Missions Catalyst 03.23.11 – Resource Reviews

In This Issue: Spiritual Survival, Powerful Prayer, and Practical Tools

  • BOOK: Spiritual Survival for Cross-Cultural Workers
  • ARTICLE: Powerful Praying Churches
  • CURRICULUM: Operation WorldView
  • DOWNLOAD: Free STM Starter Kit
  • SOFTWARE: Managing Mission Trips
  • EVENTS: Recent Additions to Our 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!

Resource Reviews, edited by Marti Smith, are published once a month.

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14-15)

BOOK: Spiritual Survival for Cross-Cultural Workers

Source: Pioneers

Spiritual Survival Handbook for Cross Cultural Workers, by Robert S. Miller. Orlando, FL: BottomLine Media, 2011. 111 pages.

This helpful, slender volume is an adaptation of the Survival Handbook for Young Pastors, also by Dr. Robert Miller. Miller is the founder of the Identity School for Christian Ministry.

The Pioneers website describes the new book this way: “The fight for survival is real. You serve – or are preparing to serve – in the spiritually desolate areas of our world. The elements you face each day are intense. What can you do to prepare for the challenges? Dr. Robert Miller presents a preparedness strategy for surviving the wilderness of ministry that is helpful for the new and the experienced alike.

“Developed by the Pioneers Member Development Team with pastor and author Dr. Robert Miller, the Spiritual Survival Handbook combines insight from cross-cultural church planters with contributions from theologians and thinkers in the area of spiritual formation and leadership. The handbook begins by exploring the world of identity and works outward to practical topics of spiritual warfare, relationships, leadership, and team-building.”

Steve Richardson, president of Pioneers USA, says: “I fully expect that the Spiritual Survival Handbook becomes one of a small number of key handbooks that will be used widely in Pioneers to guide and encourage our workers.”

>> Purchase for US$7.00 from Pioneers. You can also get it on Amazon. The Kindle edition is US$5.99.

ARTICLE: Powerful Praying Churches

Source: Catalyst Services

“If we truly believe that prayer is crucial for global outreach, that God has given the task of missions to the church, and that many churches aren’t highly engaged in intercession, then shouldn’t we mount a huge effort to address this disconnect?”

The latest edition of Catalyst Postings, part one of two on this topic, is a six-page PDF. It tells the story of two churches that have been ignited to intercede for the world and provides 30 great ideas you can use to engage churches in prayer!

>> Go to the Catalyst website to download Powerful Praying Churches. While you’re at it, why not subscribe to Catalyst Postings?

CURRICULUM: Operation WorldView

Source: Mission ONE

Newly updated, improved, and on sale right now: Operation WorldView is inspired by the Perspectives course and provides eight one-hour training sessions designed for small groups and churches. From our friend Werner Mischke, it features his teaching and that of Mission ONE’s Bob Schindler.

The set includes six DVDs, an 80-page leader’s guide, and a 56-page participant’s guide. This product “launches” April 1. Order by March 31 for a pre-order discount.

On the website you can see what’s new in this edition and what’s the same, and view a sample video on “The Story of His Glory.”

>> Learn more or purchase for US$229 (before March 31) from Mission ONE.

DOWNLOAD: Free STM Starter Kit

Source: DELTA Ministries

DELTA’s Short-Term Mission Starter Kit, released on CD in January 2010, can now be downloaded by churches and ministries around the world.

This free kit gives churches and organizations nearly 40 resources for prayer, encouragement, training, post-ministry follow-through, and a comprehensive referral list of more than 60 short-term mission resources. Includes printable materials and links to help with all phases of a short-term mission (pre-field, on-field, post-field) and adheres to the U.S. Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission.

>> Learn more or download material.

SOFTWARE: Managing Mission Trips

Source: Managed Missions

Have you seen ManagedMissions? It’s an online application designed to streamline time-consuming aspects of organizing and leading a short-term mission trip by helping you create a budget, manage expenses, track fundraising efforts, schedule and communicate about tasks and meetings, and more.

“With everything from contributions and calendar items, to member contact information and requesting travel quotes all in one place, ManagedMissions.com makes leading a mission trip simple. By reducing the time and energy spent on the administrative portion of trip preparation, leaders are freed up to help their team prepare spiritually for a life-changing experience on the mission field.”

>> Tour the site. Pricing plans vary from US$15 to $25 per month, with a free 30-day trial.

Editor’s Note: Readers may also remember MissionMakr, another STM “service” we reviewed a while back. Looks like ManagedMissions is focused more on organization behind the scenes where MissionMakr shines at facilitating promotion and communication with supporters. Check them both out.

EVENTS: Recent Additions to Our Calendar

Source: Missions Catalyst Calendar

Events for mission leaders from CrossGlobal Link:

March 23 – Web Workshop: Principles of Effective Leadership Transition (online). Six-week midday, web-based workshop Featuring Dr. Camille Bishop of University of the Nations.

April 12 – Webinar: Strategic Plans that Learn: How to Survive and Thrive During Rapid Change (online). Featuring organizational consultant James C. Galvin.

April 19 – Webinar: Your Church’s Mission Leadership Team (online). Featuring David Mays of The Mission Exchange.

May 10 – Webinar: Integrating Women into Leadership in Mission Agencies (online). Featuring leadership coach Leanne Dzubinski.

June 01 to 04 – Engage: Linking the Voices of Global Mission (Elgin, IL, USA). Hear from majority-world mission leaders.

Conferences and events sponsored by OMF:

April 02 – Heart for Asia Conference (Lancaster, PA, USA). Hope for billions.

April 30 – Reaching your East Asian Neighbors (Pleasant Hill, CA, USA). Training seminar.

May 07 – Reaching your East Asian Neighbors (Littleton, CO, USA). Training seminar.

Following God’s Call Together events – Meet OMF’s new U.S. National Director, celebrate God’s faithfulness, and take hold of the call to bring hope to East Asia. Events planned for the following cities:

March 26 – Columbia, SC

April 08 – Pasadena, CA

April 09 – Fullerton, CA

April 16 – Houston, TX

April 29 – West Chicago, IL

April 30 – Deerfield, IL

May 07 – Lexington, MA

Additional events:

March 29 to April 02 – Simply the Story (Joplin, MO, USA). Bible storytelling seminar. One-day, three-day, and five-day options. See their website for additional events and training.

April 04 to 06 – Security Seminar (Waxhaw, NC, USA). From Crisis Consulting International.

April 04 to 06 – Acquire (Joplin, MO, USA). Language acquisition training, provided by TRAIN International.

April 07 to 09 – Crisis Management Seminar (Waxhaw, NC, USA). From Crisis Consulting International.

April 08 to 10 – World Missions Conference (Paducah, KY, USA). Annual conference by World Missions & Evangelism.

April 30 – Art in Missions (Boston, MA, USA). Training event.

September 12 to 15 – Annual Conference for Oral Communicators (Asheville, NC, USA). International Orality Network.

November 02 to 05 – COMHINA National Missions Congress (Miami, FL, USA). Sponsored by the US Hispanic mission mobilization network.

>> View the complete calendar and/or submit items.

Marti SmithMarti Smith is a writer, speaker, and project manager for Pioneers. Since the mid-90′s she has helped prepare cultural research teams and sent them out to explore unreached communities and mobilize efforts to serve these groups. Marti manages and publishes Missions Catalyst and is the author of Through Her Eyes, a book about the lives of missionary women in the Muslim world.

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One thought on “Missions Catalyst 03.23.11 – Resource Reviews”

  1. An alert reader just let us know the links to the STM starter kit aren’t working. Looks like their site went down. Hopefully just a momentary glitch. The links we provided should be correct. Check back again later!

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