Missions Catalyst 05.27.09 – Resource Reviews

In This Issue: Easy-to-use Teaching Tools, Missions Fests, and More

  • CURRICULUM – Children’s Resource Library on Sale
  • BOOKS – New Releases from Vishal Mangalwadi and Janet and Geoff Benge
  • FILM, CURRICULUM – Tools to Share “The Hope” and Teach English, Too
  • FREE RESOURCE – Unreached People Prayer Cards
  • EVENTS – A Dozen Missions Fests, ICCM, and the Orality Conference

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.

CURRICULUM – Children’s Resource Library on Sale

Source: Kidzana Ministries

Kidzana sends teams all over the world to work with kids and, especially, those who teach them, equipping them to reach and disciple the world’s children. They also distribute creative, field-tested curriculum, idea books, VBS materials, and training videos that can easily be used cross-culturally.

Do you have short-term teams working with kids who could use such materials? Right now the Children’s Resource Library is on sale for US$99. Items are also available separately (prices in parentheses, below).

The complete set includes:

Object Lessons Answering Kids’ Toughest Questions about God (US$10)
Object Lessons Answering Kids’ Toughest Questions about Life (US$10)
Ten Children’s Outreach Lessons to Use Anywhere around the World (US$10)
TimeQuest International (five VBS lessons with multi-language DVD, US$49)
What’s So Special about Jesus? (package of ten booklets about salvation, US$3)
First Steps of Follow-Up Leader’s Guide (five-week small group study for kids, US$15)
Bible Basic International (one-year discipleship curriculum for kids, US$89)
Training in a Box (ten-lesson DVD to equip children’s workers, US$49)

>> Learn more about Kidzana.

BOOKS – New from Vishal Mangalwadi and Janet and Geoff Benge

Source: YWAM Publishing

International scholar Vishal Mangalwadi has a new book:

Truth and Transformation: A Manifesto for Ailing Nations (320 pages). “With insights drawn from real-life struggles against corruption and years of study, [Mangalwadi] delves into the ideological roots of social oppression. [Includes] an in-depth analysis of worldviews and cultural trends, specific information on becoming involved in transforming culture, and a fresh, non-Western look at the New Testament.”

Now on sale from YWAM Publishing for US$13.99.

Janet and Geoff Benge have written two new biographies for their popular series (now more than 30 volumes), Christian Heroes: Then and Now. These books are popular with homeschool families; additional teaching materials are available as well.

David Bussau: Facing the World Head-on (205 pages) tells the story of a young New Zealander who overcame low expectations to become an enterprising teenager and eventually provide natural disaster relief, aid, and small business loans to the poor in Australia, Indonesia, India, and beyond.

Jacob DeShazar: Forgive Your Enemies (221 pages) tells how this prisoner of war came to know Christ and returned to Japan where he served for 30 years as a missionary and an agent of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Both are on sale for US$6.99.

>> Discover other resources from YWAM Publishing.

FILM, CURRICULUM – Tools to Share “The Hope” and Teach English, Too

Source: Roofbreakers

First, have you seen Mars Hill Productions’ evangelistic film, The Hope? The 80-minute dramatic presentation is designed to tell the biblical story of redemption, starting with creation. You can use it to share the gospel one chapter at a time or as a seamless whole. It’s being used around the world in a variety of languages. (View the film online in English; order copies on DVD/VCD.)

Second, in partnership with Mars Hill, a ministry called Roofbreakers is now distributing a companion English-teaching resource to be used in helping students develop their English skills while sharing the message of The Hope with them.

“This CD-ROM uses beautiful images and audio while also including the full film. This resource is brilliant for short-term teams, classes, and one-on-one tutoring opportunities. Additionally, it can be copied and distributed without charge, making it a cheap and practical gift wherever English is in demand.

“In a spirit of partnership this resource is being distributed free to missionaries and national Christian workers around the globe (although donations for postage are appreciated).”

>> Contact Roofbreakers.

FREE RESOURCE – Unreached People Prayer Cards

Source: Joshua Project

Many Christians never pray for the unreached, but it may be that nobody has ever given them a simple and attractive invitation to do so. Here’s a simple tool you can use to do just that.

Prayer cards introducing the world’s unreached people groups are available for free download from Joshua Project. Why not incorporate these into your next prayer or mobilization event? Put them on tables or chairs, include them in a mailing, or pass them out during a presentation, and provide an opportunity for participants to intercede for some of the world’s least-reached people groups.

Cards are available in five languages: English, Spanish, German, French, and Portuguese. Download the whole collection (25.5 MB) or just get those for a specific region (e.g., South Asia, Western Europe). Sets for religious groupings (all Hindu unreached peoples, all Buddhist unreached peoples), the 100 largest unreached groups, or 365 people groups (one a day for the year) are also available.

>> Find lots more at the Joshua Project website, including some interesting maps illustrating the progress of the gospel.

EVENTS – A Dozen Missions Fests, ICCM, and the Orality Conference

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

“Missions fests” are city-wide missions conferences – usually free – and sponsored by local churches. We’ve added a few more to our calendar. Here’s the complete list. In some cases the websites have not been updated, but you can easily reach the organizers for more information.

July 2-5, 2009 – Missions Fest Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo).
July 9-12, 2009 – Missions Fest Lubumbashi (Democratic Republic of Congo).
October 2-3, 2009 – Missions Fest Seattle (Seattle, WA, USA).
November 13-15, 2009 – Missions Globales (Montreal, QC, Canada).
January 8-10, 2010 – Missions Fest Vancouver (Vancouver, BC, Canada).
January 15-16, 2010 – Mission ConneXion Northwest (Vancouver, WA, USA).
February 5-7, 2010 – Missionfest Manitoba (Winnipeg, MB, Canada).
February 18-20, 2010 – Missions Fest Pretoria (Pretoria, South Africa).
February 19-21, 2010 – Missions Fest Alberta (Edmonton, AB, Canada).
February 19-21, 2010 – Missions Fest Lancaster (Lancaster, PA, USA).
March 26-28, 2010 – Jesus to the Nations (Halifax, NS, Canada)
April 16-18, 2010 – MissionFest Toronto (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Two other events we’ve just added:

June 12-16 – International Conference on Computing and Missions (Upland, IN, USA).

September 9-12 – International Orality Network (Eden Prairie, MN, USA). Annual conference; practical help and ministry ideas for working in the cultures of those who can’t or don’t learn by reading.

See also: A brief, helpful article from VisionSynergy’s David Hackett: From Abstraction to Action: Capturing the Post-Conference Energy Pulse.

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