In This Issue: What are people searching for?
Month: July 2014
VIDEO: What Are People Searching For?
Source: GMI
Since its launch in September 2013, GMI’s Missiographics service has produced more than 20 infographics on global mission topics. Now they’re taking the next step and making infographic videos. A video version of their most popular missiographic to date explores what people in different parts of the world are searching for in their online Bible searches and how that might effect our message and ministry.
» Watch the video and explore GMI’s library of infographics. We encourage you to subscribe to the Missiographics newsletter.
» Readers looking for mission data and analysis might also want to subscribe to Justin Long’s newsletter, The Long View.
SERVICE: Connecting Churches with a World in Need
Source: Hungry for Life
Need some help getting missions off the ground in your church? Hungry for Life is basically an outsourced missions department. They help North American churches and organizations make connections with partners on the field, manage short-term team logistics, and facilitate projects focused on justice and compassion.
» To learn more, watch this two-minute video.
BOOK: Beyond Ourselves
Source: West Bow Press
Beyond Ourselves: How Can the Unreached Be Reached, by Daryl Kroeker. West Bow Press, 2014. 156 pages.
With so many still beyond reach of the gospel, many ask, “How can we reach them? What do we need to do?” We need to look beyond ourselves, says Daryl Kroeker. “We need to take ourselves out of the center of the equation and seek instead the best methods and means to see that all unreached people will clearly hear the gospel.”
Each chapter questions and critiques common practices that are more centered on what is best for us than what is needed to reach the unreached, then suggests ways to move forward.
» Buy the Kindle edition for US$3.99; other editions also available.
BOOKS: Three about God’s Work among Muslims
Sources: Various
Here are three books we’d like to commend to you. One’s just been revised and is on sale, another is being given away for free, and a third just came out on Kindle. Enjoy!
Encountering the World of Islam
The just-revised second edition of Encountering the World of Islam is available from Pioneers at the reduced price of US$19.99 for those who order by the end of August. The book includes articles from 80 authors and advocates a positive and biblical perspective on God’s heart for Muslims. Electronic editions will be available in a few months.
» Learn more or order your copy.
Miraculous Movements
City Team is giving away free copies of Jerry Trousdale’s encouraging book, Miraculous Movements, which describes how thousands of Muslims around the world are falling in love with Jesus. Available while supplies last; registration required.
» Request a free copy of Miraculous Movements.
The Wind in the House of Islam
David Garrison’s book A Wind in the House of Islam is now available in the Kindle format for US$9.99. This global survey of Muslim movements to Christ reflects extensive research and includes analysis of historical and cultural contexts.
WEBSITES: Meet Your Neighbors
Source: V3 Church Planting Movement
Want to find, meet, and welcome new neighbors in your community who not only don’t know Christ but also follow another of the world’s religions? These sites could help you organize a prayer walk or educational field trip, and perhaps make a friend with someone who may not know many Christians.
Islam
Salatomatic claims to be the world’s most comprehensive guide to mosques and Islamic schools. It lists the branch of Islam, the language of services, and often the ethnic background of constituents. The site is frequently updated. Another great site, Zabibah, lists halal restaurants and markets for Muslims by cities and zip codes.
Buddhism
Buddhanet helps identify not only where temples are located but also the Buddhist tradition to which that particular sacred space adheres. It lists Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana (Tibetan), and non-sectarian/mixed temples.
Hinduism
USATemples lists Hindu temples all around the United States. Another way to meet Hindus is at festivals. See this list of Hindu festival dates through 2015.
Jainism
Jaintemples list all of the Jain temples and centers in North America. Jainism is one of the world’s oldest religions. Jains are doctrinally vegetarian and often volunteer at animal rights organizations, which makes this an easy way to identify and meet them.
» See this list in context on the V3 site. See also their helpful article, Exegeting a Neighborhood within the City.
EVENTS: Conferences, Courses, Retreats, and More
Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar
August
August 3-9, ReBoot Re-entry Program (Calgary, AB, Canada). For returning missionary kids, ages 17-20, transitioning to life in Canada.
August 3-23, Manarah – Training in Outreach among Muslims (Dearborn, MI, USA). Intensive course on Islam and daily guided outreach with seasoned mentors from Christar.
August 4-8, Kairos Course (Temple City, CA, USA). Kairos is a nine-session, interactive course on world Christian mission. This one’s in Chinese!
August 4-10, MK/TCK Re-Entry Retreat (Gaston, SC, USA). Retreat designed for teens transitioning to college from missionary families.
August 8-17, Kairos Course (Savannah, GA, USA). Intensive version held on two weekends and one weeknight.
August 10-16, ReBoot Re-entry Program (Kitchener, ON, Canada). For returning missionary kids, ages 17-20, transitioning to life in Canada.
August 11-15, Kairos Course (Louisville, KY, USA). One-week intensive course.
August 15-16, Desire of the Nations Missions Conference (Copperas Cove, TX, USA). Hosted by Clear Creek Baptist Church.
August 19-20, Personal Support Raising Boot Camp (Schroon Lake, NY, USA).
August 21, Introduction to Policy Governance (online). Webinar from MissioNexus.
August 28, Realities in the World Today: The Global Context of Missions (online). Webinar from MissioNexus.
September
September 5-6, Missions Fest Pretoria (Pretoria, South Africa). Free, community-based conference in the Missions Fest tradition.
September 8 to December 7, Encountering the World of Islam course (online). This 12-week course is offered several times a year; “live” classes also beginning in several locations.
September 16-22, Traction Conference for Men (Interlaken, Switzerland). For men who serve in cross-cultural settings, hosted by Catalyst International.
September 17-18, Support Raising Bootcamp (Charlotte, NC, USA). Presented by Support Raising Solutions.
September 19-21, IBAM Impact Conference (Minneapolis, MN, USA). Take the next step in business as mission.
September 23-25, International Society for Frontier Missiology (Atlanta, GA, USA).
September 25-26, Mission Finance and Administration Conference (Atlanta, GA, USA). Provided by MissioNexus.
September 25-27, Mission Leaders Conference (Atlanta, GA, USA). Provided by MissioNexus.
September 26-29, Experiencing Partnering Workshop (Dallas, TX, USA). Develop a partnering approach to ministry. Provided by International Partnering Associates.
Missions Catalyst News Briefs
In This Issue: Stories of global engagement
- BURUNDI: Lawmakers Pass Bill to Curb Proliferation of Churches
- NORTH AFRICA: Ramadan Adds Extra Pressure for Christians
- ISRAEL: Messianic Jews, Arab Christians Gather Amid Violence
- IRAQ: New Prayer Movement among Kurdish Christians
- PAKISTAN: Proclaiming a Message of Hope
Dear Readers,
This edition seems to have a theme: engagement. State and church engagement, and on a global scale. As Missions Catalyst readers I am sure you are all engaged globally, but let me share some stuff about what others are doing.
The Institute for Global Engagement (IGE) is an evangelical but non-partisan, non-proselytizing, non-profit organization that “works at the critical intersection of religion and global affairs, building sustainable environments for religious freedom worldwide.”
This four-minute talk by the chairman of their board is inspiring! I was so impressed with the speaker I had to know more. Read J. Brady Anderson’s bio (Wycliffe). For more about the IGE, listen to this five-minute interview with the president.
Global engagement can be intentional or forced. Many of us learned from Perspectives on the World Christian Movement about voluntary or involuntary going or coming. Here is one church’s response to the immigrant “border children” now coming to the US.
Want to be more globally engaged with foreigners and refugees? Read this and pray this, along with the words of Ezekiel 22:29-30 (thanks for this insight, Neal!).
Pat
Pat Noble has been the “news sleuth” for Missions Catalyst since 2004. In addition to churning out the news, she is working to create a SWARM (Serving World A Regional Mobilizers) in Northern New York using the NorthernChristian.org website. You can connect with her at www.whatsoeverthings.com.
BURUNDI: Lawmakers Pass Bill to Curb Proliferation of Churches
Source: Christian Post, July 11, 2014
Citing a survey last year which found that there were some 557 practicing Christian denominations in the small Central African nation, Burundi’s lower house of parliament has passed a bill requiring churches to have at least 500 members and a building to stanch the “proliferation of churches” in that country.
Under the proposed law, foreign churches will need at least 1,000 followers before they can register as a legitimate church, according to the BBC.
Evangelical churches have been cropping up at a rapid pace in the predominantly Christian nation of nearly 9 million people since the end of a long, ethnic-based civil war in 2005 in which an estimated 300,000 people were killed.
The government, led by born-again Christian President Pierre Nkurunziza, believes that the church community is currently too haphazard, with just about anyone being able to start a church, and it has also been plagued by scandals as well. One recent scandal involved a pastor imploring barren women who wanted to conceive to sleep with him.
The BBC said the bill got unanimous support from the MPs in Burundi’s National Assembly and is likely to get the same reception in the Senate.
» Full story also reports some of the Christian push back against this legislation. See also Burundi Law to Limit Church Members (BBC).
» From another part of the world, readers might be interested in the registered Chinese church’s views of Christianity (IMB Asia Stories).
NORTH AFRICA: Ramadan Adds Extra Pressure for Christians
Source: World Watch Monitor, July 3, 2014
In about 50 countries across the world, some 1.6 billion Muslims have [been] fasting from sunrise to sunset for the 30 days of Ramadan. Much as it’s celebrated by those who choose to participate, it also brings a heightened pressure for non-Muslims if they do not agree that they should be forced to fast.
Often the pressure comes from social discrimination, but in a country such as Algeria or Morocco, where Islam is the state religion, breaking the Ramadan fast in public is punishable by a fine and imprisonment.
A majority of [Algeria’s] Christians are Kabyle Berber, and many object to being forced to fast at this time of year.
Last year, during Ramadan, there was a joint effort by the police in the same region to arrest public non-fasters. This sparked a wave of outrage among human rights activists, and in reaction, hundreds staged picnics in protest against ‘forced’ fasting.