In This Issue: Reviewing Mission Books, Blogs, and More
- BOOK: Handbook for Future Missionaries
- WEBSITES: Mission-related Blogs
- ONLINE GAME: Quest for Compassion
- FILM: A Personal Story from China
- EVENT: After-Christmas Conference for Young Adults (and Five More Webinars in 2009)
- BOOK: Reaching International Neighbors
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.
NOTE: This week we welcome new subscribers who signed up at a Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course in Colorado Springs, Colorado, an Encountering the World of Islam course in Mesa, Arizona, and the World Mission Celebration in Cincinnati, Ohio. Glad to have you!
BOOK: Handbook for Future Cross-cultural Missionaries
Reviewed by: James Rider, Church Partnerships, OMF International (USA)
Global Mission Handbook, by Steve Hoke and Bill Taylor. Madison, WI: InterVarsity Press, 2009. 303 pages.
This year IVP Books released an expanded and updated successor to their 1999 manual, Send Me: Your Journey to the Nations. In a time when the evangelical world is abuzz with talk of training and discipleship, Hoke and Taylor bring us a helpful resource for determining why and how to go about becoming a cross-cultural missionary.
Within the first chapter they challenge us as readers to determine our readiness to even complete the handbook (and to work as missionaries) by completing a personal assessment. Further helps include practical activities in every chapter, personal stories, letters Taylor has written to aspiring missionaries, and discussions about support raising, education, and mission agencies. Each chapter ends with a journal worksheet to help readers apply lessons learned in that chapter.
Individuals, couples, or churches trying to create a missionary-nurturing program to send out their own could all benefit from the Global Mission Handbook. OMF’s Church Partnerships staff are exploring ways to walk alongside churches to help them better prepare people for missionary service. We find the Global Mission Handbook a great resource for this process.
>> Purchase for US$15.20 from IVP (or elsewhere).
>> Editor’s note: Ask a Missionary, based on the website of the same name and edited by John McVay, will come out in 2010 and might make a good companion to the “GMH.” It includes advice from more than 100 Christian workers about discovering God’s plan, researching options, training, funding, marriage/singleness issues, etc.
WEBSITES: Mission-related Blogs
A few months ago we wrote about using Twitter for mobilization and asked readers who they follow. Readers over at Brigada Today have been discussing Facebook. In this changing world of social media, blogging seems almost old-school, doesn’t it?
But did you know that many missionaries and mission activists keep blogs? Some of these blogs are really interesting and helpful. We’ll just highlight a few:
Missions Launch provides information, resources, and other practical support for those undertaking global mission efforts, long-term or short-term.
A Big Mission brings us an Asian perspective about Christian mission in Asia and Asian missionaries.
Circumpolar is a series of short readings related to Muslim ministry intended to equip and resource followers of Jesus to advance the gospel among Muslims.
Check ’em out. This site can introduce you to 475 more.
>> Go to the Missions Catalyst site and leave a comment to let us know about your favorite mission-related blogs!
ONLINE GAME: Quest for Compassion
Quest for Compassion is a free, interactive, online game for kids designed to educate children about global poverty and stir up a compassionate response.
Compassion International, which hosts the game, is also developing a new, free magazine for kids 8-12, due to launch in 2010. Thanks to our colleague Karen Hardin, a children’s mobilization specialist, for the heads-up!
>> Read Karen and Tami’s new Kids Ministry blog.
FILM: A Personal Story from China
Reviewed by: Tom Khazoyan, Producer, The Enemy God
Li Yang. Pasadena, CA: Deidox, 2009. 4:44 minutes.
Step into the life of Li Yang, an ordinary man in the People’s Republic of China. The simple, straightforward story takes us inside Li Yang’s apartment building and the church that meets there as he shares a meal and his faith story with neighbors.
This video is a perfect introduction to the simple practices of Chinese Christians that are the strength of the Church, in spite of persecution. It invites us inside their lives and doesn’t try to sensationalize or manipulate.
Deidox is a series of short documentary films telling personal stories of how God is actively at work in the world today and using everyday people to do his work. Li Yang is the fifth film in the Deidox series. Proceeds from Li Yang’s story help support and promote China Aid and their work with persecuted Christians.
>> View and/or download Li Yang and other films from the Deidox website.
>> Editor’s Note: Readers might also be interested in A Force for Change, the newest short documentary release from The Sentinel Group. It shows how God has changed the lives of law enforcement officers in Sao Paulo, Brazil – who in turn are changing the lives of millions.
EVENT: After-Christmas Conference for Young Adults (and Five More Webinars in 2009)
Traction for God, December 27-29, is a conference for young adults (ages 18-32) to connect them with a passion for Jesus.
The event is organized by The Harvest Group. It will be held in Rocklin, CA (near Sacramento) and feature five keynote speakers, 50 workshop topics, mission exhibits, and a concert by musician Lincoln Brewster.
The 2.5-day conference is US$99 if you register before November 11. This covers meals but not lodging. Would it make a good Christmas gift for someone you know?
>> Editor’s note, yes, this is at the same time as the Urbana conference: December 27-31 in St. Louis, Missouri.
Also new on our mission events calendar:
Five more webinars from The Mission Exchange.
November 5 – Survival Mode: Piloting Your Ministry’s Finances through the Waters of Economic Uncertainty
November 12 – My Ten Biggest Mistakes in Missions Leadership and What I Learned from Them
December 3 – Helping Students to See, Live and Commit at Urbana
December 10 – Results-focused Partnerships
December 17 – Structuring and Leading an International Mission Organization in a From-Everywhere-To-Everywhere World
>> Visit our mission events calendar for more conferences, retreats, seminars, and training opportunities.
BOOK: Reaching International Neighbors
Faces in the Crowd: Reaching Your International Neighbor for Christ, by Donna S. Thomas. Birmingham, AL: New Hope Publishers, 2008. 204 pages.
Do you want to share your faith with others but are afraid to step out? Donna Thomas explains easy ways to share the gospel naturally especially with the people from different countries who live, work, and study all around us.
This practical, inspirational guide is written for an American audience. Donna is also the author of Becoming a World Changing Family.
>> Purchase Faces in the Crowd for US$9.99 from Christianbooks.com (or elsewhere).
>> See also: Christianity Beyond Belief: Following Jesus for the Sake of Others, by Todd Hunter and reviewed by David Mays.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
We’d be glad to get your feedback about this edition of Missions Catalyst. Leave a comment on our website or contact managing editor and publisher Marti Smith.