September 2014 – Missions Catalyst

Missions Catalyst Resource Reviews

In This Issue: Tools for your toolbox

Dear readers,

First of all, thanks for reading! We’re grateful for your partnership in the gospel and the opportunity to hear from you and serve you.

This edition of Resource Reviews includes a few new tools for a mobilizer’s toolbox. Please let us know if you’ve come across others that readers should hear about. We have some more cool things we can’t wait to tell you about, but they’re not quite ready yet – next month, I hope!

Finally, we want to apologize for a mistake in our September 17 edition of Missions Catalyst Newsbriefs. Our item about ISIS included a link to a story about the conversion of the brother of an ISIS leader, a report which (as several readers pointed out) proved to be untrue. Sorry for passing it on!

blessings,

Marti Wade
publisher and managing editor

Monthly Resource Reviews are composed and compiled by Marti Wade, who has managed and published Missions Catalyst since 2004.

Based in Oregon, Marti is a writer, editor, and project manager serving with Pioneers on the Church Partnerships Team. She is the author of Through Her Eyes, a book about the lives of women serving cross-culturally in the Muslim world. She also speaks at conferences, Perspectives classes and similar events.

DOWNLOADS: Free Bible Studies and Coaching Tools

Source: Center for Mission Mobilization

The Center for Mission Mobilization has repackaged some of their materials, created related pieces, and made them all more accessible to a larger audience as free, versatile downloads. You can also purchase hard copies of the Bible studies if that works better for you.

Xplore is a seven-lesson small group study designed to help believers discover God’s overarching purpose throughout the Bible and history, learn about world religions and unreached people groups, and grow in World Christian practices. A set of one-page coaching conversation documents will guide you through one-on-one conversations that reinforce the same topics. Take a look at those; they include some great material and may be able to stand alone.

Go Mobilize is another seven-lesson small group study, designed to help World Christians grow into mobilizers and learn what it takes to start a mission movement among their friends, churches, and families. A set of coaching conversation documents is also available for this study.

The GOer Groups study, video-based with downloadable discussion questions and a leader’s guide, is designed for college students interested in serving internationally. It addresses major questions and barriers students encounter as they pursue cross-cultural ministry.

Finally, take a look at the NVision video series, a set of 15 videos, 5-7 minutes in length, designed to to help you point people who know and follow Jesus to entire groups of people that don’t. Use these to help believers discover God’s pursuit of worship all over the earth, as well as simple, practical ways to impact the nations for Christ.

» Learn more or download resources (registration required for some pieces).

APPLICATIONS: Bible in Hundreds of Languages

Source: Faith Comes By Hearing

Looking for good Bible apps not only for your own study but for your kids or to use evangelistically, even cross-culturally? What about Bibles for those who prefer listening over reading? You may find just what you want from the Bible.is family of applications from Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH).

The free Bible.is app now features 1,556 languages (including hundreds in audio versions and JESUS film video) and is available on the web and for both iOS and Android devices. The Bible.is app is capable of providing access to God’s Word to over two-thirds of the world’s population.

Then there’s the Deaf Bible app, which FCBH says is the most downloaded Deaf app in the world, with 10 new sign languages added this year.

The Bible.is KIDZ app, created in partnership with Child Evangelism Fellowship, is a new, free scripture app for children. It features illustrated Bible stories, audio, games, and other interactive activities. The story selection is somewhat limited, but they plan to keep adding.

» Visit the app page on the Bible.is website to learn more and follow links to download apps from the various platforms.

BOOKLET: Guide to Mobile Ministry

Source: Mobile Ministry Forum

Your Phone – God’s Glory is a hands-on guide meant to enable Christians anywhere to pull their phone out of their pocket and use it for the glory of God as a tool for evangelism and more.

This document provides a story-based introduction to mobile ministry as well as detailed tutorials that will enable anyone with an Android or iOS mobile device to get equipped and launch out into mobile ministry. A video series that goes along with this guide is under production, and a leader’s guide to assist trainers in presenting these materials and equipping short-termers, national believers, and missionaries is also planned.

» Learn more or download the PDF (3.2 Mb, 74 pages).

TRAINING TOOLS: Team Building Kit

Source: DELTA Ministries International

Looking for lessons and activities to help a short-term mission team get to know one another and learn how to work together? Check out the new Team Building Kit from DELTA Ministries. It includes complete instructions for ten helpful activities, along with all the supplies you’ll need and advice on what you can hope to accomplish with each activity or how it can be adapted. Could save you a lot of time figuring out what you need and how it will work best.

“After 35 years of preparing successful teams, DELTA Ministries International has learned that experiential activities are the most effective way to instill the basics of team dynamics: trust, communication, cooperation, spontaneity, and fun,” says the website. “Each activity can also be customized to accommodate a variety of learning styles.”

Take a look at their list of about two dozen skills mission teams need. Which ones are most important? What would you add? Are the teams you work with getting what they need?

» Learn more or purchase the kit for US$129 from DELTA.

» See also Mission Team Training: Where can I find good resources to use in training a team? (ShortTermMissions.com).

EVENTS: October Classes and Conferences

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

October 2, So Glad You Asked: Agencies Listening Together to Field Staff for Improved Retention and Practice (online). Missio Nexus webinar.

October 7 to November 17, Mobile Ministry Training Course (online). Six-week class. Learn how to use mobile technology for evangelism.

October 8-12, TENTmaking course (Fort Myers, FL, USA). Provided by Global Opportunities.

October 9, Millennials and Missions: Demystifying and Unleashing a Generation (online). Missio Nexus webinar.

October 10-11, Mission Fest Seattle (Edmonds, WA, USA). Free, annual, community-based mission festival for all ages.

October 16, Guidance for Deployment, Relocation and Evacuation Decisions (online). Missio Nexus webinar.

October 17-18, Support ConneXion (Beaverton, OR, USA). Be equipped to raise personal support for missions and ministry.

October 17-18, Bridges Seminar (Evansville, IN, USA). Building bridges to reach Muslims. Provided by Crescent Project.

October 18, Bridges Seminar (Lodi, CA, USA). Building bridges to reach Muslims. Provided by Crescent Project.

October 19-22, 23-26, Thrive Retreat (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania). For North American women serving cross-culturally.

October 20-24, Kairos Course (Louisville, KY, USA). One-week intensive course.

October 22, International Missions Experience without Crossing International Borders (online). Free webinar from Sixteen:Fifteen.

October 26-31, Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills Workshop (Portland, OR, USA). Similar workshops held worldwide; learn more.

October 28-29, Support Raising Bootcamp (Fayetteville, AR, USA). Presented by Support Raising Solutions.

October 30, Sudden Re-Entry: Preparing to Care for People Who Leave the Field Prematurely (online). Missio Nexus webinar.

October 30 to November 2, TENTmaking course (Gothenburg, Sweden). Provided by Tent Norway and Global Opportunities.

» View the complete calendar and/or submit an item.

Missions Catalyst News Briefs

In This Issue:

Dear readers,

This week we share more news about struggles over national identity, struggles that may have significant affect on Christians and on relationships between the people of different cultures and religions.

This week Scotland will vote on independence from the United Kingdom. The Kurds have postponed their referendum for independence to help forge a new Iraqi government. The Muslims of Mindanao have won a victory as the Philippine government has given them more autonomy. In Turkey, a government minister says Christianity is no longer a religion (able to offer peace and happiness) but simply another culture.

In a story titled Nigeria Declares Its Own Caliphate, Greg Musselman of Voice of the Martyrs Canada explores the dynamics that keep Muslim extremist groups fragmented and others that turn many Christians in extremist-dominated areas into amazing evangelists.

With so many tensions and opinions about sensitive matters, we are grateful to those who help set the record straight and expose misinformation. Hats off to INcontext Ministries for their Hoaxology page – a good place to look before passing on stories that sound too sensational.

Blessings,
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.

WORLD: How Is Islamic State Affecting Muslim Nations?

Source: Mission Network News, September 11, 2014

As Islamic State (IS) terrorists wreak havoc in Iraq and Syria, their actions are spurring a ripple effect.

“It’s moving across the globe,” says Bruce Allen of Forgotten Missionaries International (FMI).

FMI supports national church leaders in Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Each of these countries is now fighting Islamic State recruitment efforts. Allen says believers are fighting IS darkness with the light of Christ.

“The pastors and church planters and evangelists in these countries have a great window of opportunity,” he shares. “Especially as leaders of the Christian community in these places of darkness, we have to be people who are buoyed by confidence and who are motivated by hope.”

» Read full story, or listen to an interview with Allen.

SAUDI ARABIA: More than 20 Christians Arrested

Source: The Christian Post, September 15, 2014

[More than] 20 Christians were arrested for holding a prayer meeting at a home in Saudi Arabia, where Christian churches and worship are banned. The Christians, many of them women and children, are appealing to the United States for help.

According to a report on Fox News, the Christians were arrested at the home of an Indian national in Khafji, a city in east Saudi Arabia, by hard-line Islamists from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Their whereabouts is unknown.

Although the Saudi government has denied having any knowledge of the arrests, the Saudi Gazette reported that the arrests took place two Fridays ago.

“Members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia), who raided the house in the city’s Aziziyah neighborhood, arrested 27 people of various Asian nationalities, including women and children, and seized copies of the Bible and various musical instruments,” said the Gazette.

» Read full story. (Note, other reports say 28 people were arrested. We were not able to confirm if any have been released.)

» Have a heart to reach out to the people of Saudi Arabia? Check out the Saudi Advocacy Network.

CHINA: Canadian Missionaries Accused of Spying

Source: CBN News , August 8, 2014

Chinese authorities are accusing a Canadian missionary couple of spying. Kevin and Julie Garratt own a coffee shop in Dandong, a Chinese city near the North Korean border, which they opened in 2008. Peter’s Coffee House, named after their son, made a name for itself in the city for its menu and as a place where locals could practice their English. Originally from Vancouver, the Garratts worked as teachers in southern China since 1984 before moving to Dandong and opening the popular coffee shop.

On Monday, Chinese authorities accused them of espionage and stealing state secrets. The couple had been hosting church services in their home and taking food and aid across the border into North Korea, with government permission.

The investigation comes a week after Canada accused a China-sponsored hacker of infiltrating Canada’s National Research Council.

» Read full story. See also a related story from the Wall Street Journal. Readers, do any of you know if this couple has been released?