ACTIVITY: Global Scavenger Hunt for Kids
Source: Wycliffe Bible Translators
Kids are home from school, the weather is warm, the outdoors are green, and everything is filled with promise for adventure and fun. But it can also feel a bit overwhelming when you consider the weeks (they might even feel endless) that your kids are out of school, needing to be entertained, engaged, involved, or kept busy with something.
This scavenger hunt should keep your kids busy for a portion of the day while also giving you a chance to teach them something fun and interesting about the world in which we live. So go ahead, send them on a worldwide scavenger hunt—right in your own home!
» Learn about other activities for children from Wycliffe.
» See also Worldviews: A Children’s Introduction to Missions, from Pioneers (which is also the ministry behind Missions Catalyst). Discover any great new resources for children’s missions education? Let us know.
MAGAZINE: EMQ, the Mobilization Issue
Source: Missio Nexus
The Evangelical Missions Quarterly, which recently became part of Missio Nexus, is in its fifty-fifth year as a professional journal serving the worldwide missions community. If you don’t currently subscribe to EMQ, now may be a good time to sign up.
The latest issue will give you plenty to chew on related to raising up and equipping global missionaries (and global mobilizers). It includes the nine articles listed below and nine book reviews as well as several other features. The magazine is only published electronically now.
- Mobilization: The Fourth (and Final?) Era of the Modern Mission Movement, by Steve Shadrach
- The Mobilization Index: Connecting the Global Church to the Unreached, by Jason G.
- Mobilizing God’s People for God’s Mission, by Steve C. Hawthorne
- Mobilizing Movements, by Randy G. Mitchell
- Rites of Passage: Building a Mobilization Team in Your Church, by David J. Wilson
- ONLY vs. Primary and Secondary: The Key to the Missionary Motivation Problem, by Bob Sjogren
- Prayer: Our Greatest Task in Mobilization, by Steve Coffee
- Innovations in Mobilization Collaboration, by Mark Stebbins
- A Re-Focus on the Local Church: Media Collaboration in the Middle East, by Phill Butler
» Learn more about EMQ and check out the Global Mobilization Network.
» Also see the Launch Survey website, with research for mobilizers on the most significant motivations and obstacles facing aspiring missionaries. Additional material has been added to the site in recent months.
BOOK: Voices from the Field
Source: Peregrini Press
Voices from the Field: Conversations with Our Global Family, ed. T.J. MacLeslie. Volume 2 in Field Notes series. Peregrini Press, 143 pages. 2018.
What do “they” say about “us”? Are you sure want to hear? Can we afford not to?
Author T.J. MacLeslie asked dozens of missionaries to interview local friends in their host cultures, asking about their lives and stories of faith as well as their answers to questions like, “If missionaries were going to come to your town, what would you want them to know before arriving?” and “What are some areas of conflict you observe in the foreign community?” Some missionaries were reluctant to ask. Some of their friends were hesitant to speak. But these are conversations we need to have, and the answers were gracious as well as enlightening.
The volume includes the voices of more than 30 respondents from Mexico to Mongolia. You’ll have to read carefully: in order to preserve authenticity, submissions were only lightly edited and cultural differences were not smoothed out or explained away. As you read, be thinking about how local people in your context might answer these questions. Better yet, ask them.
» Purchase the Kindle edition for US$3.99 (introductory pricing). Also available as a paperback from Amazon or with free international shipping from Book Depository.
» Readers might also be interested in Global Humility: Attitudes for Mission by Andy McCullough. We learned about it in a review from OSCAR.
BOOKS: On Movements and Missionaries
Sources: Various
The Kingdom Unleashed: How Jesus’ 1st-Century Kingdom Values Are Transforming Thousands of Cultures and Awakening His Church, by Jerry Trousdale and Glenn Sunshine. DMM Library, 2018. 400 pages.
This most recent volume in the growing body of literature about disciple-making movements focuses less on telling stories from Africa and Asia, and more on analyzing how long-held practices and paradigms keep those of us in the “Global North” from experiencing the same kind of power.
This is not a simple book. It blends Bible, theology, and church history with the stories of DMM leaders and ordinary people from around the globe to make its case for a new/old way of following Jesus. If DMM is your world (or you want it to be), take some time to work through this book. It may not be the best place for someone to start, though. Readers, what would you suggest?
The Mind of a Missionary: What Global Kingdom Workers Tell Us About Thriving on Mission Today, by David Joannes. Beyond Reach Global, 2018. 332 pages.
This book explores the motivations, expectations, risks, and rewards of a missionary life. In each chapter, the story of one of a dozen mission leaders, old or new, shows us how to thrive on mission today. These missionary “guides” include Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, C.T. Studd, Nikolaus Zinzendorf, Robert Moffat, Jackie Pullinger, David Eubank, Nik and Ruth Ripken, William Carey, Hudson Taylor, Amy Carmichael, Don Richardson, and Heidi Baker.
I haven’t read this book but it looks interesting and well crafted. I intend to pick it up. See the book’s website to learn more.
EVENTS: What’s Coming up in August and September
Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar
Editor’s Note: Before we leave July, consider making time for researcher Justin Long’s Quarterly Update Webinar exploring events and trends impacting missions to the unreached. It will be offered several times on July 27. Signing up also gives you the access to materials to watch and read at your convenience.
August
August 4-11, ReBoot Re-entry Program (Calgary, AB, Canada). For returning missionary kids, ages 17-20, transitioning to life in Canada.
August 5-10, Check-IT-Out Summer Conference (Charlotte, NC, USA). For IT and software professionals and students on using technology in missions, particularly Bible translation.
August 6-7, Support Raising Bootcamp (Plano, TX, USA). Provided by Support Raising Solutions.
August 10-12, Everywhere to Everywhere (Sioux Falls, SD, USA). Missional training and outreach event.
August 13-17, Cubs to Lions (Edmonton, AB, Canada). Discipleship for Christians with a Muslim background.
August 23, The Role of Church and Mission in Crisis Management (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.
August 23-24, Support Raising Bootcamp (Edinburg, TX, USA). In Spanish.
August 31, The State of the Gospel in North America (online). Webinar from the Billy Graham Center.
September
September 3 to January 6, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online).
September 3-16, ORIENT (Joplin, MO, USA). Missionary training.
September 6, A Missionary Pipeline for your Church (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.
September 6-8, Multiply: Disciple-making Movements Summit (Wheaton, IL, USA).
September 10-14, Global Member Care Network Conference (Quito, Ecuador).
September 10 to December 9, Encountering the World of Islam (online).
September 13, Spirituality in Cross-Cultural Mission (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.
September 13-14, Support Raising Bootcamp (Vancouver, WA, USA). Provided by Support Raising Solutions.
September 3-14, Great Commission Leadership Institute (Chiang Mai, Thailand). Provided by SVM2.
September 17-18, International Orality Network Annual Conference (Orlando, FL, USA). Followed by Simply the Story Orality Training.
September 19-20, Standards Introductory Workshop (Orlando, FL, USA). Presented by Standards of Excellence in Short-term Missions.
September 19-25, Traction (Wilderswil, Switzerland). Renewal conference for men serving cross-culturally.
September 20-22, Missio Nexus Annual Conference (Orlando, FL, USA).
September 21-23, Business as Mission Conference (Philadelphia, PA, USA).
» View the complete calendar. Please let us know about mistakes or omissions. For more details, contact the event organizers.
Exchanging the good for the greater | Missions Catalyst News Briefs 07.18.18
- EAST ASIA: Exchanging the Good for the Greater
- CUBA: Seeing Christ in Neighbors and Family Members
- KYRGYZSTAN: Church of Muslim Converts Told to Close
- SIERRA LEONE: Now Sending Missionaries to Europe
- MAURITANIA: Death Sentence Compulsory for Blasphemy
- WEST AFRICA: Key of the Kingdom
See a father’s love for his child displayed in this sweet short film, Delight (The Jesus Film). How does this remind you of God’s love for his children?
Today’s news briefs deal with challenges and breakthroughs for the Church around the world. As you read them, remember the Father’s loving presence with us in every situation.
EAST ASIA: Exchanging the Good for the Greater
Source: Beyond, July 1, 2018
Recently I returned from a training in a large East Asian country. The 16 trainees were leaders of various discovery Bible groups started over the past year.
Previously, they belonged to a growing church in the city. They had recently come to a startling revelation: the more their church grew numerically, the fewer disciples they had been making. Their focus on excellent preaching had failed to produce real lifestyle changes in their members. Additionally, they found as the church grew, they had fewer new believers attending. Their desire to grow numerically was actually making them less effective as a church.
In a bold move, the church leaders decided to once again meet in small groups. They trained their leaders in the discovery Bible group process and ensured that all their members attended a small group. Shortly after they made this decision, government officials demanded they shut down their large Sunday meeting. A few months previous, this decision could have been disastrous, but these leaders saw God’s hand in the timing of these events. They decided that it was God’s will. They would not seek another meeting place for their large meeting. Instead, they would continue with the new discovery study groups, as house churches.
Pray that God will continue to equip leaders like these as they regroup to examine the real purpose of the church. Is it to grow the church in numbers or to develop disciples who develop other disciples?
» On July 27, Justin Long, Beyond’s Director of Global Research, will present a webinar about events and trends impacting mission to the unreached. The US$25 registration includes both an invitation to the webinar and a recording of it, so even if you can’t make the webinar you can still watch it and get the slides. He plans to do this once a quarter.
CUBA: Seeing Christ in Neighbors and Family Members
Source: Mission Network News, July 11, 2018
In Cuba, people are coming to Christ after witnessing the faith of their neighbors and family members.
Helen Williams of World Missionary Press says, “People are coming to recognize Jesus Christ as the only way, through his Word and the quiet testimony of the believers there.”
When Williams says “quiet testimony” she means that Christians in Cuba rely heavily on their individual testimonies, shared by word of mouth and by the way they live their lives, to witness to others.
“I just want to encourage our listeners to know that the Word is there, it is being shared, and that even in a country where there are restrictions or concerns or whatever, the Word is working. People are coming to the Lord and making it public. And we just want to praise God for that, it was just a wonderful report from Cuba of what the Lord is doing.”
» Full story mentions literature distribution and ways believers are working together, turning from idolatry, and more.
» Cuba has been experiencing revival for several decades. We continue to pray for Cuba’s Christians, especially those who are part of the 10 churches that lost their pastors in a plane crash in May.
KYRGYZSTAN: Church of Muslim Converts Told to Close
Source: World Watch Monitor, July 4, 2018
A church in Kyrgyzstan [that includes] many former Muslims has been ordered to cease its Sunday worship. A local source told World Watch Monitor that services at the church, which is led by a convert from Islam, have been interrupted twice in the last few months by a group of people consisting of local officials, representatives of the Prosecutor’s office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, assistants to the local imam, and former colleagues from the school at which the pastor used to teach.
The church has for more than a decade been led by Pastor Miran. The leadership of the school where he worked threatened to fire him after they learned of his conversion and his role as a church leader. He was also accused of child abuse by the school and jailed for six months. The source said the church felt the allegation was only leveled against him because of his conversion.
Since his release, Pastor Miran, a father of five, has been unable to find paid work. According to the World Watch Monitor’s source, local Muslims say of him: “If Miran could betray his ‘native pure Islam,’ maybe he could do other bad things too.”
» See also Hopes Dashed for Release of Pastor Andrew Brunson as Turkish Trial to Continue in October.