Missions Catalyst

In this issue:

1. CURRICULUM: A Children’s Introduction to Missions
2. WEBINARS & PODCASTS: Responding to Coronavirus
3. PRAYER: Praying for the Muslim World
4. COURSES: Training for Cross-Cultural Ministry
5. EVENTS: Happening Online in May

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Source: Pioneers USA

School’s out or gone online, same with church activities, and play dates and parks are off limits. Looking for something fun you can do as a family? Check out the WorldViews curriculum. You may remember this one. It was designed several years ago in partnership with Sonlight Curriculum, then revised and re-released by Pioneers. The idea is to give kids a global perspective with a biblical foundation and help them learn to share God’s love with people all around the world.

Each WorldViews lesson includes crafts, games, coloring pages, recipes, videos, etc. While activity booklets are still available print-on-demand format, Pioneers decided this was a good time to also give away the curriculum as a download. Check it out.

» Learn more, download materials, and watch short videos teaching kids about world religions. Note that this material is based around the THUMB acronym, describing tribal, Hindu, unreligious, Muslim, and Buddhist people in age-appropriate ways for kids aged 4-7 and 7-10.

» By the way, did you read our recent Missions Catalyst article on things you can do as a family to stay sane and love the world? We’d love to hear if you’ve put any of those ideas to use.

Sources: Various

Having a hard time keeping up with the onslaught of new media content now available to instruct, encourage, inspire, or entertain? Sometimes it stays online so you can watch or listen at your own convenience. Consider these offerings from the missions world.

From Sixteen:Fifteen

• God, Germs, and Global Missions: Ministering Effectively In the Face of a Pandemic, with David Joannes and Jon Hirst.
• Caring for Missionaries in a Pandemic: Biblical and Practical Insights, with Jeff Jackson.
• Coming up: Keeping the Missions Flame Burning During a Pandemic: God, Germs and Missions Part II (May 14).

From Support Raising Solutions

Wondering about how to adapt your fundraising and ministry partner development strategies during the COVID-19 crisis? SRS did a 7-part series of podcasts on the topic. Each features a different guest and runs about half an hour.

From Missions Pulse

• The Mission Is Not Canceled (and other topics), an interview with Paul Worcester; includes some good outreach tips.
• Is Jesus Enough During a Global Pandemic? (and other topics), an interview with Philip Nation.
• Coming up: Global Missions Amidst a Pandemic: A Live Prayercast (May 1). Looks like this is a partnership with a number of groups.

Sources: Various

You probably know this by now, but Ramadan starts this week, and with it, 30 days of prayer for the Muslim world (April 24 to May 23). Several organizations have produced material you can easily download and share with your friends, family, and church even when so many of us are unable to meet face to face. Would one of these strategies work for you?

• Purchase and download PDF booklets from the 30 Days website.
• Subscribe to emails and watch prayer videos from across the Muslim world from Prayercast. See their calendar of topics.
• Sign up for That All May Know, a 30-day prayer series from Frontiers.
• Use the time to focus prayers on one people group, country, or ministry in the Muslim world which God has put on your heart.

» Ramadan and the Eid Al Fitr holiday that follows will sure be different this year. Let’s ask God to use this time to draw many to himself.

Source: Grow2Serve

Maybe you’re preparing for cross-cultural ministry or are responsible for people who are, and you see how many conferences and training events are being called off or postponed. But many training programs are already built for distance learning. A growing number of mission agencies are offering inexpensive, online training courses through Grow2Serve.

In addition to the kinds of training cross-cultural workers will always need, like culture and language acquisition courses, they have several new ones that seem particularly relevant at this time:

• Sustainable Resilience was developed in partnership with the Center for Intercultural Training. It’s a two-week course that requires a time commitment of nine hours.
• Living on Mission in Times of Crisis is a new course developed in partnership with Multiply. It’s a 12-day course that requires ten hours to complete. Several mission agencies are now offering the course.

» See the Grow2Serve Calendar.

» Need training to serve among Muslims? See several options below, and note that The Zwemer Center is offering 50% off non-credit seminar courses for the next 30 days. Check their social media channels for the discount code.

Source: Missions Catalyst Missions Events Calendar

Event organizers canceled or postponed the face-to-face event on our May events calendar, but online events go on and have multiplied. For your convenience, this list includes upcoming events described above.

May 1, Global Missions Amidst a Pandemic: A Live Prayercast (online). YouTube event from Missions Pulse and partners.

May 4 to August 2, Encountering the World of Islam (online). Embracing Muslims with the love of Christ. Classes start several times a year.

May 4 to September 6, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online). New classes launch regularly.

May 7, National Day of Prayer (USA). An annual event.

May 12, Leveraging Youth Mission Trips for Long-Term Spiritual Growth (online). Webinar from the Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission.

May 14, Keeping the Missions Flame Burning During a Pandemic: God, Germs and Missions Part II (online). Webinar from Sixteen:Fifteen.

May 14, From City to Shore: Jesus Film Project is Seeking to Equip the Global Church (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

May 18-19, Prayer ConneXion (online). An annual event and ministry of Mission ConneXion, based in Portland, Oregon. Now moved online.

May 20-27, Parenting Third Culture Kids (online). Distance-learning course provided by the Center for Intercultural Training.

May 26 to June 5, Summer Institute on Islam (online). Learn to share your faith effectively with Muslims; intensive course now moved online.

May 28, Pathways for Women in Leadership (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

May 30 to June 1, Together: Making Disciples Among the Nations (online). Annual conference of the Association of Christians Ministering Among International Students (ACMI), now moved online.

May 31, International Day for the Unreached (global). An annual event.

» View complete calendar. Submissions and corrections welcome. We will continue to make updates about canceled and postponed events.