Stepping Out in Faith — A New Chapter For The Olsons

After two decades of missionary service with Ethnos360, from the jungles of the Philippines to the frontlines of global security and cultural research, we are at a point where we sense God’s clear call into a new season of ministry. The world is changing rapidly around us—Western culture is undergoing a profound “re-enchantment,” an attempt to revive an ancient spirituality apart from Christ that’s now shaping everything from technology to global governance. Through firsthand engagement at events like Burning Man and the 2024 Eclipse gathering, we’ve encountered an emerging unreached people group that is seeking meaning in all the wrong places.

In response to this, we formed a new nonprofit, Orbis Sentry, to meet the challenge—to bring the hope of Christ into transformational culture while equipping the Church to discern and respond to the worldview shifts that are redefining our age. We remain missionaries at heart and in practice, stepping out in faith once again, trusting God for provision as we expand into this vital new mission field.

In this newsletter, you’ll read how we got here, what we’ve learned, and how you can stand with us—through prayer, partnership, or inviting us to equip your church to engage this changing world with courage and clarity. We hope and pray this will be encouraging to you, because God is doing amazing things, calling people out of darkness and into the light. We certainly live in incredible times.

This is a really big transition for us, hence the long newsletter. We appreciate all of your support and prayers. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to the audio podcast of our workshop we held at Burning Man, along with the responses that people had, it is well worth the listen, as it will give you insight into the kind of opportunities to share Christ that we are having in this new field of ministry.

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“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” ~2 Corinthians 5:20 (ESV)

Dear Praying Friends & Family,

There are times when you know for certain that you must do something, that it is clearly God directing you, and it requires an answer in obedience and faith. We are in one of those times right now.

How we got here

The journey of walking with God through life is an effort of faith. We have prayed for wisdom often, that we may know the right response when God presents something to us. Back in 2001, we stepped out in faith in what was clearly the Lord’s direction on our lives. We sold our house and I left my career as an electrical engineer to pursue God’s call to serve as missionaries with New Tribes Mission, which later became Ethnos360. We went through 5 years of training and then lived in the Philippines for 12 years. Coming home in 2018, I was in exceedingly poor health, but was still able to serve on the mission’s international security team. While I was officially the security consultant for only the Indo-Pacific region, the scope of my work grew to accommodate the entire globe, in particular because I was watching China, and China’s activities are global in scope. I was encouraged by the security team’s leadership at the time to continue along that path, and to track global trends in order to understand their effects on ministry security overseas.

Since returning home, my health has improved considerably. I give credit to God in this. I had to get to a point of understanding the incredible depths of the love of our heavenly Father, and what Jesus really accomplished for us on the cross. These are things I thought I understood before, but only by going through the trial could I really understand how to make them real. There is much I could say on this topic, but I will move on.

Because my work on the security team had me tracking sociological trends (in relation to how they affected international relations and government policy), I began tracking the growing secular to neo-pagan spiritual shift that was happening in multiple demographics in the Western world. This led me to attend the Eclipse Event in Central Texas in April of 2024. I went there with someone I had met at one of the conferences that I attended.

The Eclipse Event was mind-blowing, in that I was exposed to a side of America and the Western world that I almost didn’t know existed. I had heard of festivals like this, but I had no idea what they were really like, or how wide-ranging in scope were their effects. This was my first time to be faced with a massive number of people, all throwing off their inhibitions together simultaneously, and believing they were part of launching the next great phase in human evolution. The experience was incredibly overwhelming. At that event, I had a long conversation with a lady who shared her story with me, how she had grown up in a Christian home, but found it too stifling. She had left the church and was now into taking drugs and attending festivals (her drug of choice was MDMA). At the time, I thought that if her story was representative of the majority of people at this festival, and the number of people in this movement are growing, this is clearly an unreached people group. Or perhaps you could classify them as a mix of lost sheep (former Christians who have moved over to this group) and people who have been deliberately raised completely outside of the cultural reach of Christianity in the Western world.

At the event, I was introduced to transformational culture – a culture shift that has made its way into many music festivals, and spawned the Transformational Events Movement. My companion at the event, Carl Teichrib, had been researching transformational culture for 2 decades, and so this gave me an incredibly high quality introduction to understanding what this movement is, and how it is affecting society and the church (as well as its impact on global missions). At that time, it became clear that in order to fully understand this culture movement and its impact, I was going to have to attend the Burning Man festival, because Burning Man is the mother ship of all of the transformational events.

Our stance and various reactions

Before I go any further in this explanation, I will pause here to make sure one thing is clear. We are not embracing or endorsing the transformational culture movement. It exists, and so we try and understand it, as ambassadors for Christ in a foreign land. I say this because we have had some very interesting reactions to our exploration of this area of Western culture. Here are some actual reactions we have faced.

• First reaction: “Oh I wish I could go to Burning Man! How was it? It must have been life changing!”
  • This came from someone I know who is deeply unsatisfied with life, and is looking to something, anything, to find an answer to that deep level of pain that he/she is dealing with. For him/her, that means anything besides Christ, of course, so the idea of going to Burning Man is very appealing.

• Second reaction: “I can’t believe they are going to Burning Man! How can they possibly do that as Christians, as missionaries? And they are asking for support for this?!?”
  • This came from some fellow missionaries speaking about us to others out of a lack of understanding. These are people who spent years in service looking to reach the heathen overseas with the message of the Gospel before returning home, which is amazing in and of itself, and I greatly admire their work. However, the irony is that somehow they have completely failed to recognize the rising number of heathen that are right in their own back yard. This is a growing problem in the Christian community.

Because we are ambassadors for Christ, we believe God wants us to understand this culture, so that we can minister inside of it, the same as we would in any other missional context. So we study it, we treat the people in it with respect, and we choose to represent Christ to them, without joining in on their practices.

Burning Man and its connection to a broader worldview shift taking place

• Burning Man is more than just a music festival or a bunch of hippies tripped out on drugs having a wild party in the desert. It is a place where leading thinkers in tech, the arts, economics, and philosophy come together to drop everything, let their inhibitions go, and let their ideas flow. It is precisely the idea of letting go and embracing radical free expression that produces the expansion of ideas, which ultimately work their way into all of the societies that we live in.
• There is a philosophical belief that underpins the movement, which incorporates the idea that all of mankind needs to put aside their differences, especially in religion, and come together as one. This is necessary (they believe) in order to save humanity. God is only part of this belief in so much as the idea that God and creation are one and the same thing (i.e. “one-ism” as defined by Dr. Peter Jones).
• The culture of transformational festivals is a sub-culture of Western society, but it also reaches into multiple other societies, such as Asia, Islamic societies, Jewish societies, and the Global South. We met people from all over the world at the event.
• The impact of transformational culture extends well beyond the attendees of the festival, and has expanded its reach through technology. As the world expands towards every human being owning a smartphone, the re-enchantment worldview will continue to impact the way people everywhere think and feel in an expanding manner. Most people are completely unaware that they have been influenced by it.
• In the same way, most people in the church are completely unaware of how huge this cultural movement is, how deeply entrenched the re-enchantment worldview has already become, and how much it is already impacting the church. While our hope is to go into their culture and draw people in their movement into a relationship with Christ, they are already reaching into our culture and drawing many more people out of our churches into their movement. So we are very much behind the curve in what is happening.
• If you have doubts about this, just think of how many people you know or have heard of that have left the church in order to pursue a non-binary or transgender identity and lifestyle.
• I noticed this in a particular way when I visited one of the indigenous churches last year in the Philippines, and observed a whole generation of indigenous children speaking English and watching YouTube on smartphones.

The Palawano Church in the Philippines

• The impact is not just felt in our societies; it affects international relations as well. We have observed geopolitics being played out on the playa at Burning Man (e.g. Ukrainian art highlighting Russian war atrocities, anti-Israel activity, etc.).
• When you hear diplomats and dignitaries making speeches that use phrases like “this is our only planet,” “we are only one human race,” “this is the only place we have to live until we go into space,” or similar talk, this is re-enchantment language wrapped in evolutionary culture. This indicates the degree to which the new worldview is becoming entrenched across multiple layers of society, even reaching into leadership structures. (This is also where my study of the cultural shift intersected with my study of geopolitics and international relations for my work in ministry security.)
• Many people that attend the events are searching for spirituality, a connection. Most don’t realize that what they are searching for can only be found through Christ. So they go to Burning Man (or one of the other satellite events), get inundated with massive sensory overload for 9 days, and come away believing that they have found the answer to life’s deepest longings. Of course, they don’t really find the answer, but they convince themselves that they do.
• In essence, the consistent attendees at the transformational festivals have effectively become an unreached people group. We believe that a big part of our purpose now is to reach out to this unreached people group with the message of true hope that can only be found in Christ.

Ministering at transformational events, like Burning Man

I say that it is a “part” of our purpose, because there is more. Understanding the cultural trends, and the impact of this major movement, is incredibly important to continuing the work of the Great Commission (Matthew 28). When we left to go to the mission field 20 years ago, we were looking at how to spread the gospel abroad. Now, after 2 decades, we are seeing how another worldview, almost like another religion, has been infiltrating the very societies that we were sent from. And our observation is that this infiltration has made huge gains on the church while many of us have been asleep in the light.

Yet going to their events and understanding their culture is making a difference. At Burning Man this year, we had amazing opportunities to share the Gospel and to share life with people. We had tons of incredible conversations. We even held our own workshop one day, which we called “Stories of the Supernatural” (it was mostly about some crazy things we experienced in our time in the Philippines). Through our discussion at the workshop, the conversation led to a discussion on the biblical view of the supernatural, to the point that it led to a discussion of God, Christ, the ministry of God bringing life to the world, and what His purpose is for all of us. The attendees really wanted to know about God and about Christ. It was amazing! We weren’t handing out gospel tracts or street preaching. We were just having conversations with people, which ultimately pointed them to Christ. We were able to speak the life that only Jesus can offer to them, and they were so appreciative! This was the highlight of our trip this year.

There were also many other things that happened at Burning Man this year. You may have read some of the headlines – storms wrecking some of the camps, the first live birth, and the first murder. In addition, at the seminars we heard things about the way the world is changing that would make your head spin. Some in good ways, some in not so good ways. Burning Man is the cutting edge event where you can go to understand the direction the world is moving. There is so much going on it is mind boggling.

The big change – stepping out in faith

So with all of our study of the transformational culture movement, it became apparent that we had to make a choice. I could stay with the mission and do security consulting only for them, having built up a support base for many years and having become proficient in my field. This would be the comfortable path, and the least disruptive to our lives. Because I know this area, I could effectively sit back, watch the world change from my computer in my office, submit reports, and give advice. I would not really have to be challenged, although it is not like it would be a cake walk. Watching the world deteriorate is never pleasant. But my point is, this would be the easy path for me, because it is an area I already know.

Alternatively, we could step out in faith and I could expand our work to include further research into this new field of tracking transformational culture, while still continuing to consult in the area of ministry security where it is applicable and intersects with my research. This would entail offering consulting for multiple churches and mission organizations as a ministry, not for consulting fees, but instead trusting that God will take care of our needs in order for us to do what He is asking us to do. The choice to do this comes at a time when the world is facing tremendous uncertainty, our country is at a crossroads, there are significant signs of economic disruption all around us, and transformational changes are happening world-wide. Considering all these things, with much prayer (and fasting), it became clear that in order to do this, we needed to step out in faith.

This is a new path for us, but we have not had any doubts as we have stepped out in faith. The response we have received from many of you whom we have already talked with has been enormously positive, confirming that we are on the right path.

Questions & Answers

So here are some questions I have anticipated that will help with understanding what we are doing:

• Answer – Yes! We believe the call to be missionaries is something that came from God, not from a mission agency. Ethnos360, formerly called New Tribes Mission, was just the vehicle that God had us on to fulfill the first part of His calling in our lives to missionary service.

• Answer – We have formed a new non-profit organization, called Orbis-Sentry. We have registered with the State of Texas as a non-profit, and have applied to the IRS for official 501(c)(3) tax exempt status.

• Answer – Not really. Even though we have formed our own organization, we are also forming an accountability and advisory board that will ensure we stay true to our mission and vision, and that we do not simply pursue our own independent ideas. Our ministry is in service to the Body of Christ as defined in our by-laws and foundational documents, and the board will hold us accountable to serving in this capacity.

• Answer – Our ministry partners are Carl and Leanne Teichrib out of Manitoba, Canada. Carl is a researcher, author, and lecturer. He has been studying the transformational culture movement for more than 2 decades now, and has written a book on his findings which you can find here. Also, you can see some of his interviews on YouTube here. He is the one who led our team to Burning Man, and we are also good friends.

• Answer – This is easy! You can find our financial support information at the following link:
• Orbis-Sentry ministry support page
• I will also repeat the information on that page at the bottom of this update.

• Answer – Yes! We are still supported missionaries, and will be looking to ramp up support for our personal ministries and for the new organization. While God has provided what is necessary to get this new ministry started, over the long term we will still need financial support to keep the work going. We are confident that God will provide whatever is necessary. See the link just above for information on how to support our new ministry.

• Answer – We do not know yet. We have been told to expect that we will lose some support because we are transitioning to a new organization – Orbis Sentry. So it is likely that we will need to make a concerted effort over the next few months to raise our support level back to something that is sustainable in the long term. However, we don’t know that for certain, and many of our supporters have already told us they will switch over. We are confident that God will provide for whatever is needed to continue His work.

• Answer – Yes! Our connection with friends and churches in the Philippines remains intact, and I hope to be able to travel there some time in 2026 and share what we are doing with the churches that we have a relationship with, and encourage them by helping them to understand the changing world that we are experiencing. I am also looking at possibly some other areas of international travel, which we will share with you all at the appropriate time.

• Answer – One of the biggest things we are planning to do is set up training workshops, seminars, conferences, and church visits. Our goal is to equip the church in understanding 3 things –
• The past – The foundations of where society is on the worldview spectrum and how we got here.
• The present – The current set of worldviews in today’s global arena and what is driving them.
• The future – How the shifting worldviews are likely to affect the spectrum of beliefs in society moving forward, and how we as the church can respond in a culturally appropriate way, without compromise, and without fear.
• For more information on setting up some kind of workshop or conference, please contact us.

• Answer – Here is a list of links for available resources:
• Our website, Orbis-Sentry.org, can be found here, and the resource pages for our website can be found here. (Note that you will have to sign up as a member/registered user, but there is no charge for becoming a member. We do this to prevent bots from signing up.)
• My Substack page is here, where I write articles on many relevant topics in international relations, missions, world evangelism, transformational events, and global economics.
• My podcast is here, connected to my Substack page, where I post interviews that I have participated in, as well as future interviews that I am planning. Alternatively, you can copy the following rss link into your favorite podcast app to listen: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/2054851.rss
• Carl’s Substack page is here, where he writes about socio-cultural changes, transformational events, global governance initiatives, and many other topics. It is a tremendous amount of very high quality information.
• Carl was editor of Forcing Change magazine for 9 years, and you can sign up here to be able to access the archives and find tremendous amounts of material for research.
• Our YouTube channel is here, where I have put together some playlists of past interviews and videos we have put out. We also plan to post recordings of some of our future teaching and video conferences here.
• You can follow Orbis Sentry on Facebook, X, or LinkedIn.

• Answer – There are lots of ways to help! Prayer for us as we get it started is exceedingly important. Pray with confidence!
• Also, we would love to come speak at your church, home bible study, or simply at an informal group gathering at someone’s home. Please contact us so that we can set up a time to come and share!
• Furthermore, you can help by subscribing to our social media connections listed above, listening to our podcast episodes, and sharing information about us and what we are doing with others… these are all important things that help spread the message!

So, that is the long version of what we are doing! If any of you would like to speak to us personally on any of these topics, please do not hesitate to contact us. Also, we will be making an effort to contact many of you all directly as we move forward with this transition. This has been an amazing (and exhausting!) journey so far, and it is only just beginning!

Blessings to you all in Christ,

George for both of us
George & Ginny
Taking the message of Christ to the lost
Equipping the Saints for the work of God in this burgeoning new Age of Re-enchantment

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Financial Support Information

The following is a description of how to support our ministry so that you may have a clear idea of how we are conducting our operations:

Note: Orbis Sentry Inc. is a registered non-profit organization with pending 501(c)(3) status. Upon IRS approval, your contribution will be tax-deductible. All donors will receive a receipt.

To give by check, simply send a check to the following address:

Orbis Sentry

PO Box 392

Belton, TX 76513

Make checks out to “Orbis Sentry” and state on the memo field whether your donation is for Carl’s ministry, George’s ministry, or the general fund.

To give by credit card, debit card, venmo, ACH, or to setup recurring donations, click on one of the following links:

For George & Ginny’s ministry, click here.

For Carl and Leanne’s ministry, click here.

For giving to the General Fund of Orbis Sentry, click here.

Orbis Sentry · PO Box 392, Belton TX 76513

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