BOOK: Women in God’s Mission

Source: InterVarsity Press

Women in God’s Mission: Accepting the Invitation to Serve and Lead, by Mary T. Lederleitner. IVP Books, 2018. 240 pages.

Mission researcher Mary Lederleitner, author of Cross-Cultural Partnerships, surveyed 95 respected women in mission leadership from 30 countries. The author shares their experiences in their own words and identifies best practices and key traits of thriving leaders.

Readers will appreciate the author’s commitment to honoring those who hold diverse views about gender roles without failing to address the realities of gender discrimination. I found this book well written, carefully documented, and rich with examples. The suggestions for how husbands and colleagues can help women thrive were also helpful. I’d recommend this book to both men and women.

» Purchase from Amazon (or elsewhere).

» I also just finished another new book from IVP, Eddie Byun’s Praying for Your Missionary: How Prayers from Home Can Reach the Nations. Might make a good gift for senders and supporters. I’ll post a review on Amazon.

EVENTS: Coming up in December

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

December

December 4-6, Finishing the Task Conference (Lake Forest, CA, USA).

December 13, Factors Affecting Asian American Participation in World Missions (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

December 13-14, Support Raising Bootcamp (Orlando, FL, USA). Provided by Support Raising Solutions.

December 26-29, Chinese Missions Conference (Houston, TX, USA).

December 27-31, Urbana Conference (St. Louis, MO, USA). Intervarsity’s triennial student missions conference.

…and here’s a preview of January events:

January 2-5, Cross Conference (Louisville, KY, USA). Student missions conference.

January 9 to June 28, School of Global Harvest (Chiang Mai, Thailand). Provided by SVM2.

January 11-12, The Journey Deepens (Bellevue, WA, USA). Provided by Mission Next.

» View the complete calendar. We’d be grateful for your help in rounding up the details for 2019 events that should be added to this calendar. Just shoot us an email! If you want to know more about a specific event, though, contact the event organizers.

BOOK: Ministry in Muslim Contexts

MarginsOfIslamSource: William Carey Library

Margins of Islam: Ministry in Diverse Muslim Contexts, ed. Gene Daniels and Warrick Farrah. William Carey Library, 2018. 240 pages.

If you’ve ever thought, “I know more about ‘Islam’ than this Muslim in front of me does,” you may have discovered for yourself the diversity of belief and practice in the Muslim world… which may not line up with what you had read, heard, or assumed.

In Margins of Islam, 16 thoughtful cross-cultural workers take us on a tour through a wide variety of Muslim communities.

These including contexts shaped by Sufism, animism, urbanization, colonialism, secularism, and nationalism and among North African Berbers, nominally Muslim Bosnians, Chinese Muslim youth, and Russified Central Asians as well as the Muslim communities in the UK, France, Indonesia, Thailand, Turkey, and elsewhere. Each author describes the historical and cultural factors shaping Muslims in that specific context and draws conclusions for ministry that may also apply in communities affected by the same dynamics.

Since the book is both academic and practical, you can use it for your own teaching, writing, or research and come away with things to think about, ask about, or explore in your relationships with Muslims, as well as finding clues on where to learn more.

» Purchase the Kindle edition from Amazon for US$9.99; $15.99 for the paperback. Visit the publisher’s site to see the table of contents and a endorsements.

BOOK: Short-Term Missions Workbook

Source: InterVarsity Press

Short-Term Missions Workbook: From Mission Tourists to Global Citizens (revised and expanded), by Tim Dearborn. IVP Books: October 2018. 144 pages.

Looking for a tool to train a team for a mission trip? This helpful classic may be just what you need. It includes Bible studies, cross-cultural training helps, discussion questions, cultural simulation activities, and a leader’s guide.The content of this new edition closely follows that of the 2003 edition but has been updated throughout. New chapters focus on on facing risks, fear, and suffering and making the most of the trip after returning home. I recommend it highly.

Two things you should know, though:

  • Readers are assumed to be Americans traveling to other countries, but the workbook can also be used with teams serving cross-culturally in the US. I don’t think it would work very well for self-study apart from a team.
  • Participants are also encouraged to read Beyond Duty: a Passion for Christ, a Heart for Missions (from the same author and publisher and revised in 2013). References are made to it throughout. But the two books can also be used separately.
  • The author suggests teams meet weekly for nine sessions, as well as twice following the trip (using video conferencing if necessary).

» Get the paperback for US$12.38 from Amazon (or elsewhere). Get a discount on bulk purchases if you get them from IVP. It’s also available as an ebook.

» Need something simpler or more flexible? Try the bestselling Before You Pack Your Bag, Prepare Your Heart, by Cindy Judge.

PODCAST: Three Trends in Global Missions

Source: Global Missions Podcast

The Global Missions Podcast, out of Canada, has recently launched a new season. In the October 2 episode, Marv Newell of Missio Nexus unpacks three big trends impacting missions today, with practical ways that churches and mission agencies can respond to these realities. Nothing we haven’t heard before, but I’m not sure we’ve adjusted our approaches enough in light of these factors.

» Listen to the podcast. There’s also a brand-new episode about how the upcoming Urbana Conference.

» The Taking Route Podcast, a fun one for women living cross-culturally, has also launched a new season you or someone you know might enjoy.

ARTICLE: Are We Serving Orphans?

Source: Catalyst Services

Often orphanage ministry is one of a church’s most-popular global missions efforts because there is such an emotional attachment to needy children. Yet disturbing facts about the orphanage model, especially the impact of Western short-term ministries in majority world orphanages, are causing many churches to rethink their strategy for orphan ministry abroad.

» Full article includes case studies, best practices, and more. You can read it online or download as an eight-page PDF.

EVENTS: Coming up in October and November

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

See the online calendar for links.

October 18, Stewarding the Purpose Inside Your People (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

October 11-12, Support Raising Bootcamp (Rogers, AR, USA). Provided by Support Raising Solutions.

October 18-20, B4T Expo (Kansas City, MO, USA). Business for transformation. Sponsored by OPEN USA (formerly NexusB4T).

October 19-20, Missions Fest Seattle (Bellevue, WA, USA). Free annual community missions event.

October 19-20, MissionFest Toronto (Milton, ON, Canada). Free annual community missions event.

October 19-20, Check-IT-Out Fall Conference (Charlotte, NC, USA). For IT and software professionals and students on technology in missions/translation.

October 21-26, ABIDE (Joplin, MO, USA). Debriefing and reentry help for returning missionaries.

October 22 to November 17, COMPASS Prefield Training (Palmer Lake, CO, USA). Provided by Missionary Training International multiple times a year.

October 27, Heart for Muslims conference (New York, NY, USA).

October 28 to November 11, 15 Days of Prayer for the Hindu World (global).

October 30 to November 27, Using Mobile Phones in Missions (online). Mentored course to leverage ministry outreach using phones. Provided by Mission Media U.

November 1, The New Normal for Mission in China (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

November 1-2, Finishing the Task through Children (Carlsbad, CA, USA). Gathering sponsored by Missio Nexus and Kids Around the World.

November 1-3, Christian Community Development Association (Chicago, IL, USA). An annual event.

November 1-3, Crescent Project National Conference (Columbus, OH, USA).

November 4, International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (global).

November 1-4, GO Equipped Tentmaking Course (Velbert, Germany).

November 4-30, Mobilizer Equipping School (Chiang Mai, Thailand). Provided by SVM2.

November 5 to March 17, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online).

November 7, The Missionary Pipeline (online). Free webinar from Sixteen:Fifteen.

November 7-11, GO Equipped Tentmaking Course (Ceski Tesin, Czech Republic).

November 8, The Place of Orality in Church Planting (online).

November 8-10, Global Missions Health Conference (Louisville, KY, USA). Annual event focused on medical missions.

November 14-15, Standards Introductory Workshop (Cincinnati, OH, USA). Presented by Standards of Excellence in Short-term Missions.

November 15, Insights from Respected Women in God’s Mission (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

November 15-17, GO Equipped Tentmaking Course (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Hosted by Tent Brazil.

November 15-18, Mental Health and Missions Conference (Angola, IN, USA).

November 15-18, The International Conference on Missions (Cincinnati, OH, USA).

November 27-28, Support Raising Bootcamp (Colorado Springs, CO, USA). Provided by Support Raising Solutions.

» View the complete calendar. Please let us know about mistakes or omissions. For more details, contact the event organizers.

Seven Thorny Questions | Missions Catalyst Resource Reviews

Missions-Catalyst-no-tagline_large

  1. BOOK: Seven Thorny Questions for Church Mission Leaders
  2. E-BOOK: Sharing the Gospel with Asian Atheists
  3. MOBILE APP: 10/10 Prayer and Fasting
  4. EVENT: Hindu World Prayer Focus
  5. EVENTS: Coming up in October

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BOOK: Seven Thorny Questions for Church Mission Leaders

Mapping Church MissionsSource: InterVarsity Press

Mapping Church Missions: A Compass for Ministry Strategy, by Sharon R. Hoover. IVP Praxis, 2018. 193 pages.

Should we prioritize evangelism or works of service? Local ministries or global missions? What’s more important: giving our money or giving our time? Crisis response or building sustainable, long-term ministries? And what do we make of short-term missions? Will we focus more on discipling those we serve or developing those doing the serving? What’s our attitude toward risk—will we embrace it or avoid it?

God has given our people a wide variety of gifts and passions, but how will we steward them? No church can do it all. In a book that just came out this week, church mission leader Sharon Hoover takes on seven thorny questions that often divide Christians and churches and have probably led to gridlock at some point in your church. She provides tools and examples to help you find your place on each spectrum and understand the values and perspectives of those who might be on the other side. The author’s succinct summations of the shifting and competing trends that have led to some of these tensions are particularly helpful.

» Learn more or pick up the paperback from Amazon (or elsewhere) for US$13.00, and slightly less for the Kindle edition. See also the publisher’s website.