In This Issue: Internet Evangelism, Missionary Care, and 30 Days of Prayer
- BOOK: Using the Internet to Make Fishers of Men
- BOOK: Expectations and Burnout
- ARTICLE: Seizing Short-term Support Pleas to Become a Better Sender
- EVENT: 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World
Missions Catalyst is a free, weekly electronic digest of mission news and resources designed to inspire and equip Christians worldwide for global ministry. Use it to fuel your prayers, find tips and opportunities, and stay in touch with how God is building his kingdom all over the world. Please forward it freely!
Resource Reviews, edited by Marti Smith, are published once a month.
Dear Reader,
Huge thanks to all who gave in response to our recent funding campaign. We’re pleased to announce that because of your partnership, our budget is covered through the end of the year, including the admin fees and credit-card processing costs I forgot to include in our calculations. Oops! God knew, and he provided. We’re grateful to be able to keep Missions Catalyst going. May the Lord continue to bless and meet you in all your needs as well.
Yours,
Marti
BOOK: Using the Internet to Make Fishers of Men
Reviewed by David Hackett, visionSynergy
NetCasters: Using the Internet to Make Fishers of Men,
by Craig von Buseck. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, June 2010, 192 pages.
“People do their secret thinking on the Internet,” says John Edmiston, quoted in Craig Von Buseck’s excellent book, NetCasters. That simple but profound statement opens us to why millions are searching the Web for answers to their spiritual questions. The question for the Church, however, is whether it will embrace Internet evangelism and step up to connect with these searching individuals. And if it does, the second question remains: How?
NetCasters shows compellingly that God is behind Internet evangelism in a very real and powerful way – globally. Moreover, NetCasters will acquaint the reader with biblical rationales for doing Internet evangelism, explain the methods, techniques and tools for it, and introduce the networks and key advocates that power it. NetCasters is the easy and comprehensive introduction readers have been looking for to quickly bring them up to speed on the rich, multifaceted ministry of Internet evangelism. I wish every church and ministry leader could read it – and bring their evangelism efforts into greater fruitfulness in this digital era.
>> Purchase for US$10.19 from Amazon, or elsewhere.
>> Editor’s Note: Craig von Buseck is ministries director for CBN.com, the website of the Christian Broadcasting Network where he oversees all online evangelism and discipleship efforts and writes the popular ChurchWatch blog. See also a review of this book and interview with the author at the Internet Evangelism Day website.
BOOK: Expectations and Burnout
Reviewed by Marti Smith
Expectations and Burnout: Women Surviving the Great Commission, by Sue Eenigenburg and Robynn Bliss. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2010, 239 pages.
What missionary has not discovered the painful gap between his or her glorious expectations of being used by God in another culture and the sometimes cold, harsh realities of actually crossing cultures? Sometimes, when these expectations prove impossible to fill, the result is mental and physical exhaustion.
Eighty percent of missionary women feel they have come close to burnout, say Eenigenburg and Bliss. Passing through a time of burnout can – as Bliss’s story demonstrates – be something God uses to bless and transform us; it is not failure. However, learning to recognize and respond to the signs can sometimes prevent it.
In this helpful book both women (serving with Christar) share from their own experiences and those of friends, as well as the results of a survey of 300+ missionary women around the world. They provide a sensitive exploration of the complex issues wrapped up in women’s expectations of themselves and their roles, their sending agencies and churches, their teammates and coworkers, and their local relationships and host cultures, as well as their expectations of God and what he is “supposed” to do in and through them. They also offer suggestions for helping missionaries recognize their expectations and make adjustments as needed.
This book, which grew out of research for Eenigenburg’s graduate studies, is illuminated by stories and examples. The book provides many jumping-off points for further study, as well as anecdotes and quotations that leaders and teachers would find helpful in sharing the material with others.
>> Purchase for US$11.19 from William Carey Library.
Eenigenburg, Director of Women’s Ministry for Christar, also wrote a devotional book for missionary women which is available from the same source. See Screams in the Desert: Hope and Humor for Women in Cross-Cultural Ministry.
Editor’s Note: Another good resource for your missionary-care library would be Marjory Foyle’s very helpful book, Honourably Wounded: Stress among Christian Workers, updated in 2001 and recently reprinted by Monarch. Maybe you’re familiar with Where There Is No Doctor. Foyle’s book, which helps Christian workers understand common psychological issues they may experience, could be titled “Where There Is No Christian Counselor.” A good tool for any mission team to have on hand.
Also, check out the free articles and other resources on these missionary-care-oriented websites:
– Member Care Radio
– Cross-Cultural Workers
– Heartstream Resources
– Global Member Care Network
ARTICLE: Seizing Short-term Support Pleas to Become a Better Sender
Source: Missions Catalyst archives
Here’s an excerpt from a Practical Mobilization article we published in April 2005. I think it still rings true. Do you?
From Check to Champion
By Shane Bennett
If you’re at all like my parents, during this week alone you received three letters for prayer and financial support from aspiring short-termers for upcoming summer projects. The letters nicely add to the stack of a dozen or more you’ve already received. If you’ve built a reputation as someone who’s interested in promoting missions, you’ve sort of painted a “raise support from me” bull’s-eye on your chest. Do you find this frustrating? Overwhelming? You’re not alone. Ask my parents! But maybe, just maybe there’s a way to honor God, encourage short-termers, and deal with the stack of mail.
As I see it, you have two options. The first is easy: give them all money, pray briefly for each as you write a check, and then let it all go. The second requires a bit more thought and is the subject of this article.
What if, instead of sending checks then checking out, you chose to champion the cause of one or two of those who seek assistance from you?
>> Keep reading.
EVENT: 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World
It’s coming up again! Join the largest ongoing international call to Christians to pray for the Muslim world. Millions of Christians worldwide participate in this strategic prayer focus annually. The dates this year are August 11 to September 9. Is there someone new you can invite to participate this year?
In the US, 30 Days prayer booklets are available for US$3.00 from WorldChristian.com or call 800.936.6397. Bulk discounts and a new Just-for-Kids version are also available. Check the Pray4Them website for more resources, as well as the main, international 30 Days website, where you can access blog, email and Twitter editions of the material as well.
>> Editor’s Note: Although we love to see people praying together through these materials, we’ve noticed many mission teams, churches and groups writing up their own prayer points and using the season to mobilize friends and partners to lift up their specific ministries serving Muslims. Any idea you can use? Go for it. Everybody needs more prayer.
Additions to the Mission Events Calendar
30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World (global). August 11 to September 9.
International Orality Network Annual Conference (Rome, GA, USA). September 20 to 23.
>> See complete events calendar.
