VIDEO: What Happens on Hajj?

Source: Praying through the Arabian Peninsula

This year’s Hajj pilgrimage takes place August 30 to September 1. PTAP is calling for Christians to join in three days of strategic prayer for Muslims and the Muslim world during this time. Could you share this video with others?

At the end of the week Muslims around the world will observe Eid-al-Adha, the feast commemorating Abraham’s sacrifice. Ask the Lord to give many Christians opportunities to sensitively tell their Muslim friends and neighbors about Jesus, the Lamb of God.

» Learn more or download a four-page prayer guide. The PTAP website also includes many other resources you may be able to use.

VIDEO SERIES: Missions Mobilization Best Practices

Missions Mobilization Best PracticesSource: GlobalCAST Resources

See yourself as a missions mobilizer or aspire to be one? Learn the foundational principles or sharpen the tools in your toolbox through a new video series from GlobalCAST Resources.

GlobalCAST Resources is a missions mobilization ministry focused on connecting, resourcing, and mentoring missions advocates and leaders. This year they began producing a series of video sound bites that highlight missions mobilization principles and best practices. Topics include:

  • Asking Questions Rather Than Giving Advice as a Missions Mobilizer
  • Missions Mobilization Starts with Me
  • Community Development Principles & Missions Mobilization
  • Missions Mobilization as Worldview Shift
  • Learner, Servant, Storyteller Postures in Missions Mobilization

» Watch videos via the GlobalCAST Resources YouTube channel or Facebook page and subscribe to see more as they are released.

ARTICLES: Support Raising Resources

Source: Shepherd’s Staff Mission Facilitators

Raising support or cheering on others who do? Shepherds Staff is a ministry that facilitates the work of the local church in sending out its own missionaries. They have assembled a thoughtful collection of resources to help you think through many elements of raising support. You might find some tips or perspectives you haven’t heard before.

» View resources.

» Did you know? Both Support Raising Solutions and People Raising, in addition to providing training tools and events, maintain blogs about raising support. Take a look.

ARTICLE: Using Proverbs in Ministry

Source: International Mission Board

As you interact with people from other cultures, consider how you may be able to use [statements of local] wisdom as a bridge to gospel conversation. Keep these questions in mind:

  • What proverbs do you hear them using?
  • What do these statements reveal about what is valuable and meaningful to them?
  • Are there distinct similarities or differences between their worldview and yours as a follower of Christ?
  • Are there parallels in Scripture to the truths expressed in their proverbs? Or are there statements in Scripture that offer a counterpoint or complement to traditional wisdom?

» Read the rest of the article, 9 Fascinating Proverbs to Help You Understand an African Worldview. Notice the good job the author and publisher did pairing pithy proverbs and short explanations with compelling photos to bring the content to life. Could you use a similar approach in a newsletter or presentation?

» See also Know Your Culture: 6 Keys to Cultural Exegesis (also from IMB).

EVENTS: Upcoming Conferences, Courses, and More

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

September 3-15, Second Language Acquisition Course (Union Mills, NC, USA). Provided by the Center for Intercultural Training.

September 4-17, ORIENT (Joplin, MO, USA). Learn key skills for surviving and thriving cross-culturally. Provided by TRAIN International.

September 4 to December 3, Encountering the World of Islam (online). 12-week course on embracing Muslims with the love of Christ.

September 7, The Local Church—Mentoring Healthy Mission Candidates (online). Webinar from Mission Nexus.

September 11-12, Support Raising Bootcamp (Rogers, AR, USA). Provided by Support Raising Solutions.

September 14 to October 12, Foundations of Media Strategy (online). Mentored course on using social media for deeper conversations and disciple-making. Offered by Mission Media U.

September 15-17, Business as Mission Conference (Dallas, TX, USA). Provided by BAM Training.

September 15-17, Evangelical Missiological Society (Dallas, TX, USA). An annual gathering.

September 18 to October 14, COMPASS (Palmer Lake, CO, USA). Language and culture acquisition provided by Missionary Training International.

September 20-26, Traction (Interlaken, Switzerland). Six-day renewal event for men serving cross-culturally, provided by Catalyst International.

September 20 to October 18, Story in Ministry (online). Mentored course on applying elements of story to your outreach. Offered by Mission Media U.

September 20-21, Standards Introductory Workshop (Dallas, TX, USA). A pre-conference workshop at the Mission Leaders Conference presented by the Standards of Excellence in Short-term Mission.

September 21-23, Mission Leaders Conference (Dallas, TX, USA). Provided by Missio Nexus.

» View the complete calendar. Please let us know about mistakes or omissions. For more about a specific event, though, you should contact the event organizers.

In the shadow of the day’s headlines | World News Briefs

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  1. NORTH KOREA: Canadian Pastor Freed after More Than Two Years
  2. GUAM: Radio Broadcasting into North Korea
  3. NEPAL: Freedom of Religion Leads to Church Growth
  4. CHAD: “It’s Your Fault He Died!”

… And find more stories in our Twitter feed.

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18

Chad_2017_0270101337Christians may face the wrath of the community when they turn their backs on worship of ancestors and things like trees and mountains to serve the creator God. This was the case with Samuel from southern Chad. See story below (Open Doors).

Greetings,

In putting together the news briefs we try to sidestep both political news and editorials, yet intriguing stories of kingdom challenges and advance are sometimes found in the shadows of the day’s headlines. This edition includes several such stories.

You might also be interested in several articles about Syria, one describing the escape of seven Armenian Christians from ISIS-held Raqqa, another providing chilling details from the findings of a study of torture in ISIS prisons, and a third about how Christians are persevering in Aleppo.

For short, thoughtful, biblical insights on current events, consider subscribing to a monthly editorial from the director of INcontext. This month’s article is about our sometimes conflicting desires for certainty and understanding.

Blessings,
Pat

NORTH KOREA: Canadian Pastor Freed after More Than Two Years in Prison

Source: INcontext, August 10, 2017

North Korea freed a Canadian pastor serving a life sentence on humanitarian grounds, the official KCNA news agency said on Wednesday, just hours after the United States warned it would counter any threat from the North with “fire and fury.”

There was no clear connection between the release of [62-year-old] Hyeon Soo Lim and the heightened rhetoric between Washington and Pyongyang.

Lim, who served in one of the largest churches in Canada, had been sentenced to hard labor for life in December 2015 after North Korea accused him of attempting to overthrow the regime.

Lim’s Toronto-area church has said he visited the North more than 100 times since 1997 and helped set up an orphanage and nursing home. Last year, Lim told CNN he spent eight hours a day digging holes at a labor camp where he had not seen any other prisoners.

» Read full story and see a moving story about Lin’s experiences (CBC).

GUAM: Radio Broadcasting into North Korea

Source: Mission Network News, August 15, 2017

Recently, North Korea threatened to launch missiles at the US territory of Guam. But even as North Korea postures with missile launch threats, Trans World Radio (TWR) in Guam has already been launching something else into North Korea… radio broadcasts of the gospel. In doing so, TWR is encouraging the remnant Church in North Korea. But the job is risky. North Korea is the number one persecutor of Christians, according to Open Doors’ World Watch List. And an outside radio is considered an illegal commodity in North Korea.

“The stories we’ve got is that people who have a radio keep it in a plastic bag and will bury it during the daytime and then dig it up at night and listen to the broadcast. A lot of times, people listen in very small groups in homes. We know that there are groups of believers in North Korea and we know that the church is alive and well and probably growing under persecution,” [says TWR’s Lauren Libby].

TWR currently hopes to increase their programming into North Korea by up to two hours so they can reach more people, whoever can listen, with the good news of Jesus Christ.

» Read full story or a related article on TWR’s website. You might also appreciate a short video with messages from Christian radio listeners in North Korea.

NEPAL: Freedom of Religion Leads to Church Growth

Source: Mission Network News, August 8, 2017

“Nepal has become the country where Christianity is growing at the fastest pace of any nation in the world,” says John Pudaite, President of Bibles For The World (BFTW). “The Body of Christ has been growing at almost ten percent per year, and we’re just blessed to be a part of what God is doing in Nepal.”

But why the sudden spiritual growth spurt? Pudaite says it comes from politics. “For centuries, Nepal was under a very restrictive monarchy and as the country opened up to democracy and developed its own constitution, all of a sudden people realized they did have a choice when it came to what they believed.” Christ’s message of mercy and truth is appealing to many, causing the Church to grow at an unprecedented rate.

Newfound freedom of religion also means newfound challenges, Pudaite says.

» Read full story.

» For another glimpse of this country, see Nepali Hindus Celebrate Sacred Thread Festival (Huffington Post).