In This Issue: Capetown through the Back Door and the New “Operation World”
- An Invitation: Cape Town through the Back Door
- Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation
- Mission Events: Recent Additions to the Missions Catalyst Calendar
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!
Dear Readers,
This week, a special edition: We’ve rounded up information about what’s going on with the Lausanne movement and how we can all be involved, as well as tools for praying for the world. Next week we’ll pass along more mission new briefs, and practical mobilization ideas the week after that. Please don’t hesitate to let us know what you want to hear about and other ways we can serve you.
This week Missions Catalyst also welcomes 93 new subscribers from Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania – folks our own Shane Bennett met while traveling. We’re glad to have you join us.
Sincerely,
Marti Smith | publisher and managing editor
An Invitation: Cape Town through the Back Door
I’m sure Cape Town has much to recommend it as a general travel destination but what I refer to is something more specific: the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization scheduled to take place there in a few weeks (October 16-25). Lausanne is a worldwide movement that mobilizes evangelical leaders to collaborate for world evangelization and is connected with the World Evangelical Alliance.
The Cape Town conference marks the 100th anniversary of a similar event in Edinburgh in 1910.
Christians (of all flavors) comprise about a third of the world’s population today, as they did then. But the world is not the same, and neither is the Church. So, how do we understand the world – and the Church – and how will we respond to current opportunities and obstacles? That’s what this Congress is about, and the overarching topics are truth, reconciliation, world faiths, priorities, integrity, and partnership.
Can’t make it to South Africa? No, me neither. But there are good ways to be part of the conversation from your computer screen and through face-to-face gatherings around the world, maybe even in your town.
1. Articles: You can join the Lausanne Global Conversation to read and respond to articles on 20 or so topics and/or read and respond to 40 Advance Papers now posted. Delegates are strongly encouraged to pick some on each major theme to study before they come. It’s a bit overwhelming, but the breadth of the content may mean there’s something for you.
2. GlobaLink: This effort will connect 600+ sites around the world to participate remotely in Cape Town 2010. Organizers will gather people in their own cities to watch and discuss the video presentations on issues facing the Church. I plan to attend the one in Denver.
3. Cape Town in 140 characters a slice: Follow the Lausanne Movement or Capetown2010 on Twitter. Keep an eye on the hashtag #capetown2010 now and/or during the event to see what delegates may have to share.
4. There’s more. See Participate Online in Cape Town 2010.
Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation
Operation World (completely revised 7th edition), ed. Jason Mandryk. Colorado Springs, CO: Biblica, 2010. 832 pages.
The publisher writes: “Operation World is the definitive global prayer guide that will help focus your heart and life towards God’s passion for his glory among all nations. This all new 7th edition has been completely updated and revised. Whether you are an intercessor praying behind the scenes for world change, a missionary reaping the benefits of intercession, or simply curious about the world, Operation World will give you the information necessary to be a vital part in fulfilling God’s plans for all nations.”
David Platt (author of Radical: Taking Your Faith Back from the American Dream) says: “Outside of the Bible, no book has had a greater practical impact on my personal prayer life than Operation World.”
This updated edition includes maps and descriptions of every country in the world – including geographic, economic, political, religious, and ethnolinguistic data; a daily prayer calendar; answers to prayer; and challenges for prayer.
1. Download a free sample in PDF format.
2. Read author interviews published by Lausanne World Pulse and Christianity Today.
3. Purchase the paperback edition from Biblica for US$19.99 or check out the bulk discounts. Operation World is also available in a hardcover edition and on CD-ROM (either of which might be a wise alternative to a paperback of such size). You can also get the book and CD together.
4. See the DVD version Global Mapping International is simultaneously publishing. That’s the one I want! It includes additional resources that look very helpful for teachers and public speakers. GMI is also publishing a detailed wall map, including key Operation World information, so you can “make your wall a window into a world in need of prayer.”
5. Attend the Operation World Global Prayer Celebration – a live, interactive event online November 9.
6. Look for ways to subscribe to daily prayer prompts by email, RSS feed, Twitter, Facebook, etc., providing free access to material from the book, Prayercast videos about various countries, and more (all launching November 10).
7. While many use Operation World primarily as a reference book, consider other uses. How about getting extra copies as gifts for friends, colleagues, and supporters? What about using it to pray for the nations with your church, Sunday school class, small group, or family? Would you consider making a personal commitment to pray for every country in 2011, working your way through the whole book?
All Operation World resources will be released in the US on October 15, 2010, and shipped to customers starting then. You should be able to get them from major online retailers as well as mission organizations and Christian bookstores around the world. For large quantities or to find distributors you can also contact Biblica’s Dean Galiano.
Mission Events: Recent Additions to the Missions Catalyst Calendar
November 5-6 – Mid-Atlantic Orphan Summit (Hershey, PA, USA). Designed to encourage and equip believers to care for the fatherless. Sponsored by the Evangelical Free Church of Hershey, in partnership with the Christian Alliance for Orphans.
November 7 – Orphan Sunday (international).
November 9 – Operation World Global Prayer Celebration (online). Live interactive event.
>> View calendar or submit items.
