July 2016 – Missions Catalyst

Resource Reviews

In this issue:

Greetings!

Does it seem as if every edition of Missions Catalyst goes out to a world characterized by more trouble than it was the week before? That’s probably an illusion! This week, though, we’re highlighting resources designed to speak peace and help us find purpose in the midst of chaos, and remember the words of Jesus from John 14:27:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Blessings,
Marti

VIDEO: Peace in the Midst of Chaos

Source: Moving Works

Though the world is by plagued by suffering due to the realities of sin, death, and evil, God is calling us to seek refuge in the only place it can truly be found. Be Still, a short video based on Psalm 46 from Moving Works, can spark discovery of God’s presence and purposes. Could you use it in your church, class, or group? The related discussion guide may help.

Other new short, inspirational films from Moving Works which you might be able to use include The Mustard Seed, about the nature of the kingdom of God, and Death Where Is Your Sting?, the testimony of a Buddhist woman who came to Christ.

» Learn more about Moving Works and watch or download videos.

BOOK: Far from Cold

Source: Peregrini Press

Far from Cold, by Gillian Newham. Peregrini Press, 2016. 208 pages.

This memoir tells the story of Mark and Gillian’s journey from Britain to Mongolia where they were part of the amazing early decades of the modern Mongolian church. The first-generation Mongolian believers and churches the Newhams serve among frequently struggle greatly and sometimes fall away or fall apart before coming back and moving from early enthusiasm to seasoned faith and maturity. This book illustrates what many frontier church planters experience: a ministry that can be amazingly rewarding but also humbling and frustrating: two steps forward, then three steps back.

Note that this book comes from the new, small publishing group that brought us Forged on the Field, Letters from Global Mission Leaders. Expected to be first in “a series of books sharing authentic stories of honest Christian pilgrims,” this one is well worth reading, especially if you have a heart for this part of the world about which relatively little has been written.

» Learn more or purchase this book from Amazon (or elsewhere) for US$9.99 (Kindle edition) or US$16.99 (paperback).

ARTICLE: Take Time to Refresh Your Missions Team

Source: Catalyst Services

Serve in church leadership or on a church mission team or committee? Check out the latest edition of Postings. This one’s for you.

“Summer may be a busy time for your church missions leadership team. But summer is also a crucial time to refresh your team for the coming year. Here are 12 ideas to reenergize the hearts and minds of your leaders.”

» Read the article (a three-page PDF). See also other editions in the Postings gallery of archives.

BOOK: Seeking Refuge

Seeking Refuge Source: World Relief and Moody Publishers

Seeking Refuge: On the Shores of the Global Refugee Crisis, by Stephan Bauman et al. Moody Publishers, 2016, 224 pages.

“We can’t ignore the refugee crisis… but how do we even begin to respond to something so massive and complex?” Here three World Relief leaders draw from their own experience and extensive research to lay a foundation for understanding, answer key questions American Christians have, and describe ways to respond to refugees coming to America.

Though parts of this book feel like an infomercial for World Relief, the agency does offer a great deal of experience and many helpful resources to those with whom they partner. Visit their website for information about forming a “Good Neighbor Team” at your local church to welcome and walk alongside a newly arrived refugee family in your community, put together welcome kits, and more. You can also download a free Church Leader’s Tool Kit on the Syrian Refugee Crisis.

» Learn more or purchase this book from Amazon (or elsewhere) for US$7.90 (Kindle) or US$8.92 (paperback).

» Readers might also be interested in another short, practical book which covers some of the same ground, Jessica Udall’s Loving the Stranger: Welcoming Immigrants in the Name of Jesus.

EVENTS: Conferences, Courses, and More

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

August

August 1-4, CROSS & Crescent Conference (Louisville, KY, USA).

August 1-5, Kairos Course (Louisville, KY, USA). Other classes with varying durations and locations also listed on the Kairos website.

August 1 to December 4, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement Course (online). Provided by the Perspectives Study Program. (Another online class starts August 15.)

August 5-6, Without Borders (Hawthorne, NJ, USA). A conference for Christian women (on reaching out to Muslim women), provided by Crescent Project.

August 6-12, ReBoot Reentry Program (Calgary, AB, Canada). Annual event for returning missionary kids, ages 17-20, transitioning to life in Canada.

August 17, Releasing Radical Missions Generosity (online). Free webinar from Sixteen:Fifteen.

August 17-19, Crisis Management Seminar (Plano, TX, USA). Provided by Crisis Consulting International.

August 18, Trends and Needs in Mission Training (online). Webinar provided by Missio Nexus.

August 25, Home Office Morale Busters (online). Webinar provided by Missio Nexus.

August 27, Bridges Seminar (Oklahoma City, OK, USA). Building bridges to reach Muslims. Provided by Crescent Project.

August 29-30, Support Raising Bootcamp (Rogers, AR, USA). Provided by Support Raising Solutions.

September

September 1, Ministry Evaluation Toolbox (online). Webinar provided by Missio Nexus.

September 12 to December 11, Encountering the World of Islam (online). Course on embracing Muslims with the love of Christ.

September 14, Missionary Debriefing, an Essential and Valuable Gift (online). Free webinar from Sixteen:Fifteen.

September 14-15, Support Raising Bootcamp (Lombard, IL, USA). Provided by Support Raising Solutions.

September 14-20, Traction Conference for Men (Wilderswil, Switzerland). Provided by Catalyst International.

September 16-18, BAM Conference (Los Angeles, CA, USA). An event for anyone interested in business as mission; provided by the BAM Resource Team.

September 29 to October 1, Mission Leaders Conference (Louisville, KY, USA). Provided by Missio Nexus. Pre-conference workshops on various topics also planned.

September 30 to October 1, Entrepreneurial Readiness Workshop (Colorado Springs, CO, USA). Sponsored by The Navigators Global Enterprise Network.

» View the calendar or submit an addition or correction.

World News Briefs

In this issue: Sharing donuts in Japan’s city of peace

JAPAN: Of Donuts and Atom Bombs
NORTHEAST AFRICA: Community Garden for the Zaila
MALI: Kidnapped Swiss Missionary Still Alive
CAMEROON: 5,000 Kapsiki Speakers Brave Danger to Welcome Bible
IRAN: A Media Mogul Comes to Christ

Greetings,

I’ve seen sports, music, mountain climbing, and even surfing ministries that are designed to open doors for the gospel. Have we neglected the ministry of food? Nothing connects people like food!

Granted, it can also be divisive. Half of my household is now vegan, some of us have high blood sugar, and—shortly after buying 17 chickens—I discovered I have high cholesterol. So I’m a food pusher and a food cop, pushing eggs on my vegan kids while scolding my husband and mother-in-law for eating foods too high on the glycemic index.

My family’s spats are nothing compared to the war over hummus (see Give Chickpeas a Chance: Why Hummus Unites, and Divides, The Mideast), worse yet, the one over beef eating in North India. Perhaps our enemy knows the power of shared food?

I’m reading Tim Chester’s book A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, and Mission around the Table and watching Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Bread Making to mobilize myself and my tribe for welcoming international students. For additional inspiration and ideas about reaching international students, check out the latest edition of Mission Frontiers.

Whether you make your own healthy delights at home, help plant a community garden, or hang out with seekers in a donut shop in Japan (see stories below), may God bless your efforts to invite people to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” After all, he is the Bread of Life!

Pat

JAPAN: Of Donuts and Atom Bombs

Source: Pioneers USA, June 16, 2016

A ministry team is trying to introduce the people of Hiroshima to an everlasting source of peace, one donut at a time.

» Watch video.

NORTHEAST AFRICA: Community Garden for the Zaila

Source: Frontiers USA, June 16, 2016

In a remote corner of Northeast Africa live the Zaila people. They are living versions of the desert land where they reside—hard, austere, and seemingly impenetrable. For generations, these staunch Muslims have had no one reaching them with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

John and Rachel Miller had never heard of the Zaila when they first responded to God’s call to reach the nations for his glory.

But the Millers had heard of unengaged people groups—those who have no churches, no believers, and no messengers of the Kingdom trying to share the Gospel with them. They were convinced that even the most remote communities need a chance to hear about Jesus. John and Rachel decided they could be part of the solution and go to the Muslim world where the need for the Gospel is greatest.

As John and Rachel worked to recruit their team, they moved to a capital city in the region. They began looking for open doors to serve further afield where they could live among an unengaged people. At that time, the Zaila were one of Northeast Africa’s largest unengaged Muslim people groups. As they started meeting Zailas living in the capital, God stirred their hearts for this lost people.

Then they met a chief from Adaye, a remote Zaila village.

“Our people are hungry,” the chief told John, an agriculturalist, “and we don’t have a produce market in our town. Would you help us start a garden for the village?”

» See full story with pictures.

» You might also be interested in A Tale of Two Farmers, which brings together a man who grew up helping with the wheat harvest in Kansas and Oklahoma and a very different kind of farmer in Japan (SEND International).

MALI: Kidnapped Swiss Missionary Still Alive

Source: World Watch Monitor, June 17, 2016

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has released a video, purporting to show that a Swiss nun kidnapped in Mali in January is alive and in good health.

The three-minute video, posted on social media [on 16 June], shows a veiled Beatrice Stockly speaking in French, saying that she has been detained for 130 days but is in good health and has been treated well, although it has been very hot. She concludes by thanking her family and the Swiss government for all their efforts to secure her release.

» Read full story, which includes links to previous coverage, and see also a report from the International Business Times which refers to Stockly “the last Westerner living in Timbuktu.”