Missions Catalyst – Page 146 – World Missions News, Ideas, and Resources

EGYPT: 21 Churches Receive Long-Delayed Approval to Rebuild

Source: World Watch Monitor, November 29, 2017

Twenty-one churches in Egypt’s southern rural Minya governorate can restore, expand, and rebuild their churches after receiving approval from the Minya Governor. Governor Essam al-Bedeiwi approved the 21 applications over the last six months. Some of the churches had been waiting for more than 20 years for a permit to come through.

Some analysts note that the approvals have preceded several visits by international evangelical delegations to Cairo.

[On November 19], leaders from evangelical churches around the world met Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo, as part of the celebrations marking 500 years since the Reformation. This followed a visit in early November by a delegation of Christian evangelicals from the US to meet evangelical leaders in Egypt.

» Full story also describes other developments involving religious liberty and government actions in Egypt. Also from this source, see Syria: Homs Christians Return to Rebuild Homes and Lives.

UZBEKISTAN: Silk Road Secrets

Source: Create International, November 15, 2017

The ancient silk road, famed for the transportation of exotic spices, silks, and other valuables in the ages past, winds its way through Central Asia including Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara, all cities in the beautiful nation of Uzbekistan.

In this past year the Uzbek Bible has been published. The next step in the process is to develop strategies for scripture engagement. Our contacts were eager to create tools that would both assist with this and also share the love of Christ with the 30 million Uzbeks.

It turns out that both [the prophets] Daniel and Job are well known to Uzbeks. The official tomb of the Prophet Daniel is in Samarkand. Also there is a spring that has a legend connected to Job, known to Uzbeks as the “Patient Prophet.” Both monuments set up for these men are visited by many Uzbeks every day.

So we set out to make “documentaries with a difference”—sharing the beauty and history of Uzbekistan with their own people and giving insight into these two characters. The films tie together scripture and Uzbek culture in unique ways to express how the gospel is not foreign (i.e., not Russian) and Jesus is their way to salvation.

» Read full story. I don’t see a way to get the documentaries described here, but found a link to a IndigiTube, a related website where you can download more than 450 gospel films in over 120 different languages and search for audio Bibles in more than 1,300 different languages.

» See also Believers in Tajikistan Risk Their Lives to Share the Gospel (Open Doors) about the growth of the church in a neighboring country.

USA: Dinner Churches Spring Up Nationwide

Source: Joel News International, December 4, 2017

In 2009, Saint Lydia’s, a Lutheran church in Brooklyn, New York garnered national attention when it began holding a weekly service over dinner. Longing to dispel feelings of isolation often reported among young New Yorkers, founder Emily Scott decided to model her service around the early church practice of having a meal together as Eucharist.

Meanwhile, the Assemblies of God Community Dinners in Seattle, Washington; the Disciples of Christ Potluck Church in Madisonville, Kentucky; and the Episcopal Southside Abbey in Chattanooga, Tennessee began experimenting with their own ideas of meal-centered worship. One by one, communities began to emerge, though many remained unaware of others participating in the movement.

In the years since, the model has grown from four to over forty congregations across North America and Europe, with new communities emerging on a weekly basis.

» Learn more (Christian Food Movement). Story includes links to dinner church locations. Maybe you want to start one or incorporate some of the ideas. Thanks to Joel News for this story. Subscribe here.

What would you change? | Resource Reviews

From Forest Hills Church in Charlotte, North Carolina: Watch this reminder that we have much to be thankful for.

SURVEY: Missions Catalyst in 2018

Greetings, readers! We’re thankful for the chance to serve you and grateful to our families and colleagues who continue to give us the freedom to keep this thing rolling. Much thanks!

Quick question for you as we head into the last month of 2017:

What’s one thing you would have us change about Missions Catalyst to make it more helpful to you in 2018?

take_the_survey

ONLINE TRAINING: Building Bridges with English

Source: ECFA ReachGlobal

Need ESL training? Building Bridges with English might be just what you need. This 25-hour course is geared toward missionaries, volunteers in church-based ESL programs in the US, and Christians who have a heart for reaching out by tutoring English. The four-week course (with orientation the week preceding) is facilitated by ESL professionals. Most find the course requires 4-6 hours per week.

The course includes audio, video, interactive lessons, quizzes, PowerPoint presentations, readings, online discussions, and practical application assignments. Participants also have access to a library of ESL resources with hundreds of free tips, ideas, lesson plans, worksheets, templates, and even a number of free, downloadable books and teaching manuals.

The next course offering will be January 15 to February 18, 2018.

» Learn more or register for the course. The cost is US$75.

BOOK: The Advent of Relationship

Advent Source: Peregrini Press

The Advent of Relationship, by T.J. MacLeslie. Peregrini Press, 2017. 66 pages.

“Have you ever been alienated from a loved one? Have you ever been estranged from a friend? Have you experienced separation where you desire connection, distance where you want closeness?

“I have. I have experienced geographic distance, as I have lived across the sea from my family and friends. But I have also known what it is to be physically close but a million miles away in the heart.

“Relationship is the root and trunk of the universe. God designed and created us for life with him. We are hard-wired for relationship. But we messed up. Both corporately and individually we have made mistakes (some of them willful) that have broken our relationship with the Community that is our Trinitarian God.”

In what areas of your life are you aware of God’s nearness?
How might you cultivate broader and deeper awareness of him?
As you approach Advent, is there anyone with whom you need to seek reconciliation?

T.J. MacLeslie is the author of several books we’ve highlighted here before. This one is a devotional which includes only glancing references to cross-cultural ministry. I think, however, you’ll appreciate its portrayal of many of the dynamics of walking with the God who took on flesh… and living out our faith in relationships.

» Purchase The Advent of Relationship from Amazon for US$5.99 (paperback) or US$2.99 (Kindle) to read and meditate on alone or with others during the Advent season.

» For something a little lighter to do with your kids, download Kate & Mack’s 12 Days of Christmas and learn how 12 different countries celebrate (Wycliffe Bible Translators). It’s free but requires registration.

PODCAST: What’s Happening in Missions Today?

Source: Global Missions Podcast

Got 25 minutes for a podcast? The November 7 edition of the Global Missions Pocast features Ted Esler of Missio Nexus providing an overview of how the North American church is participating in missions. He highlights three major trends and gives advice about how to respond.

» Listen to the podcast or skim the show notes. See also the North American Mission Handbook (reviewed in our October edition).

CLASSES: Perspectives Intensives

Source: UnMissions.net Events Calendar

“So you have always wanted to take the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement class but could never make it work out with your schedule. It always happened to be on a night of the week which wouldn’t work,” write mission advocates Joe Steinitz and Dave Shive of unmissions.net. “How about cramming a semester’s worth of Perspectives into one week?”

“You can still do the reading before and after the class itself, but you’ll have one week exposure to multiple teachers. Definitely worth the investment. Great for pastors, missionaries, and others who can’t make it to a weekly class spread over four months.”

Upcoming intensives will be offered in Pennsylvania (January 7-13), Florida (March 4-10), and Texas (July 22-28).

» Check out these classes. About 160 regular 15-week classes launch across the US in January. Online classes start throughout the year.

» Kairos, too, is offering one-week intensives, this winter in North Carolina (January 3-10) and Kentucky (January 15-19), as well as classes in Spanish and Korean. And don’t forget PathWays to Global Understanding, though their website doesn’t list 2018 courses yet.

EVENTS: A Conference, a Convention, and More

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

December 5-7, Finishing the Task Conference (Lake Forest, CA, USA).

December 7, The Porn Phenomenon and Its Potential Impace on Mission Recruitment and Retention (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

December 12-13, Support Raising Bootcamp (Orlando, FL, USA). Provided by Support Raising Solutions.

December 17, Mobilizing the Church for the World (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

December 26-29, Chinese Mission Convention (Ontario, CA, USA). An annual gathering.

» View the complete calendar. We’re posting more and more 2018 listings now. Please let us know about mistakes or omissions. For more about a specific event, though, you should contact the event organizers.