In This Issue: Prayer Campaigns, Retreats, Media Tools, and More
- MEDIA – Presentation Materials from Joshua Project
- EVENTS – Change the World through Prayer
- INVITATION – Help Stop Human Trafficking
- EVENTS – Re-entry Retreats for MKs
- EVENTS – 2008 Retreats for Prospective Missionaries
- EVENTS – Future Missionary Fellowships; Roundtable Discussions
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.
A warm welcome to the 60 new subscribers in the Washington DC / Baltimore area who join us this week!
MEDIA – Presentation Materials from Joshua Project
Source: Dan Scribner, Joshua Project
Dan writes: Thanks for the recent article about Jason Mandryk’s “State of the Gospel” presentation. A while back Jason gave us permission to (also) make his PowerPoint available for download here.
Joshua Project also offers several other Great Commission PowerPoint Presentations given at the Ethne ’06 conference. Another PowerPoint, “The Status of World Evangelization” is available in English, Spanish, German, and Traditional and Simplified Chinese.
There are a number of other items such as maps, handouts etc. on this download page that readers of Missions Catalyst might be interested in. Any data listing on the Joshua Project website can be downloaded in Excel or Word formats.
Thanks, Dan!
EVENTS – Change the World through Prayer
Student Volunteer Movement 2 (SVM2) is hosting 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting for the Global Student Mission Movement from February 15 to March 6, 2008.
Pray40! and the Ethne movement are calling for 40 hours of prayer for the world’s forgotten peoples on February 15-17. More information is available here.
It’s not too early to start planning to participate in the Global Day of Prayer, May 11, 2008.
And don’t forget Seek God for the City, coming up fast – It’s February 6 to March 16, 2008. Learn more and get materials here.
Notice how much these events overlap? As our friends at WayMakers put it: Imagine a prayed-for planet!
INVITATION – Help Stop Human Trafficking
Source: Stop the Traffik
Human trafficking for sexual exploitation or slave labor is now the world’s fastest growing illegal trade, more lucrative than drugs. Women and children are the most affected. There are an estimated 27 million people in slavery right now.
Stop the Traffik is a coalition of agencies, institutions, churches, and individuals committed to taking action against the buying and selling of people.
A petition is being raised that will be given to the UN Secretary General Bang Ki-Moon on February 13th. If we can collect a million signatures the UN will endorse a Stop the Traffik fund. So far we have approx. 500,000 signatures and US$ 1 million pledged but the deadline is approaching fast.
Please could you sign the petition on www.stopthetraffik.org and get as many people to sign up as you can. It only takes 2 minutes and will have a huge return!
Note: See also our April 11, 2007 edition of Missions Catalyst on this topic.
EVENTS – Re-entry Retreats for MKs
From: Missionary Resources Connection
Do you know “third-culture” students or MKs (missionary kids) who will soon be entering universities in the US? Would they benefit from a week of fun and support designed to help them through the potentially stressful transition?
For more than 80 years Columbia International University has been welcoming students whose families served Christ around the world. Now, they’ve teamed up with Missionary Resources Connection , a ministry committed to supporting and resourcing missionaries, to offer the sixth annual MK Re-Entry Retreats.
Retreat 1: July 5-12, 2008
Bethel Christian Camp
Gaston, South Carolina
Retreat 2: August 6-12, 2008
Columbia International University
Columbia, South Carolina
Registration deadline for both retreats is May 1, 2008. Cost is $350 per student. To register or just to get more information, click here.
EVENTS – 2008 Retreats for Prospective Missionaries
Source: John McVay
“The Journey Deepens” is a weekend retreat to help prospective cross-cultural workers explore what it is like to be a missionary, discover a good fit, and connect with mission agencies. These retreats are for college students, young professionals in their 20s and 30s, adults in their 40s and 50s, and high-school seniors willing to explore becoming a missionary.
Each retreat of 50 participants and 10 experienced missionaries from multiple agencies is highly relational with extended worship, small group discussions, personal reflection, and much prayer. Discussions include guidance, finances, singles/families, etc.
In 2008 the dates and locations are:
March 7-9 in Davis, Oklahoma
April 18-20 near Chicago, Illinois
October 17-19 in Pasadena, California
November 14-16 near Atlanta, Georgia
For more information visit The Journey Deepens.
EVENTS – Future Missionary Fellowships – Roundtable Discussions
Yes, today’s edition is full of events. Is your calendar full yet? In August we wrote about David Sherbrooke’s model for “future missionary fellowships.” He’s continuing to promote this idea and seek feedback.
Want to help shape the discussion? Roundtable events are coming up soon in Arkansas (February 5), Texas (February 7), Colorado (February 8), California (February 11), Illinois (February 12), Minnesota (February 13), Indiana (February 14), Missouri (February 18), Michigan (February 19), Florida (February 22), Maryland (February 26), Pennsylvania (February 27), and New York (February 28). More information is available here.
Questions? Problems? Submissions? Contact publisher/managing editor Marti Smith.