Justin Burkholder, Author at TEAM Christian Missions Blog

Why I Need Other Cultures on My Church Planting Team

Every church planter has cultural blind spots. One of the best ways to find them is working with fellow believers from a variety of cultures.

Oct 19 2020

I’m not sure if you know this, but you have a culture — and not all of it reflects God’s Kingdom values. Shocking, I know. This may not be an entirely new idea to you, but let me push it a bit further. Not all of the cultural convictions that you think reflect God’s Kingdom values actually reflect God’s Kingdom values. In other words, you and I have values we think are rooted in Gospel principles — but are actually, mostly, born from our cultures. There is some irony here for missionaries because many are great at spotting this in their…

There are hundreds of books on church planting, so how do you choose between them? One missionary gives his top five picks!

Mar 14 2019

Most of us follow the same pattern when we want to learn about something before we do it: Hop on over to Amazon and we see what books are available. However, if you type “church planting” into the Amazon search bar, it spits back 845 different resources. If you don’t know much about church planting, it can be nearly impossible to decide where to begin. So, let me help! I’ve spent 5 years church planting Guatemala, and in my experience, these are the top five books every church planter should have on their shelf. 1. Apostolic Church Planting: Birthing New…

A TEAM missionaries shares insights on what church planting really means and what it looks like to harvest and bear Gospel-fruit.

Oct 23 2018

Church planting has become cool again. Networks like City to City and Acts 29 are growing exponentially. There are church planting conferences and boot camps, and church planting books being written. Even This American Life, a famous podcast, did an episode about church planting. As a church planter in Guatemala, it’s exciting to see my personal passion receive so much attention. And yet, there are still some key misconceptions lingering about church planting. Maybe you remember the children’s rhyme: Here is the church, here is the steeple, open the doors, see all the people. From childhood, we learn to associate…

With high poverty and crime rates, the prosperity gospel has taken root in Guatemala. Read about one missionary's heart to show his community the only hope to change this narrative.

Feb 15 2016

Every single day, we wake up to the latest news in Guatemala. “Three people wounded in gun battle.” “Remains of two young girls who were murdered discovered in Zone 6.” “Millions of dollars swindled by president and vice president.” Even though these aren’t actual headlines, these are actual things that have happened. A Narrative of Violence and Brokenness People are wounded and killed in gunshot battles every single day. Violence is rampant. The former president and vice president are currently in jail for stealing millions of dollars in what should have been taxes to help sustain and develop Guatemala. The stories aren’t just stories…

From Chick-fil-a cravings to aching loneliness, a missionary's first months on the field are full of surprises. Photo by Robert Johnson / TEAM

May 27 2014

It has been six months since my wife, Jenny, and I boarded a plane in Chicago and moved to Guatemala City. Our lives have changed dramatically since then. In the last year, we both stepped away from full-time jobs, liquidated everything we owned, and said good-bye to the place we called home for the seven years. We left behind the best friends we have ever made. And we did so while Jenny was six months pregnant. It’s been a wild ride. We’ve learned a lot of lessons in six months about missionary life. Here are some of them. And we…

Author - Justin Burkholder

Why I Need Other Cultures on My Church Planting Team

The 5 Best Books on Church Planting

What We Get Wrong About Church Planting

Fighting the Prosperity Gospel in Guatemala

6 Lessons from a New Missionary