From the American Dream to a Global Gospel Movement | Ep 2

What happens when God interrupts what appears to be the perfect life?Steve Kaloper sits down with John Heerema, founder of Big Life, to discuss how God transformed a successful business owner into the leader of a global disciple-making movement reaching some of the world’s most difficult and least-reached places. John shares how reading about the 10/40 Window changed his perspective, why he unexpectedly faxed the Iranian Olympic Committee, and how that bold step led him to coach Iran’s Olympic baseball team. He also recounts the life-changing trip to India that reshaped Big Life’s strategy and revealed the importance of equipping local believers to reach and disciple their own communities. Their conversation explores obedience, prayer, fasting, persecution, indigenous leadership, and the growing hunger for Jesus across Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, South Asia, and the broader Middle East. John also shares stories of Muslims encountering Jesus through dreams, ministry among the global Deaf community, and why disciple-making is just as necessary in America as overseas. IN THIS EPISODE• How God disrupted what John believed was the “perfect life” • Why the 10/40 Window changed his understanding of missions • Coaching Iran’s Olympic baseball team as a ministry opportunity • Why Iran’s underground church continues to grow • The role of fasting and prayer in major decisions • Selling a successful business to pursue God’s calling • The encounter in India that transformed Big Life’s strategy • Why indigenous leaders are essential to sustainable ministry • Stories of faith and persecution from the Middle East and South Asia • Muslims encountering Jesus through dreams • Identifying unreached regions and multiplying churches • Ministry among Deaf communities around the world • Why the Great Commission begins in our neighborhoodsMEMORABLE QUOTES“We thought we had the perfect life. Within days, the Lord shook us up and made us realize we were perfectly shallow.”“Every time your heart beats, someone dies without ever hearing the name of Jesus.”“As long as we’re in God’s will, we’re safer there than we are being disobedient at home.”“If we take care of the depth, the Lord will take care of the breadth.”“I read my Bible and go do it. I gain my understanding through my obedience.”“Delayed obedience is disobedience.”“Mission isn’t something that starts when you get off an airplane—it’s a lifestyle.” KEY TAKEAWAYS• God often redirects us when life feels most comfortable. • Obedience may come before complete understanding. • Disciple-making grows by empowering local believers. • Prayer and fasting are foundational to spiritual discernment. • Hardship and persecution can create extraordinary openness to the Gospel. • The Great Commission starts at home and extends to the nations. • Sustainable ministry makes disciples who reproduce disciples.ABOUT JOHN HEEREMA John Heerema is the founder of Big Life, a global ministry that equips believers to reach and disciple their own people for Jesus. What began with an opportunity to coach Iran’s Olympic baseball team has grown into a disciple-making movement spanning more than 180 countries. Big Life empowers indigenous leaders to establish healthy, multiplying churches in some of the world’s least-reached regions. CONNECT Learn more about Big Life, its global initiatives, prayer opportunities, and ways to support disciple-making at https://big.life