In This Issue: Web Sites, Articles to Read, Events, and More
- READER REQUESTS – Learning about the World, Country by Country
- ARTICLES – Telling the Story, Kids with Power
- EVENTS – 247 (Unengaged Muslim Peoples) to Go…
- EVENT, BOOK, COURSE – Engaging Hindus, Too!
- EVENT – Are You Ready for the Global Day of Prayer?
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.
READER REQUESTS – Learning about the World, Country by Country
Sources: Rachelle in Papua New Guinea, Jane in England
Rachelle writes “I receive your Missions Catalyst emails and they are very useful for the weekly missions prayer meeting we hold. Because of the expense, we are not able to access the internet for long periods of time. It is difficult to access update information on different countries. I was wondering if you could supply me with some other web sites that might give a simple overview or update on what the Lord is doing in a particular nation. Maybe I could type the name of the nation we are praying for that week in a search box and receive some info?”
Another reader, Jane in England, asks “Do you know of any resources for small groups that will take them to ‘visit’ a church in a different country each week? A taste of the language, ideas about the culture, things to pray for the country and the church, and perhaps some Bible study as well?”
Here’s what Pat (our news brief editor) and I came up with for Rachelle, Jane, or both of them.
1. Try Operation World. It not only provides a surprising amount of quick information about each country, it also a glimpse of how God has been working and how we can pray. They don’t post all of their profiles on their site at once, so this may not work if you are looking for information about a specific country. Buy the book or CD and you’ll have the whole thing in your hands.
2. Pat suggests the International Mission Board. Their site provides a way you can search by region and country, and profiles contain both information and prayer points, together, as well as stories from the field that will give you a more up-to-date picture.
3. Pat also recommends two sites that allow the reader to search by country and provide information about praying for the church: Compass Direct and the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission. Both focus on believers facing persecution.
4. Finally, a Voice of the Martyrs representative suggested their Kids of Courage website (www.kidsofcourage.com). Check the archives, which include features about many different countries.
What other resources for praying for God’s work in different countries of the world come to mind? If we listed secular sources the list would get quite long of course, but send us your ideas – especially for things that would be good for someone with low bandwidth, like Rachelle, or virtually “visiting” churches around the world, as Jane would like to do. We’ll pass on your suggestions to them. Thanks!
ARTICLES – Telling the Story, Kids with Power
Sources: Momentum Magazine, Catalyst Services
1. The January/February issue of Momentum Magazine, a bi-monthly web-only magazine focused on unreached peoples, is now online. Download individual articles or the whole issue here.
This issue, “Telling the Story,” focuses on oral communication – storytelling. (It’s one of the key growth areas for Christian ministry.) Featured articles include:
– The Gospel’s Advance Can’t Wait for Literacy, by Grant Lovejoy
– Storytelling: Frequently Asked Questions, by Karl J. Franklin
– Doing Something Different, by Steve Douglass
– Oral Approaches to Augment a Bible Translation Process, by Jim Stahl
– My Journey into the World of Narrative, by Larry Dinkins
2. Interchange Postings is Catalyst Services’ monthly e-newsletter designed especially for mission agency personnel who are involved in collaborative efforts with local churches. More and more church missions leaders also are finding Postings helpful in mobilizing their local congregation. This month’s Interchange Postings, “Kids with Power,” is about kids, but it is written for church and agency leaders – to awaken us to the crucial role children can play today in reaching the world and our responsibility to support and expand the mobilization of their incredible potential. Don’t miss the practical follow-up steps for both churches and agencies at the end. Download a PDF of this issue here.
EVENTS – 247 (Unengaged Muslim Peoples) to Go…
Source: Frontiers, March 21, 2008
Recently we advertised Frontiers USA’s “247 To Go” events in Texas and Washington. The dates of the Washington event changed and two additional events are scheduled for Arizona and Iowa. These gatherings, which require an invitation, will allow participants to meet and talk to others about the un-begun task of bringing the hope of Jesus to unengaged Muslim peoples.
Dallas, TX: April 25-26, 2008
Lynnwood, WA: May 9-10, 2008
Phoenix, AZ: May 30-31, 2008
Ames, IA: November 7-8, 2008
More info available from here, or call Frontiers at 1.800.462.8436.
EVENT, BOOK, COURSE – Engaging Hindus, Too!
Source: Rethinking Forum, March 19, 2008
What would it take to birth and develop Christ-centered movements in the Hindu world? Explore this question May 16 to 19, 2008 in Minneapolis, MN at the Sixth Annual North American Consultation of the Rethinking Forum. This is a unique opportunity to learn about the work of Christ in the Hindu world. Workers with decades of experience in India, as well as with Hindu students and immigrants in the UK and the US, will share from their studies and experiences. There will be ample time for discussion and interaction. Saturday, May 17 is a “conference within a conference” for those who can only come for the day. More info available by email here.
Can’t come to this event, but want to learn more about Hinduism? Event organizers recommend the new book, Hinduism: A Brief Look at Theology, History, Scriptures, and Social System with Comments on the Gospel in India, by H.L. Richards (William Carey Library, 2007). WCL carries more than a dozen other titles focused on the Hindu world. To see them all, click here.
Rethinking Forum staff members are also working with local churches to facilitate a five-lesson course for Christians interested in reaching Hindus, called “the Hindu-Christian Interface.” Write and ask for a brochure or more information.
EVENT – Are You Ready for the Global Day of Prayer?
Source: Global Day of Prayer, March 17, 2008
With less than two months to go to May 11, 2008 (Pentecost Sunday), excitement is building. Many nations are busy mobilizing their countries and communities. Reports are coming in of growing numbers of events.
The ten-day prayer guide and prayer for the world are translated into 31 languages to date. At least 24 official Global Day of Prayer websites link to the international website. A Bible marathon – a challenge to read the Bible cover to cover – is planned for the 90 days of blessing following the Global Day of Prayer.
Organizers say it is their prayer to see all 220 nations of the world join this year’s Global Day of Prayer. Currently, believers in 180 nations have registered to participate. Missions Catalyst readers, can we help mobilize those we know in these nations, and help raise up representatives from the rest? Here’s the list of nations yet to sign up:
ASIA: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
CARIBBEAN: Aruba, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands of the USA
EUROPE: Austria, Faeroe Islands, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino, Kosovo
LATIN AMERICA: Colombia, Falkland Islands, French Guyana, Guatemala
NORTH AMERICA: Greenland, St. Pierre & Miquelon
PACIFIC: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna
To learn more about any of this, check the website or write to organizers here.
Questions? Problems? Submissions? Contact publisher/managing editor Marti Smith.