Month: February 2017
VIDEO: Where There Is No Church
Looking for a good way to help others understand what it means to be unreached? This short, recent video does a beautiful job presenting some of the data visually, contrasting American cities and unreached cities in terms of the number of churches found there.
BOOK: Parents of Missionaries
Source: Parents of Missionaries Network
Parents of Missionaries: How to Thrive and Stay Connected When Your Children and Grandchildren Serve Cross-Culturally, by Cheryl Savageau and Diane Shortz. InterVarsity Press, 2012 (reprint of Authentic Media edition, 2008). 305 pages.
Find yourself in the sometimes-unwelcome position of sending your kids and grandkids overseas? Just want to help those who are? This is one of few resources we’ve found that are specifically designed to address the challenges and opportunities faced by parents of missionaries.
The book combines a counselor’s professional insight and a parent’s personal journey, plus ideas and stories from dozens of missionaries and POMs—a valuable tool for missions mobilizers and educators as well as parents and families. It may have a greater audience with believers, but much of the content is applicable to those who do not share their children’s faith or priorities as well. Little of it seems out of date.
I’m not sure to what extent their National Network of Parents of Missionaries is still active, but the website is still up. Anybody know?
» Purchase this book from Amazon (or elsewhere) at US$9.99 for the Kindle edition and US$11.22 for the paperback, or check out the authors’ Tip Sheets for Parents of Missionaries.
» See also a recent article with practical wisdom for parents of missionaries (The Gospel Coalition) and a piece we mentioned not long ago about Wycliffe Germany’s annual parents weekend.
ARTICLE: Five Surefire Ways to Start a Conversation with a Muslim
Source: Muslim Connect
We’re thankful that so many of you have signed up for our own Shane Bennett’s new 300-word weekly newsletter, Muslim Connect—now four weeks old. You might want to check out the February 16 edition on striking up connections with Muslims. If you find it helpful, share it with your friends.
» Read Five Surefire Ways to Start a Conversation with a Muslim. Handy links across the top will let you subscribe, share, or read past editions.
VIDEO: When Is Safety an Obstacle to the Great Commission?
Source: The Mission Table
God often calls his followers toward and not away from danger for the sake of the gospel, yet in our culture we have a love affair with safety… obsessed with removing all of life’s risks. Watch a round-table discussion about the tension between safety and world missions (with a focus on the American church). Length: 36 minutes.
“The Mission Table” is a designed to compel church and mission leaders to reason, to think, to dig deep into the Scriptures, and to ask important, fundamental questions about the global mission of God.
» Learn more or watch episodes on other topics. Could you use these with your group or team?
EVENTS: Highlighting Bible Translation
Source: Wycliffe Bible Translators
Taste of Translation and Linguistics (TOTAL) is a five-day course that provides participants with an introduction to the academic and ministry aspects of translation and linguistics, and is designed to help you determine if Bible translation, linguistics, and cross-cultural ministry are right for you.
Real-world translators introduce the ins and outs of Bible translation through fast-paced, stimulating presentations and fun class activities. Topics include grammar, phonetics and phonology, language and culture learning, translation and semantics, literacy and ethnomusicology, and sign-language translation.
Be inspired by a wealth of testimonies and videos that bridge the gap between academics and the real-world adventure of being a Bible translator. Events are held throughout the US:
March 6-11, Waxhaw, NC
May 15-20, Dallas, TX
May 22-27, Waxhaw, NC
June 5-10, Orlando, FL
July 25-30, Lancaster, PA
July 25-29, La Mirada, CA
EVENTS: Upcoming Conference, Courses, and More
Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar
March 1 to April 9, Seek God for the City (global). Annual 40-day prayer campaign. Materials available from WayMakers.
March 1 to May 10, Great Commission U (Chiang Mai, Thailand). Ten-week Bible school for fulfilling the Great Commission; provided by SVM2.
March 2 to June 4, Encountering the World of Islam (online). Twelve-week course on embracing Muslims with the love of Christ.
March 4, Bridges Seminar (Houston, TX, USA). Building bridges to reach Muslims. Provided by Crescent Project.
March 6-11, TOTAL It Up! Extreme—Taste of Translation and Linguistics (Waxhaw, NC, USA). Provided by Wycliffe Bible Translators.
March 17–18, Check-IT-Out Spring 2017 Conference (Waxhaw, NC, USA). For IT professionals and students to explore using their skills in support of Bible translation.
March 17-18, BAM Symposium of Indiana (Bluffton, IN, USA). Explore Business as Mission.
March 24-25, The Journey Deepens (Richardson, TX, USA). A weekend retreat for prospective missionaries.
March 24-25, Humanitarian Health Conference (Kansas City, MO, USA).
March 24-26, Jesus to the Nations (Halifax, NS, Canada). Free, annual, community-based mission festival for all ages.
March 25, Bridges Seminar (Phoenix, AZ, USA). Building bridges to reach Muslims. Provided by Crescent Project.
March 26 to April 21, Equipping for Cross-Cultural Life and Ministry (Union Mills, NC, USA). Prefield training from the Center for Intercultural Training.
March 27 to April 22, COMPASS Prefield Training (Palmer Lake, CO, USA). Provided by Missionary Training International.
March 30-31, Personal Support Raising Boot Camp (Charlotte, NC, USA). Provided by Support Raising Solutions.
» View the complete calendar. For additional information about a specific event, please contact the organizers.
Missions Catalyst News Briefs
VIETNAM: The Far-Reaching Impact of Uncle Som’s Testimony
Source: OMF International, January 23, 2017
[Uncle Som] began trusting in and following Jesus. However, for several months he still had the ancestral altar in his house and allowed other family members to take part in animistic practices. Now he was ready to make a clean break from all of it.
Many others fasted and prayed for Uncle Som as he publicly turned away from the spirits and from ancestor worship. Three months passed and he was alive and well, joyfully praising Jesus and telling his story to other Tai Dam.
In a nearby country, a group of Tai Dam families had turned to Jesus. They [realized] they needed to turn from their old ways but were worried about the response they would face from their community. That’s when a Tai Dam Christian from Uncle Som’s village shared his story with them. Now they are considering the way forward for them and have an example of a Tai Dam man like them being faithful to God, despite the pressure to follow their traditional ways.
» Read full story with prayer points. It’s not too late to join a month-long prayer movement for Vietnam.
BURUNDI: Missionary Surgeon Recognized for Outstanding Service
Source: Joel News International, February 6, 2017
A missionary surgeon to Burundi has won the first-ever $500,000 Gerson L’Chaim prize for outstanding Christian medical service. Jason Fader, whose parents were also medical missionaries, is one of 13 surgeons serving the 10 million people in the sub-Saharan African country. Three-quarters of the population are malnourished, making Burundi the hungriest country in the world.
Fader, who grew up in Kenya, has been in Burundi since 2013. In addition to caring for about 25,000 patients a year with his team, he trains local doctors. “Jason is doing surgeries that no one else has done before in Burundi,” fellow doctor Rachel McLaughlin said. “He’s teaching medical students surgical skills and management.”
The prize money will be used to create the country’s first postgraduate medical training, add 48 new beds to the 172 at Kibuye Hope Hospital, and improve lower-limb fracture care—a crucial need in a country that travels by foot. “Literally hundreds of people will walk because of this prize,” Fader said. “Thousands of people will be cared for. And tens of thousands will be helped by the doctors we train here.”
Fader is part of a recent resurgence of medical missionaries. Attendance at the Global Missions Health Conference has ballooned more than tenfold over the past 10 years. Attendance at the Christian Community Health Fellowship conference has quadrupled. And the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board reported an all-time high of 300 medical missionaries on the field in 2013.
The African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), co-founder of the Gerson Prize, was created in 2010 to promote health care in Africa, where Christian mission hospitals provide about a third of all medical work.
» Read full story from Joel News, or watch a short video from AMHF.
» We also read that Kenya’s health system is on the verge of collapse as a doctors’ strike grinds on (The Guardian).