---
description: Explore Kendall Cobb's inspiring missionary journey and his family's legacy of faith in spreading the gospel through innovative ministries in Thailand.
title: "#118: A Legacy of Faith: Kendall Cobb on His Family's Lifelong Missionary Journey"
image: https://withinreachglobal.org/hubfs/MP%20THUMBNAILS.jpg
---

[Skip to content](https://withinreachglobal.org/missions-pulse/118kendallcobb#main-content)

[![WRG-Logo-white](https://withinreachglobal.org/hubfs/WRG-Logo-white.png) ![WRG-Logo-black](https://withinreachglobal.org/hubfs/WRG-Logo-black.png)](https://withinreachglobal.org/)

- [Why the unreached](https://withinreachglobal.org/why-the-unreached)
- Get involved
  
  ##### [Mission trips Bring your team to Thailand for 7-10 days on the front lines.](https://withinreachglobal.org/trips)
  
  ##### [Internship The Disciple's Journey — an experience in Chiang Mai that changes everything.](https://withinreachglobal.org/internship)
  
  ##### [Long-term Find the long-term role in Southeast Asia that fits your calling.](https://withinreachglobal.org/long-term)
  
  ##### [Apply to serve Ready to go? Start your application for any program.](https://withinreachglobal.org/go)
- [About](https://withinreachglobal.org/about)
- Resources
  
  ##### [Field stories Real stories of the gospel reaching the unreached.](https://withinreachglobal.org/field-stories)
  
  ##### [Missions Pulse podcast Conversations from the front lines of missions, hosted by David Joannes.](https://withinreachglobal.org/missions-pulse)
  
  ##### [Books Founder David Joannes on missions, discipleship, and the unreached.](https://withinreachglobal.org/books)
- [Contact](https://withinreachglobal.org/contact)
- <https://www.instagram.com/withinreachglobal> <https://www.tiktok.com/@withinreachglobal> <https://www.youtube.com/@withinreachglobalorg> <https://www.facebook.com/withinreachglobal>
- [Donate](https://withinreachglobal.org/donate)

[![WRG-Logo-black](https://withinreachglobal.org/hubfs/WRG-Logo-black.png)](https://withinreachglobal.org/)

×

[Why the unreached](https://withinreachglobal.org/why-the-unreached)

Get involved

[Mission trips](https://withinreachglobal.org/trips)[Internship](https://withinreachglobal.org/internship)[Long-term](https://withinreachglobal.org/long-term)[Apply to serve](https://withinreachglobal.org/go)

[About](https://withinreachglobal.org/about)

Resources

[Field stories](https://withinreachglobal.org/field-stories)[Missions Pulse podcast](https://withinreachglobal.org/missions-pulse)[Books](https://withinreachglobal.org/books)

[Contact](https://withinreachglobal.org/contact) 

[Donate](https://withinreachglobal.org/donate)

<https://www.instagram.com/withinreachglobal> <https://www.tiktok.com/@withinreachglobal> <https://www.youtube.com/@withinreachglobalorg> <https://www.facebook.com/withinreachglobal>

[Home](https://withinreachglobal.org/) / [Missions Pulse](https://withinreachglobal.org/missions-pulse)

# #118: A Legacy of Faith: Kendall Cobb on His Family's Lifelong Missionary Journey

Hosted by **David Joannes** · Oct 1, 2026, 9:36:18 AM

Listen & subscribe [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@withinreachglobalorg) [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/missions-pulse/id1820707547) [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/0YtdYS10W5oTxEelu7wqPN)

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nNqpwh8vE2s?si=mn0uf9aDMWMnTv1d" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen title="YouTube video player" style="position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: 0;"></iframe>

On this episode of Missions Pulse, David Joannes sits down with his longtime friend Kendall Cobb, a second-generation missionary whose story begins on a freighter ship in 1966 and is still unfolding today in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

📖 If this conversation stirs something in you, you can pray for, partner with, or give toward the work of Bible Way and ActsCo Printing as they move into this next season. [Learn more here.](https://www.biblewayinc.org)

Kendall is the son of the late Alvin Cobb and has spent his whole life in missions. He serves as Bible Way Asia Director and as Co-Founder & Director of ActsCo Printing, a Christian printing ministry in Thailand that has served more than 8,000 clients since opening its doors in 1999.

Kendall was four years old when his family boarded the SS Robin Goodfellow in New York City, bound for Madagascar. The voyage took 52 days, 17 of them without sight of land, and it was full of the kind of stories only a missionary family collects: brothers dangling over the ship's railing, a crocodile bite, a locked cabin door, and a little boy listening to gospel stories on LP while sitting in a pulled-out dresser drawer. "It just became a part of life," Kendall says. "I never knew any different." That, David suggests, is how missions becomes a family's DNA rather than a short season.

From Madagascar, the story moves like chapters of a book you can't put down. After a revolution, Alvin prayed that God would open a door to West Germany. The next day a letter arrived inviting him to take over a pastorate. He led a church on a U.S. military base, where eight people grew to a few hundred, and, Kendall says, hardly a Sunday passed without someone accepting Christ. Soldiers who came to faith there eventually planted sixty churches and carried it home. Alvin also rented a 50-room castle for $400 a month and turned it into a Bible training center the family called the Lighthouse.

Then came Hong Kong, and the work of getting Bibles into a China that had barely reopened. Kendall is quick to say his dad never thought of it as smuggling. You put Bibles in bags, he explains, and if they get caught, great, and if not, they get through. Over nine years, Kendall estimates, about 7,000 people came through the ministry, and he distributed roughly 700 tons of Bibles. He tells of a hotel storage room where his father was handed a receipt for one bag and walked out with all of them, of Bibles printed on the "third shift" at state presses, and of a prison warden who printed Bibles on paper so thin you needed black cardboard behind the page to read it. David, who joined the ministry in Hong Kong in 1997, remembers Alvin laughing on a hotel rooftop as he pointed a laser light at people who had never seen one.

What makes the conversation land isn't just the history, though. It's the faith underneath it. Alvin was never hindered by finances. When he believed the Lord had told him to do something, he moved; when it was time to leave the castle, he handed it over with a handshake. That same faith carried Kendall to Thailand in 1998 with no specific plan. He started by duplicating cassettes and Jesus film VHS tapes, and then a quote to print 1.2 million gospel booklets came back too high. His father decided they'd just buy the equipment and print it themselves. That was the seed of ActsCo Printing, which Kendall says became debt-free in 2004 and has never missed a salary. ActsCo Bookhouse, in partnership with Love Packages, has since received more than 150 twenty-foot containers of literature. "Paper between the fingers, the printed word of God will never disappear," he says, especially where the internet can't reach.

Underneath all of it is a quieter point that gives the whole episode its shape: this isn't about a family's legacy; it's about what God sets in motion. Alvin passed away just months before this recording, five months shy of 95, and Kendall's mother is 96 and still living in Thailand. Alvin left behind five acres of debt-free land with an unfinished building, a place that waited for twenty years. The family now believes it's time to develop it into a center for translating, printing, and multiplying the gospel in print and digital form, with a goal of getting a newly translated language into people's hands within a week or two. They call it the 2050 vision. Kendall admits it's "way beyond us," and he repeats his father's favorite line: "We've done so much with so little for so long, we now attempt the impossible with nothing." Then he adds, "That nothing is Jesus."

📖 If this conversation stirs something in you, you can pray for, partner with, or give toward the work of Bible Way and ActsCo Printing as they move into this next season. [Learn more here.](https://www.biblewayinc.org)

This episode reminds us that a legacy isn't something you leave behind so much as something you set in motion and that the invitation is still open. Kendall's charge is simple: don't say yes to God unless you're willing to follow, and never say "send Joe." It's still the greatest adventure there is.

<iframe title="#118: A Legacy of Faith: Kendall Cobb on His Family's Lifelong Missionary Journey" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 100%; height: 100%; border-width: medium; border-style: none; border-color: currentcolor; border-image: none;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=2jjc6-1b73ef4-pb&amp;from=pb6admin&amp;share=1&amp;download=1&amp;rtl=0&amp;fonts=Arial&amp;skin=1b1b1b&amp;font-color=auto&amp;logo_link=podcast_page&amp;btn-skin=c73a3a" loading="lazy"></iframe>

 

Share this episode

<https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwithinreachglobal.org%2Fmissions-pulse%2F118kendallcobb> <https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwithinreachglobal.org%2Fmissions-pulse%2F118kendallcobb&text=%3Cspan+id%3D%22hs_cos_wrapper_name%22+class%3D%22hs_cos_wrapper+hs_cos_wrapper_meta_field+hs_cos_wrapper_type_text%22+style%3D%22%22+data-hs-cos-general-type%3D%22meta_field%22+data-hs-cos-type%3D%22text%22+%3E%23118%3A+A+Legacy+of+Faith%3A+Kendall+Cobb+on+His+Family%27s+Lifelong+Missionary+Journey%3C%2Fspan%3E> [mailto:?subject=%3Cspan+id%3D%22hs_cos_wrapper_name%22+class%3D%22hs_cos_wrapper+hs_cos_wrapper_meta_field+hs_cos_wrapper_type_text%22+style%3D%22%22+data-hs-cos-general-type%3D%22meta_field%22+data-hs-cos-type%3D%22text%22+%3E%23118%3A+A+Legacy+of+Faith%3A+Kendall+Cobb+on+His+Family%27s+Lifelong+Missionary+Journey%3C%2Fspan%3E&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwithinreachglobal.org%2Fmissions-pulse%2F118kendallcobb](mailto:?subject=%3Cspan+id%3D%22hs_cos_wrapper_name%22+class%3D%22hs_cos_wrapper+hs_cos_wrapper_meta_field+hs_cos_wrapper_type_text%22+style%3D%22%22+data-hs-cos-general-type%3D%22meta_field%22+data-hs-cos-type%3D%22text%22+%3E%23118%3A+A+Legacy+of+Faith%3A+Kendall+Cobb+on+His+Family%27s+Lifelong+Missionary+Journey%3C%2Fspan%3E&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwithinreachglobal.org%2Fmissions-pulse%2F118kendallcobb)

More episodes

## Keep listening

[![](https://withinreachglobal.org/hubfs/MP%20THUMBNAILS.jpg)](https://withinreachglobal.org/missions-pulse/118kendallcobb)

### [#118: A Legacy of Faith: Kendall Cobb on His Family's Lifelong Missionary Journey](https://withinreachglobal.org/missions-pulse/118kendallcobb)

Oct 1, 2026, 9:36:18 AM

[![](https://withinreachglobal.org/hubfs/MP%20THUMBNAILS%20(1).png)](https://withinreachglobal.org/missions-pulse/117shanepruittshellymelia)

### [#117: Reaching Generation Alpha: Shane Pruitt & Shelly Melia on Real Faith in a Digital World](https://withinreachglobal.org/missions-pulse/117shanepruittshellymelia)

Sep 15, 2026, 7:34:12 AM

[![](https://withinreachglobal.org/hubfs/MP%20THUMBNAILS%20(2).png)](https://withinreachglobal.org/missions-pulse/116gregstier)

### [#116: Engage, Not Enrage: Greg Stier on the Art and Heart of Sharing the Gospel](https://withinreachglobal.org/missions-pulse/116gregstier)

Sep 1, 2026, 3:06:20 AM

[![](https://withinreachglobal.org/hubfs/9-1.jpg)](https://withinreachglobal.org/missions-pulse/115davidgarrison)

### [#115: Church Planting Movements and the Unreached World: A Conversation with David Garrison](https://withinreachglobal.org/missions-pulse/115davidgarrison)

Aug 17, 2026, 10:19:16 AM

## Reach the unreached with us.

[Donate](https://withinreachglobal.org/donate) [Apply](https://withinreachglobal.org/go)

![Within Reach Global](https://withinreachglobal.org/hubfs/raw_assets/public/within-reach-global-theme/images/defaults/logo-white.png)

![](https://withinreachglobal.org/hubfs/local%20missionaries%203.jpeg) ![](https://withinreachglobal.org/hubfs/general%2014.jpg) ![](https://withinreachglobal.org/hubfs/raw_assets/public/within-reach-global-theme/images/defaults/card-trips.jpg)

Reaching unreached people groups in the 10/40 Window with the gospel of Jesus Christ since 1997.

<https://www.facebook.com/withinreachglobal> <https://www.instagram.com/withinreachglobal> <https://www.youtube.com/@withinreachglobalorg> <https://twitter.com/within_reach> <https://www.tiktok.com/@withinreachglobal>

#### About

- [Our story](https://withinreachglobal.org/about#our-story)
- [Vision and mission](https://withinreachglobal.org/about#vision-mission)
- [Statement of faith](https://withinreachglobal.org/about#statement-of-faith)
- [Our founders](https://withinreachglobal.org/founders)
- [Staff](https://withinreachglobal.org/staff)
- [Contact](https://withinreachglobal.org/contact)

#### Get involved

- [Mission trips](https://withinreachglobal.org/mission-trips)
- [Internship](https://withinreachglobal.org/internship)
- [Long-term](https://withinreachglobal.org/long-term)
- [Donate](https://withinreachglobal.org/donate)
- [Field stories](https://withinreachglobal.org/field-stories)
- [Missions Pulse podcast](https://withinreachglobal.org/missions-pulse)
- [Books](https://withinreachglobal.org/books)

#### Get our newsletter

Stories and updates from the front lines of missions, straight to your inbox.

© 2026 Within Reach Global, Inc. | P.O. Box 1591, Prescott, AZ 86302

501(c)(3) Public Charity | EIN: 26-3499455

×

<iframe data-src="https://donorbox.org/embed/wrgdonate?" name="donorbox" allowpaymentrequest="allowpaymentrequest" seamless frameborder="0" scrolling="no" height="900px" width="100%" style="width: 100%; max-height: none !important;" allow="payment" title="Donate to Within Reach Global"></iframe>

×

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "David Joannes",
    "url" : "https://withinreachglobal.org/missions-pulse/author/admin_david"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2026-10-01T14:01:44.693Z",
  "datePublished" : "2026-10-01T13:36:18.000Z",
  "headline" : "#118: A Legacy of Faith: Kendall Cobb on His Family's Lifelong Missionary Journey",
  "image" : [ "https://withinreachglobal.org/hubfs/MP%20THUMBNAILS.jpg" ],
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://withinreachglobal.org/missions-pulse/118kendallcobb",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://withinreachglobal.org/hubfs/WRG-horizontal-logo.png"
    }
  }
}
```

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "PodcastEpisode",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "David Joannes"
  },
  "datePublished" : "2026-10-01 13:36:18",
  "description" : "Explore Kendall Cobb&#39;s inspiring missionary journey and his family&#39;s legacy of faith in spreading the gospel through innovative ministries in Thailand.",
  "image" : "https://245175322.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na2.net/hubfs/245175322/MP%20THUMBNAILS.jpg",
  "name" : "&lt;span id=&quot;hs_cos_wrapper_name&quot; class=&quot;hs_cos_wrapper hs_cos_wrapper_meta_field hs_cos_wrapper_type_text&quot; style=&quot;&quot; data-hs-cos-general-type=&quot;meta_field&quot; data-hs-cos-type=&quot;text&quot; &gt;#118: A Legacy of Faith: Kendall Cobb on His Family&#39;s Lifelong Missionary Journey&lt;/span&gt;",
  "partOfSeries" : {
    "@type" : "PodcastSeries",
    "name" : "Missions Pulse"
  },
  "url" : "https://withinreachglobal.org/missions-pulse/118kendallcobb"
}
```