In This Issue: Heart of God, Oscar, and Someone to Do Your Research for You
- TRAINING: Heart of God Ministries
- SERVICE: Internet Missions Research
- Kids’ Prayer Cards
- WEB SITE: OSCAR
- ARTICLE: Pray for Missionary Women
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.
TRAINING: Heart of God Ministries
From: Audrey Colwell, Heart of God Ministries
Heart of God Ministries (HGM), in Choctaw, Oklahoma, USA is an interdenominational missions agency focused on training and sending teams for long-term ministry among the unreached – the two billion people who currently have no access to the gospel.
TRAIN: Beautiful Feet Boot Camp is a five-month program that offers missionary training for the whole person: physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional. HGM also offers a year-long intensive internship that includes Boot Camp training, discipleship, service opportunities, and a short-term trip.
GO SHORT-TERM: HGM offers three-week exposure trips in the spring for those who want to experience what life is really like for the unreached.
GO LONG-TERM: Those who feel called to serve as missionaries can train with and be sent by HGM for church-planting work among people who’ve never heard of Jesus.
VOLUNTEER: You can be a part of what God’s doing by joining with HGM, as a part-time volunteer, as a full-time staff member, or as a financial supporter.
MOBILIZE: HGM offers resources like missions mobilization material, seminars, and speakers, that can help your church to get involved in God’s global movement.
For more information, visit Heart of God Ministries on the web or call 405.737.9446.
EDITOR’S NOTE: They have a very cool web site! Take a look.
SERVICE: Internet Missions Research
From: Clarence Bos, Internet Missions Research
A growing amount of information on the web is not searchable by ordinary search engines. This so-called “deep web” contains up to 500 times as much information as the “surface” web. Primary documents, such as journal articles can often be found only by querying their respective databases one by one.
Internet Missions Research can help you find what you need and spend less time searching. Missionaries, church planters, and evangelists are encouraged to submit requests, especially if they are in developing countries and lack high-speed or affordable Internet connections.
Sample questions:
“We are thinking of planting a church in this area. What can you find out about it to help us in our planning?”
“I would like to communicate with other missionaries in a situation that is similar to mine. Can you help me find a discussion group or network of like-minded people?”
To request help for missions-related questions, log on to Internet Missions Research. Or you might first try the Network for Strategic Missions’ KnowledgeBase, which maintains archives of eight mission journals.
EDITOR’S NOTE: We also like MisLinks, the extensive library of links maintained (well, OK, not always maintained, but it’s a bit massive) by top-notch researchers Scott Moreau and Mike O’Rear.
Kids’ Prayer Cards
From: Caleb Project
Pray for the Yanomamo (YAH noh MAHM oh)
Greeting: wah DAY mee TAH wah!
Where We Live: Venezuela and Brazil
Fun Fact!: Yanomamo kids use an anteater bladder blown up like a balloon for a ball.
We believe certain words are forbidden. For example, we never say our names out loud. If an evil spirit knows your name, it can harm you.
Pray that God would remove fear from our hearts and replace it with love and hope.
The above is an excerpt from a set of 25, 4-inch, colorful prayer cards now available from Caleb Project. They are based on the THUMB acronym (Tribal, Hindu, Unreligious, Muslim, and Buddhist), a fun and easy way to learn about the beliefs of unreached peoples. The set comes with a carabiner to hold the cards together. Kids’ Prayer Cards are priced at $6, with bulk discounts available. These and many other great resources for children and adults can be purchased from Caleb Resources store.
EDITOR’S NOTE: You might also be interested in inviting a Children’s Mobilization Specialist to come train your leaders or present lessons to your children’s program. Find out how! [Note: original link removed, but prayer cards and consultants still available. Try Stand4Kids.]
WEB SITE: OSCAR
From: Mike Frith, OSCAR – February 17, 2006
On March 1, 2006, OSCAR, the web-based UK Information Service for World Mission, will re-launch its web site with a virtual party on the Internet. Party goers will be able to play virtual hide-and-seek, virtual pass-the-parcel, and mingle with other virtual party goers during activities and discussions.
The re-launch also coincides with the organization’s sixth birthday, so the idea of a virtual party came about.
Mike Frith, OSCAR’s Founding Director, says, “The web site re-design and re-launch marks the beginning of the next phase of OSCAR’s life. I’m thrilled with all that OSCAR has achieved over the last six years, but even more excited about what lies ahead.”
Everyone is invited to join in the party on March 1 at the OSCAR web site, which includes the following features:
* Opportunity zone – mission organizations and opportunities plus news and info from around the world.
* Service zone – mission support services and relevant information.
* Supporter zone – information, advice, and resources for mission supporters.
* OSCARactive – the interactive section of the OSCAR web site.
* News & events – time-critical information such as news, coming events, and weather.
* About OSCAR – the background of OSCAR plus information on donations and sponsorship.
ARTICLE: Pray for Missionary Women
From: Marti Smith, Managing Editor
After doing research for a book on women in missions (see the Resource Review from June 22, 2005 of the BOOK – Through Her Eyes), I put together a sheet of ideas on how to pray for women who are cross-cultural missionaries. It’s simply entitled, “Pray for Missionary Women,” and includes prayer needs of single women, married women, rookie missionaries, and seasoned veterans. Have a use for such a thing? You can request a copy of the 60 kb file by e-mail.
Questions? Problems? Submissions? Contact publisher/managing editor Marti Smith.