Church Planting, Frontier Mission & the Art of Gospel Conversation - Brad Peppo

Episode Overview
What does it look like to arrive in a town where you don't know a single person — and start a church? In this episode of The Great Commission Today, host Daniel Vos sits down with Rev. Brad Peppo, a regional home missionary with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, to hear how God is building his church in some unlikely places in Arizona and beyond.

Brad is currently serving in a dual capacity: planting House Mountain OPC Mission in Cottonwood, Arizona, and serving as stated supply for a PCUSA congregation on the Navajo reservation in Tuba City. He's also four years into a sustained evangelism effort with a group of Muslims in Dayton, Ohio — while returning home monthly to continue that work.

This episode is full of practical wisdom for pastors, church planters, and everyday believers who want to make disciples — but aren't sure where to start. Brad's approach isn't flashy. It's deeply ordinary, genuinely curious, and remarkably fruitful.

Key Topics Covered
Brad explains how he used a personal photojournalism and interview blog — Lands of the Living — as his primary tool for meeting people and initiating gospel conversations in a place where he knew no one.

The conversation explores how the ordinary means of grace — Scripture reading, preaching, and prayer — are fueling the young mission work in Cottonwood, including a moving testimony from an unchurched woman.

Brad reflects on the role of elders and deacons in church planting, with specific attention to what elder qualifications look like in frontier mission contexts, particularly on Native American reservations.

Brad and Daniel discuss the use of Facebook advertising for church outreach, working in public spaces, and maintaining a consistent personal presence in community locations.

The episode concludes with Brad's counsel for anyone wanting to begin evangelistic conversations: start small, lead with genuine curiosity, and play the long game.

Notable Quotes
"I arrived in Cottonwood not knowing a single person. Not one. Not even the name of anybody who was living there. And that was part of the excitement of the invitation — I wanted to kind of try my hand at that."

"She came up to me and said, 'I don't want you to apologize about the length of Scripture readings anymore. One of the things that I have loved about this church — and that makes it different than all of the churches I have visited before — is how much Scripture reading there actually is.'"
"This is my seventh church plant. And I look back and think: I don't even know how that happened. I don't know what I did. And I'm reminded of the parable in Mark — the kingdom of God is like the man who plants seed in his field, and he goes to bed, and he wakes up, and just one day it's there. And he knows not how."
"If you're really willing and curious to find out where people are coming from, they will be curious to find out where you're coming from."
"You don't know what the obstacles of the gospel are for any particular group until you get to know them first."

Resources Mentioned
Lands of the Living — Brad's blog: www.landsoftheliving.com
House Mountain OPC Mission — Cottonwood, Arizona
Indigenous Bible College — Flagstaff, Arizona
Light of the Nations OPC — Dayton, Ohio
Five More Talents — go.fivemoretalents.com

About The Great Commission Today
The Great Commission Today is a podcast designed to help you and your church become more faithful, confident, and purposeful in obedience to the Great Commission. Sponsored by Five More Talents, an agency offering holistic digital outreach solutions to help churches invite more visitors, engage more members, and develop more leaders in the digital age.

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