists, guests, presents, feasts, lists, and — oh yes – Christmas and New Years. Time to return to the Good Samaritan and the […]

by Tad de Bordenave We enter the story of the Good Samaritan with the dialogue of Jesus and the lawyer. This well-educated lawyer was steeped in Jewish law, but he had never met anyone like Jesus. This rabbi had done miracles, drew crowds, and alienated the religious establishment. The lawyer wanted to test him.  Should […]

by Tad de Bordenave This article takes us back to the invitation by Jesus from the end of the last article: “Anyone who comes searching for me, I will not turn away.” A lawyer has come to Jesus to test him. We will see how Jesus valued and honored the man, drew him out, and […]

by Heather Okuda At the core of every Christian journey lies a deep and personal element: prayer. It’s a practice as old as the faith itself, a direct line to the triune God that empowers, comforts, and guides us as believers. But what exactly is Christian prayer, and why does it hold such a significant […]

from AFM’s Founder and first Executive Director, The Rev. Canon Tad de Bordenave This article begins a series that will take us into the story of the Good Samaritan. The drama has given the world several well-known and well-loved phrases and people. The larger context is a conversation between  Jesus and a lawyer. In that […]

By Heather Okuda Why Giving Matters In a world filled with distinct needs and challenges, Anglican Frontier Missions meets the specific Christian needs of unreached people groups, bringing hope, aid, and spiritual guidance to communities across the globe. AFM and our cross-cultural workers passionately work to address numerous issues ranging from education to spiritual guidance. […]

By Heather Okuda Introduction: Nestled in the diverse and spiritually rich landscape of India, Christianity presents itself as a vibrant minority. With a history that allegedly dates back to the time of the Apostle Thomas, the Christian faith in India is a colorful mosaic of traditions, cultures, and languages. In this blog post, we explore […]

  I’m thrilled to announce that AFM’s four-week, video-driven global mission’s curriculum is finally available! Teaching and preaching about missions across the U.S over the last nine years in my role as AFM’s executive director has helped me realize the paucity of Anglican missions curricula focused on the least-reached peoples on the globe. Thus, two […]

by an anonymous AFM Cross-Cultural Worker When you’re a US citizen it’s easy to travel to most countries since visas often aren’t required. However, this ease quickly disappears for long-term CCWs in areas such as North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Countries in these regions want our tourist money, but they usually don’t want […]

by Gretchen Roderick AFM Training Coordinator As I was preparing to attend my first Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) in April, I learned that the theme was “To Whom Shall We Go?”  Immediately, my mind conjured up what I thought was the meaning of this phrase—taking the gospel to unreached people groups (UPGs), those peoples […]

by “William,” an AFM Cross-Cultural Worker While on a short-term mission trip to North Africa with AFM during the fall of 2022, we were encouraged by the rector of our host church to explore further south where the population is primarily composed of the Berber people group.  There was something there he wanted us to […]

by The Rev. Chris Royer, PhD Executive Director of AFM “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Cor. 15:57). This has been the opening acclamation for the Divine Office’s Evening Prayer service throughout the season of Easter. After the fast-moving and tumultuous events AFM has experienced over […]

from Joni Flye, PhD, AFM US-Based Cross-Cultural Workers I just returned from a one-month mission trip in Cambodia and Vietnam, countries I lived in for many years. When I was 21 and a new Christian, I was praying about what to do with my life. God strongly impressed on my heart one day that there […]

By “Samuel,” an AFM Cross-Cultural Worker Recently, I spent a week in Antakya (biblical Antioch), one of the region’s most severely affected by the earthquakes in Turkey. From a distance, it didn’t seem so bad. It didn’t look nearly so serious as the horrible devastation we’d been hearing about in news reports. But as we drove closer, […]

By The Rev. Dr. Duane Miller AFM Cross-Cultural Worker to Spain Some time ago I was asked to write a (lengthy) appendix to Stephen Neill’s important book Anglicanism. Turns out this is one of the main books that has been translated into Spanish that is used for historical education throughout the Spanish-speaking world. But, the book […]

by The Rev. Canon Tad de Bordenave Founder and First Executive Director of AFM January 6th highlights a group of God’s children. The traditional day of the visit of the Magi reminds us of the Persian visitors to the Holy Family. They bring us Gentile children of God, people who have no knowledge of God, or […]

by Heidi Swanson, Member of the AFM Board of Directors Many of us love the family traditions that go along with the Christmas Season. While some of our traditions may be different, one that we all have in common is giving gifts. As we approach Christmas once again, I find myself thinking about a different […]

by Raina, an AFM Cross-Cultural Worker All throughout my childhood, I heard countless stories of missionaries going to unreached parts of the world to preach the gospel. Hudson Taylor, Elisabeth Elliot, Gladys Aylward, my eldest sister, the list went on. For me, the question wasn’t if, but when and how I would go. I’m so […]

Reflections on the New Wineskins Missions Conference by The Rev. Canon Tad de Bordenave, Founder and first Executive Director of AFM The sweet fragrance and beautiful colors of autumn covered the Ridgecrest campus in Asheville, NC. In the same way, the winds of the Holy Spirit blew over all and into the minds and hearts […]

by Matt Foster, Trustee on the AFM Board of Directors One week after graduating from college, I went overseas to work among an unreached people group (UPG) in the foothills of the Himalayas. I left for a two-year term and was allowed to extend that term for another year. In those three years, my small […]

by an AFM cross-cultural worker (Yes, that was 25 years ago so you can guess my age.) Just 25 years ago, I was applying to become an Anglican Frontier Missions (AFM) missionary. Two months prior, our church hosted a one-day missions conference organized by a couple just returning from the 1997 New Wineskins Conference. Karen and […]

by The Rev. Canon Tad de Bordenave, Founder and 1st Executive Director of AFM The sudden collapse in Afghanistan has forced many to flee their homeland with little more than the clothes on their backs.  Those currently being evacuated from Afghanistan join millions of refugees from other Muslim lands, including Iraq, Syria, and Pakistan, who […]

by the Rev. Tad de Bordenave As we roam through strange and forbidding places in the world, our escorts will be angels. We will find them eager companions for two simple reasons. First, angels know God’s saving work but from the outside. They long to see the actual impact that the gospel makes in lives […]

by The Rev. Dr. Chris Royer Executive Director, AFM I vividly remember my first days on the mission field 31 years ago.  I joined hundreds of Americans and thousands of other short-termers from across the globe in Genk, Belgium for an OM conference called Love Europe. It was electrifying. Graham Kendrick, who had just written “Shine […]

by the Rev. Tad de Bordenave Within Iran we find another group of God’s Other Children. This would be minority people—ethnic groups different from the dominant majority and who suffer because of that inferior status. A corollary is that their suffering and oppression are hidden from view behind the majority people, usually deliberately so. Iran […]

We turn to another member of God’s Other Children, the hungry. In the parable of the Sheep and the Goats Jesus tells us, “I was hungry and you fed me.” These 818 million children are our brothers and sisters and they are hungry. Like the other children we look at, these children of God do not […]

by the Rev. Tad de Bordenave The photo at the top of the page shows the Judech Tower in the center of Pyongyang, North Korea. Judech is the official philosophy of the Hermit Kingdom that promotes the totalitarian regime of Kim Jong-un and the near deification of Kim and his family.This philosophy has laid the foundation […]

by the Rev. Tad de Bordenave Slavery has many disguises. Each one deepens the malevolence of its evil. Slaves are out of sight. We see no interviews with workers in garment factories, no videos of raids to brothels, no stories of children in mines. All of that is kept behind closed doors. The disguises have […]

by Tad de Bordenave Christmas is nearly here. Most of your children are looking forward to stockings, maybe a pageant, and certainly toys. This article is about those children for whom all these are missing. These children are found in the Nativity narratives but are  overlooked. I will put our attention on them so we can see […]

by Tad de Bordenave Children thrive on positive reinforcement, strokes that lift, encourage, sustain, and feed their development. After all, they are sacred to God, created in his image, and dearly loved and protected by him, their heavenly Father. This certainty establishes their identity in secure places. This article is about children who do not […]

by Tad de Bordenave We turn to another member of God’s Other Children, the hungry. In the parable of the Sheep and the Goats Jesus tells us, “I was hungry and you fed me.” These 818 million children are our brothers and sisters and they are hungry. Like the other children we look at, these children […]

by the Rev. Tad de Bordenave Christmas is nearly here. Most of your children are looking forward to stockings, maybe a pageant, and certainly toys. This article is about those children for whom all these are missing. These children are found in the Nativity narratives but are  overlooked. I will put our attention on them so we […]

by Tad de Bordenave You may not live where persecution takes place, but 260 million Christians do. They live in one of the 50 nations who carry out severe persecution. Numbers don’t have faces, but they do tell a story. Imagine what it means that every week over 150 churches in these nations are burned […]

by Tad de Bordenave The people, the influences, and the dire human conditions in Chad exist in far too many other places. By giving a close look at what holds a tight grip on hunger there, we will see the wider boundaries of this food crisis. And in all those places are found God’s other […]

by Tad de Bordenave The details of the persecution in North Korea are shrouded in secrecy. Enough stories have emerged, however, that allow an overview of the suffering Christians and their perpetrators. Many Christians escape to China and beyond, telling the listening world about the atrocities their brothers and sisters face. This article will give […]

We now turn to another group in God’s family—his children. As with the church in North Korea and the hungry in Chad, the criteria for these are the same. The children we will look at do not make the news, are not familiar to us, and are deemed unimportant. The standard measure of them tells […]

Steven (a pseudonym) is an AFM Cross-Cultural Worker (CCW) preparing to launch to a Muslim-majority unreached nation. We talked with him about the benefits of serving through a mission agency instead of going to the mission field independently. His thoughts are written below:  I first went to the mission field in the summer of 2013, […]

By The Rev. Canon Dr. Pete and Dr. Shirleen Wait, Pastors to AFM Cross-Cultural Workers I (Shirleen) grew up as a Baptist and was confirmed into the Anglican way of life as a college student. I was an active Baptist, especially in my teen years, and at fifteen years old, I had a life-changing experience […]

By Maria Cochrane, AFM Volunteer Prayer Partner Many years ago, Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) taught me to pray and exposed me to real-live missionaries for the first time in my life.  Subsequently, when a neighbor invited me to his house to get to know a missionary couple on home assignment from China, I said sure!  […]

by an AFM Cross-Cultural Worker Here’s a sentence I never expected to write: The day I got robbed was one of the best days I’ve had as a missionary! Sounds crazy, right? I was riding in a tuk-tuk (an open, two-wheeled cab pulled by a motorcycle) to an airport in southeast Asia. My suitcase was […]

by an anonymous AFM Cross-Cultural Worker Jenny (my wife’s pseudonym) went into labor after falling asleep on the couch the evening of the 29th. Contractions came every 10 minutes or so throughout the night and were quite strong by daylight. Around 6:30 we made the decision to go to the hospital. There is a 7-7 […]

by an anonymous AFM Cross-Cultural Worker We are in our sixth week of lockdown—staying at home except for a weekly trip to get food. I expect we’ll be in this situation through May, barring the creation of a treatment for COVID-19. Our country has closed its borders, and stopped schools and public gatherings (including worship […]