Source: Global Frontier Missions
Jesus said, “this gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end would come.”
How many of us have a good understanding of what the Kingdom of God is and how we can proclaim that to others? What would it look like not only to share the Good News that Jesus died on the cross for our sins but that “the Kingdom of Heaven is near”?
Take a few minutes to get a better understanding of the Kingdom of God and how to share it with others by watching this whiteboard video.
It’s also part of GFM’s Missions 101 series designed to inspire and activate the global Church in the Great Commission. They’re also used in a free five-week missions Bible study for students. And the videos are available in a growing list of languages. See the playlist. Thanks, GFM!
Another new-ish video you may find helpful: How to Communicate Safely About Your Missionary (Pioneers-USA).
Sources: Various
It’s been more than 30 years since the launch of a global effort to invite Christians to pray for the Muslim world during their season of fasting, Ramadan (this year, March 10 to April 8). Maybe you’ve participated in 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World. Why not join in again this year and bring your church, small group, or family along? Consider using one of these resources:
Would you rather focus your prayer and mobilization efforts? Missionaries and ministries all over have set up campaigns focused on the people and places they serve. Pray4Movements.org has put together a list of 100 campaigns that cover Muslim countries, regions, and major cities. Why not pick one of them and sign up for a daily prayer slot? Organizers will send you a reminder email with content specific to that campaign.
Learn more. The video below makes it easy for people to see how it works, and many of the campaigns have versions which easily walk people through the signup process for that campaign.
One more thing. You may know the month is noted for feasting as well as fasting, since good food always shows up when the sun goes down. A few years ago, our friend Shane Bennett threw down a tasty challenge to try.
“My family plans to make and enjoy a special meal once a week during [Ramadan]. Each meal will represent a significant Muslim population and we’ll remember them in prayer.”
Ask a Muslim friend for tips (and a possible dinner invite), see what Google can tell you, or just download this ready-made, four-meal menu for the Muslim world. You might also appreciate Shane’s article with 4 things every Christian should know about Ramadan.
Source: Via Families
God is worthy of our worship! He desires the worship of our families, our churches, and the nations. We sing of God’s might, holiness, justice, and love, but how often do we sing about his heart for the nations? Let’s give God the praise he deserves as he fulfills his mission to be known and worshiped by people from every nation, tribe, and tongue.
We invite you to listen to, learn and sing these 10 worship songs with your family. The lyrics speak of God’s love for the whole world, his worthiness to receive praise from all peoples, and the hope he brings to all nations. Check out the full playlist on YouTube.
See if your favorites made the list and get five tips on using worship songs with your family.
Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar
March 4 to July 7, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online). New online classes begin regularly.
March 5-7, Standards of Excellence introductory workshop (online). Provided regularly to help short-term mission leaders and mobilizers make their mission trips better. Also offered May 7-9.
March 10, Virtual Prayer Gathering: Call to Prayer (online). Join others to engage the Muslim world through prayer on the second Sunday of each month. This month, hear a testimony from Saudi Arabia.
March 10 to April 8, 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World (global). An annual global prayer event coinciding with the observation of the Ramadan fast.
March 11, Coast to Coast: Covering Ramadan in Prayer (online). Join Frontiers in covering the Muslim world in prayer during this four-hour event.
March 11 to April 6, COMPASS (Palmer Lake, CO, USA). Language and culture acquisition provided by Missionary Training International.
March 12 to May 14, Frontier Filmmaking Seminar (online). Learn to make cross-cultural evangelistic films with Create International.
March 18-22, Storytelling Training (online). Get hands-on experience with oral Bible storytelling with five three-hour sessions provided by Story Runners.
March 19, Contend: Monthly Day of Prayer For Mission Mobilization (global). Coordinated by GMMI. Held on the third Tuesday of each month.
March 21, Digital Storytelling: How to Build an Effective and Engaging Story Site (online) Peer2Peer webinar for marketing and communication staff from Missio Nexus.
March 25-26, Support Raising Bootcamp (Orlando, FL, USA). Provided by Via, formerly Support Raising Solutions. More classes held around the world throughout the year.
March 28, A Journey toward Polycentric Missions Leadership (online). A webinar from Missio Nexus.
View the complete calendar, updated regularly. Submissions welcome.
Source: God Reports, February 8, 2024
A former sharpshooter Muslim and aide to Yasser Arafat, Taysir “Tass” Abu Saada strongly believes a revival will break out after the Israel-Hamas war.
“We are looking at a good revival going on already in the Gaza Strip due to what has happened,” [Saada] told CBN. “Despite the destruction that is taking place, I believe God has a purpose to get the Palestinians in Gaza to wake up and look at different alternatives to what they believe.”
[Saada] is himself a Palestinian, though born in Qatar. He passed through the Palestinian militant ranks from sharpshooter to aid to former PLO Chairman Yassar Arafat. Today, however, he is a Christian overseeing teams who evangelize in the West Bank and Gaza.
In the CBN report, [Saada] confirmed an earlier story that 200 Gazans received Jesus en masse when they all received the same dream about Jesus on the same night.
The full story includes a link to an interview with Saada. More of his personal story is told in a 2010 Tyndale House book, Once an Arafat Man: The True Story of How a PLO Sniper Found a New Life.
A Missions Catalyst reader asked if we’d heard the reports that 200 Gazans dreamed of Jesus on the same night in November. We had our doubts and couldn’t confirm the story. This one seems a step closer to the source. Pretty wild, though. Let’s pray for God to bring revival by any means he chooses.
Sources: Asbury University
On February 8, 2023, what began as a routine Wednesday morning chapel service with the student body turned into a multi-week outpouring that some have described as a revival. Led by students, the services attracted college students from hundreds of other colleges and universities, beginning as soon as Wednesday evening.
Then, news of the continuous services spread around the world, and attracted people from as far away as Russia and Japan. Media outlets arrived en masse to cover the spiritual awakening among young people. Countless reports of life change, salvation, and re-dedications to Christ were some of the amazing results of the outpouring events. Asbury staff, faculty, students and volunteers worked tirelessly to welcome the visitors to campus, with orderly lines to get into Hughes extending a half mile long around campus.
Since then, the community has worked to share what God did, and spread the gospel and testimonies of life change. Also, Asbury’s pastoral care staff is working to disciple and mentor students impacted through the outpouring through different initiatives on campus.
The events lasted for 16 days, culminating in a service specifically for Gen Z students on February 23, 2023. Yet, the Lord continues to move across the Wilmore community, Kentucky, the United States, and the world.
A page on the Asbury University website includes at least a dozen links to articles reflecting on this event and its impact a year later.
Of course, we saw some more skeptical responses to the anniversary, too. This author claims none of the churches in the area saw significant growth or transformation (Samuel Sey).
Source: Religion News Service, February 6, 2024
With the 2011 movie “Thor,” the Avengers film franchise made Thor, Loki, and Odin the equals of Iron Man and Black Panther, transforming these ancient Norse gods into mythic Marvel superheroes.
But followers of Ásatrú, or Norse paganism, still honor their gods, and in Iceland, where Ásatrú is the second-most-practiced religion after Christianity, a new temple to the Norse deities is rising now on Öskjuhlíð, a hill overlooking the center of the capital city of Reykjavik. Dedicated to the whole pantheon of Norse gods and nature spirits, it is the first pagan temple to be built in more than 1,000 years.
The opening of the temple was initially planned for 2016, but the 2008 financial crash, which hit Iceland hard, delayed construction, and progress was further inhibited by the COVID-19 pandemic. Magnús Jensson, the architect of the Hof Ásatrúarfélagsins (“the Temple of the Ásatrú Fellowship”) and a member of the pagan community, said that the plan now is to open the temple in stages over the next few years.
Read the full story. Religion News Service recently ran another interesting story about sacred items smuggled out of Nepal being returned to that mostly Hindu nation.