2015 Calendar of Events

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Independence Day Fireworks

Happy New Year!

As a service to readers, Missions Catalyst compiles and maintains an online calendar of mission-related events across the US and around the world. It includes a list of 2015 conferences, seminars, classes, retreats, and more.

Maybe you would like to attend some of these events or tell a friend about them. Or perhaps you are planning an event of your own and wonder what else might be going on those days. If you know about an event that would interest our readers and should be added to the calendar, let us know. We will post and send out updates as the year goes on.

» View the 2015 Calendar of Events.

blessings,

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Practical Mobilization

Missions-Catalyst-no-tagline_largeIn This Issue:

  1. Waiting for the Kingdom: A Brief Advent Meditation
  2. A Year of Practical Mobilization

About Shane Bennett

Shane has been loving Muslims and connecting people who love Jesus with Muslims for more than 20 years. He speaks like he writes – in a practical, humorous, and easy-to-relate-to way –  about God’s passion to bring all peoples into his kingdom.

» Contact him to speak to your people.

 

Waiting for the Kingdom: A Brief Advent Meditation

winter trees

By Shane Bennett

Life includes a whole lot of waiting. We wait for the first snow, and then we wait for spring. We wait for someone to reply to our email, respond to our text, answer our question, or return our gaze. We wait for the baby to be born, roll over, say a word, take a step, tie its shoes, go to school, learn to drive, graduate, get married, and give us grandkids so we can watch the whole agonizingly beautiful process all over again. We wait for the doctor’s report. We wait for that breath that will be our last.

We also wait for a progress report, report card, yellow card, yellow light, and for the people with 13 items in the ten-item checkout lane who are paying with a check. I don’t know about you, but I wait for stuff to arrive from Amazon and say, “OK, Bezos, where are the delivery drones you promised?” I wait for people to take their turn in Words with Friends, for Mumford and Sons to release another album, and for 99% Invisible to drop in my podcast queue.

Those of us who love Jesus wait for his return and for the fullness of his kingdom on earth. We wait for God to keep his “blessing all families” promise to Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 12:3 and to answer the prayer Jesus prayed in Matthew 6:10 that his Father’s will would be done and his kingdom come on Earth as it is in Heaven. We wait for the fulfillment of the promise of Matthew 24:14, where Jesus says the gospel of the kingdom will be preached among all peoples as a witness to all nations before the end comes.

Do you, like me, sometimes get tired of waiting for the kingdom? Even though Jesus launched his ministry by saying, “Repent, believe, for the kingdom of Heaven is here,” if you look around, you see lots of non-kingdom stuff going on. Sometimes I need look no farther than my own heart. Other effects are more distant, but no less gut-wrenching, as when kingdom workers in Kabul perish in the midst of their work and others in Aden are killed after months of captivity.

I hear Peter’s words in my head: “They will say, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation’” (2 Peter 3:3-4).

Can I say to you (while I’m saying it to me): Don’t give up waiting for his kingdom. Even as we look forward to celebrating the birth of Jesus, may God renew our faith and hope for the fullness of the kingdom which the babe was born to bring. Stay strong, the kingdom will come. God’s purposes will not be thwarted.

What to Do While We Wait

We have a couple of dogs, and we let them live in the house. That makes “going outside” just about the most amazing experience they can imagine. When someone opens a door, pretty much any door in the house, the dogs are instantly there. Since they’re not allowed to go out before the humans do, they’re given one of two commands: “Wait” means hang on until I get through the door, and then you can leap into your joy. “Stay,” on the other hand, means you don’t get to go outside this time. I imagine something like this goes through their little canine brains: “Oh man, we can’t go outside. Now all we can do is lie here and wait for him to come back. Our main challenge is to try to keep from eating out of the trash can.”

Our waiting is more like the first command: an anticipation of joy. In his book With Open Hands, Henri Nouwen describes the work we have while waiting:

“You are Christian only so long as you constantly pose critical questions to the society you live in, so long as you emphasize the need of conversion both for yourself and for the world, so long as you in no way let yourself become established in the situation of the world, so long as you stay unsatisfied with the status quo and keep saying that a new world is yet to come. You are Christian only when you believe you have a role to play in the realization of the new kingdom, and when you urge everyone you meet with holy unrest to make haste so that the promise might soon be fulfilled. So long as you live as a Christian you keep looking for a new order, a new structure, a new life.”

Wait well, my friends. Ask for the kingdom. Battle apathy and despair. Ardently follow your kingdom passion. Love your enemies.

Enjoy Christmas for all you’re worth. And from time to time, pause to gaze at the wee babe in the nativity scene and remind yourself, “My, but that boy is going to change the world.”

A Year of Practical Mobilization

Did you miss any of our 2014 Practical Mobilization articles? Check them out through the links below or browse all the Missions Catalyst archives.

January:

  • Three Models for Connecting with Like-minded People in the New Year
  • Subversive Mobilization: Help Tell the Story

February:

  • The Jonah Juxtaposition: Why People Gravitate towards God’s Global Purposes and Why They Run Away
  • Subversive Mobilization: Best Practices with Megachurches

March:

  • Ten Mistakes Mission-focused People Make (and Four Bonus Mistakes!)
  • Subversive Mobilization: Turning Short Term into Long Term

April:

  • Passing on Prayer: Practical Ideas on Praying for the World

May:

  • How to Look for a Spouse When It Looks Like You Have Few Options
  • Subversive Mobilization: Crowd-sourcing Urbana Workshop Topics

June:

  • 75 Ways to Put Your Money to Missional Use

July:

  • 21 Easy Ways to Introduce Your Friends to the Nations (and Five to Make Sure They Stay Away)

August:

  • A Dozen Ways You Can Summon and Release the Next Generation of Global Christians

September:

  • How to Be Sure You’ll Never Mobilize Your Pastor for Missions
  • Subversive Mobilization: Starting a Church Missions Team

October:

  • Hold Onto Hope
  • Subversive Mobilization: You Can Quit Anything on a Thursday

November:

  • Driven from Home, but Loved by Jesus: Reaching Refugees with the Abundant Love of Christ
  • Subversive Mom-bilization

Missions Catalyst News Briefs

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In This Issue: When the light of heaven breaks through the darkness

Greetings,

December 25 will be just another day in 14 of the world’s countries (those that do not recognize Christmas as a public holiday). See this map and try to name them (answers here). Spoiler alert: one of them is Bhutan. Recently we pointed you to two video stories about Bhutan, one about changes coming to the kingdom and one about Pema, the inspiring carver with cerebral palsy. This time I’d like to point you to a short video from some pastors in Bhutan speaking about religious rights (World Watch Monitor).

As we celebrate Jesus’ coming and bringing light to darkness, let us remember that anywhere the light of heaven breaks through the powers of darkness, it is like Christmas. Let us pray all year long, “Let earth receive her King!”

And remember this about the nature of light: the light that shines farthest shines brightest at home. The Billy Graham Center for Evangelism offers some good tools to help you speak to others about the Light of the world. See their videos on “Speaking the Story at Christmas.”

Merry Christmas,
Pat

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.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA: Bright Side of Anarchy Caused by Terror Groups

Source: Mission Network News, December 11, 2014

Terrorism in the Middle East and Africa: You’ve seen the headlines about advances, bombings, death, refugees and fear… but there’s actually good news emerging, too. Bruce Smith, President and CEO of Wycliffe Associates, says, “God is moving in a way, in this arena of the world that, to my knowledge, in my lifetime, is unprecedented.”

“Light stands out as a stark contrast in the darkness, and people are turning toward the light. In our arena, in terms of Bible translation, people are stepping up and saying, ‘We want to make sure that the light of God’s Word gets to the rest of our people and the rest of our communities.’”

He notes that some of these people are now members of national Bible translation teams, and targeted, themselves. “In many cases, they’re undergoing the same kinds of persecution that Paul experienced. And yet, they’re willing to make that sacrifice because they believe in the power of God’s Word.”

» Read full story. See also a story from Christian Aid about those turning to Christ in the face of atrocities.

COLOMBIA: Light Pushes Back Darkness

Source: Christian Broadcasting Network, December 10, 2014

For five decades, the South American country of Colombia has been a war with Marxist insurgents. Fighting can erupt at any time throughout scattered war zones, but that doesn’t stop an intrepid messenger of peace.

For years, missionary Russell Stendal has taken Christian literature to all sides in the conflict: guerrillas, paramilitary, and government soldiers. He has forged friendships with all sides and his radio stations and solar-powered receivers pave the way.

Stendal tries to reach areas where it’s not possible to have church buildings or scheduled church services, and where it’s not possible to do normal missionary or evangelistic work.

“And so we drop these radios on guerrilla camps, by parachute. We distribute them to soldiers; we distribute them to paramilitary forces,” Stendal told CBN News.

Former journalist Dario Silva has followed the conflict for years. He now pastors House on the Rock Church, one of Bogota’s larger churches, and sends aid to suffering families in rural Colombia. Silva said that hardship and persecution have not kept the gospel from reaching the remotest corners of Colombia.

In fact, he remembers a guerrilla leader complaining: “Those Christians are the worst problem we have. Because we arrive at a remote part of the country where there is no electricity, no running water, or roads, or transportation, or a parish house, or any political figure, and there’s always some nut with a black book under his arm preaching about Jesus!”

» Read full story and watch related video, with several encouraging perspectives and testimonies.

INDIA: Christians Injured in Pre-Christmas Attacks

Source: BosNewsLife, December 13, 2014

Persecution of minority Christians in India is escalating ahead of Christmas with attacks reported in several areas including in southern regions and the capital New Delhi.

In one of the latest known incidents Saturday, December 13, evangelical Christians were attacked and beaten by Hindu militants for singing Christmas carols in India’s southern city of Hyderabad, seriously injuring a pastor and four others, rights activists told BosNewsLife.

The Hindu mob was seen surrounding the vehicle, with several shouting that believers were trying to“forcefully convert people to Christianity” by singing Christmas carols.

» Read full story.

» Editor’s note: We’re also seeing reports about an effort to “repurpose” Christmas in India and a campaign to convert 6000 people to Hinduism on December 25. Let’s seek God for peace and wisdom for India’s religious communities.

CENTRAL ASIA: “Secret Church” with Coffee and Cakes

Source: World Watch Monitor, December 5, 2014

In a country where Christians often must meet secretly to avoid arrest, a group of women have taken the opposite approach: hiding in plain sight. They meet to pray and encourage each other in a coffee shop, in one of the largest cities in Central Asia.

“It is better for us to gather in a public place such as a coffee shop than to secretly meet in an apartment,” the wife of a secret church pastor said to Open Doors International, a charity that supports Christians whose faith puts them at risk.

“Neighbors of the place where we gather for a Sunday service may know who we are and they could call the police any minute, so we have decided to gather for a Bible study in public places. A coffee shop is ideal. We just need to follow a couple of small rules for our safety,” said the pastor’s wife. While praying together they keep their eyes open and Bibles in their bags at all times. After the women pray for each others’ needs, their meeting comes to an end.

» Read full story, which also describes government restrictions on Christians in three Central Asian countries. See also Two Azerbaijani Churches Ordered to Liquidate Themselves (Barnabas Aid).

AUSTRIA: God Raising Up the Roma

Source: OM News, November 12, 2014

God is raising up one of the most discriminated [against] groups in society to build his Kingdom in powerful ways. At the start of October, there was a significant Roma conference in Budapest, Hungary. It was the first of its kind, where over 150 leaders involved in ministry among Roma gathered for training, workshops, and networking.

The week-long consultation was held in English, Serbian, Albanian, Bulgarian, Hungarian, and Romanian. Sounds of Roma worship music and people singing praises to God filled the hall. There were incredible testimonies of how Jesus has changed individuals’ lives, freeing them from alcoholism, guiding through dreams, bringing healing, and releasing people from superstition.

“A highlight for me was to see what God is doing among the Roma,” said Simon [a member of OM] “There are huge challenges, but God is doing amazing things and miracles are happening. It was great to see the vision they have for mission.”

The name of the conference, Roma for the Nations, reflected their vision not only to share the gospel in their own communities, but also for God to use them to reach non-Roma. OM Founder George Verwer spoke, encouraging their involvement in missions.

» Read full story.