ARTICLE: Every Missionary Needs Friends

Source: Catalyst Services

Jesus delivered his Acts 1:8 commission as a priority for all of his followers. In the 21st century, his Church has more ways than ever before to strategically engage every believer in fulfilling this Jerusalem-to-the-ends-of-the-earth command. A list of Great Commission roles includes goer, sender, welcomer, intercessor, and mobilizer. But there is at least one other overlooked and undervalued role to include—we’re calling it missionary “Friend” with a capital “F.”

» Read the article (PDF download) and share it with others. Missionaries will thank you!

» You may also want to check out Why, When, and How to Visit Your Missionary (Global Missions Podcast).

EVENTS: March Conferences and Training

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

March 2 to July 5, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online).

March 4-5, Support Raising Bootcamp (Charlotte, NC, USA). Provided by Support Raising Solutions. Additional bootcamps this month will be held in Malaysia (March 16-18) and Guatemala (March 19-20).

March 5, Finding God-Prepared People (online). Nugget training from Beyond.

March 5, Networking Practitioners Ministering Among the Muslim Diaspora in North America (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

March 5-7, IMPACT Gathering (Atlanta, GA, USA). Annual event for those desiring CPM among UPGs of SE Asia; pre-conference training events also scheduled March 2-4.

March 6-7, Treasure Valley Missions Conference (Boise, ID, USA). Free, community-wide missions conference.

March 6-7, Standards Introductory Workshop (Boise, ID, USA). Training in the Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission. Part of the Treasure Valley Missions Conference.

March 7, Short-Term Missions Trip Leaders Training (Columbia, SC, USA).

March 9-11, Crisis Management Seminar (Cleveland, OH). Provided by Crisis Consulting International.

March 10, Realistic Expectations: Equipping and Empowering Team Leaders (online). From the Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission.

March 11, OnMission (online). Free virtual conference from Missio Nexus; focused on mobilization.

March 12, Praying the Promises of God (online). Proactive prayer training from Beyond.

March 12-15, Multiply DMM Summit (Chicago, IL, USA). Changing ministry-as-usual to disciple-making multiplication.

March 15-20, ABIDE re-entry debriefing for global workers (Joplin, MO, USA).

March 15 to April 10, Equipping for Cross-Cultural Life and Ministry (Union Mills, NC, USA). Provided by the Center for Intercultural Training.

March 19, Challenges in the North American Church Defining Mission (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

March 20-22, Everywhere to Everywhere (Wichita, KS, USA). Missional training and outreach event.

March 26-28, B4T Expo (Detroit, MI, USA). Transforming nations through business; an annual event.

March 26-28, Christian Community Health Conference (Cincinnati, OH, USA). Provided by the Christian Community Health Fellowship.

March 27-29, Jesus to the Nations (Halifax, NS, Canada). Free, annual, community-based mission festival for all ages.

March 30 to April 1, The Future of Religion and Mission (Hamilton, MA, USA). Celebrating the launch of the World Christian Encyclopedia, 3rd edition.

» View complete calendar. Suggestions and submissions welcome.

Desert Locusts | Coronavirus | Arab World

Missions-Catalyst-no-tagline_largelocust swarmDesert locusts are once again causing catastrophic crop loss, this time in East Africa and Pakistan. See below. Image via Mission Network News.

In this issue:

  1. ARAB WORLD: Global Update Tomorrow
  2. LAOS: Pray for the Unengaged
  3. EAST AFRICA: Farmers Battle Desert Locusts
  4. CHINA: Wuhan’s Christians Risk Their Lives to Share the Gospel
  5. BURKINA FASO: Pastor Abducted, 20 Killed

ARAB WORLD: Global Update Tomorrow

Source: Beyond, February 2020

When: Thursday, February 20, 2020, 7:00 to 8:00 PM (CST)

God is on the move in the Arab world. We invite you to hear Beyond’s Vice President of Global Strategies, provide some key insights into how the gospel continues to spread in this highly persecuted and restricted part of the world.

Missionaries today have a great opportunity to be a part of God’s story in this area of the world, but they may be surprised to discover that instead of being called to serve in the role of an Apostle Paul, it may be time for a new wave of Barnabas-like missionaries to rise up and encourage the local Paul’s as we link arms across the global Church in order to reach this region.

» Sign up for this free, online-only event.

» See also Believer Reaches Nomadic Neighbors with the Gospel (IMB) or read about a Brazilian seeing the gospel spread in North Africa (OM).

LAOS: Pray for the Unengaged

Source: Brigada Today, February 16, 2020

Check out this four-minute video requesting prayer for ministry among the remaining (“Final 58”) unengaged people groups of Laos. Doug Lucas is the president of Team Expansion. This is his first effort at using a drone to raise prayer!

» Watch video and pray for this outreach effort.

» See also the 34-minute, 1932 silent film Siam: Land of the White Elephant (Presbyterian Historical Society). While we’re in the region, download Praying Down the Mekong River (OMF).

EAST AFRICA: Farmers Battle Desert Locusts

Source: Barnabas Fund, February 18, 2020

The UN [has] confirmed that the desert locust plague, which can migrate up to 150km a day, has now invaded southeast Sudan, entering from northern Uganda.

Many thousands are facing acute food shortages as vast swarms of desert locusts, considered the most destructive migratory pest on earth, have caused catastrophic loss to spring crops in East Africa and Pakistan.

The locust swarms were initially reported to have spread from Yemen across the Red Sea in November 2019, before spreading south to East Africa, resulting in the worst outbreak seen in 70 years. Millions of locusts also entered into Pakistan’s agricultural belt, via Iran, in late 2019.

East Africa is now on the verge of a food crisis due to the locusts devouring crops, according to the UN, with Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Somalia the worst-hit countries at this time.

» Full story includes more about locusts devastating Pakistan. Let’s pray for those in these regions.

» Also read Christians Respond as Desert Locusts Devour and Destroy (Mission Network News).

CHINA: Wuhan’s Christians Risk Their Lives to Share the Gospel

Source: Asia Harvest, February 2020

Thank you for praying for the Church in China at this time, especially for the believers at the epicenter of the virus in Hubei Province. God’s people have risen up during this crisis. Please pray for them, and ask God to glorify his name in this disaster by granting eternal life to millions of desperate people in Hubei.

Unfortunately, even at a time such as this, the Chinese Communist Party cannot put aside their anti-Christian ideology, and we have been informed that some of the teams of believers who were preaching on the streets have been arrested and their supplies confiscated.

We are now in a position to help Chinese believers living in the area through a trustworthy local contact. He wrote that their greatest need is for “medical equipment, masks, goggles, gloves, and protective coverings.”

» Read full story includes a video of Christian street preachers.

» See Justin Long’s list of articles about the impact of the coronavirus. And you may appreciate this from Israel: Hundreds Gather at Western Wall to Pray for China, End to Coronavirus (Christian Headlines).

BURKINA FASO: Pastor Abducted, 20 Killed

Source: Open Doors, February 17, 2020

On Sunday, attackers broke into a village in the northeast region of the country while Christians gathered for worship. According to the French radio outlet RFI, the attackers killed 20 people and injured 15 more. The extremists also abducted the pastor and set the church on fire. Several people are still missing.

Please pray for God’s grace on those who lost loved ones. Ask God for a safe release of the pastor. And pray for the Lord’s protection and comfort for those injured in the attack.

These attacks are horrendous, but the Christian community in Burkina Faso is persevering through Christ during extreme persecution. But they need the prayers of the global Church to be strengthened—and to know they’re not alone.

» Read full story.

Seven Sins of a Mobilizer | Practical Mobilization

Missions-Catalyst-no-tagline_largeSeven sinsBy Shane Bennett

Quick, move on to your next email! A sermon on sin? What has come over me? This hasn’t happened once the entire 15 years I’ve been writing Practical Mobilization. Maybe it’s the approach of Lent, reminding us it’s healthy to lament and repent. Maybe deep winter has got to me. Another foot of snow will likely fall on my house tonight and football’s over until August. Ugh.

I could call this The Seven Sins of Shane. But if you’ve read Practical Mobilization for a while, you’re aware I abhor alliteration. And just maybe I’m not the only one guilty of these things. Though guilty I am. I’ve done (or am doing) them all to varying degrees. With Paul I say, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” His mercy is essential, kind, and good.

Let me be straight here: These are detours from holiness to which I think mobilizers are prone. That doesn’t mean you’re guilty of any of them. And, by way of reminder, your guilt is no match for the cleansing blood of Jesus.

1. Pandering to the Rich

Could James be any plainer? After specifically challenging our tendency to show preference for the rich, he declares, “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors” (James 2:8-9).

But the guy “wearing a gold ring and fine clothing” clearly has more disposable income to direct to your fine work than the “poor man in shabby clothing.”

If your work arrangement is like mine in that you depend on the financial gifts of others to pay your bills and feed your kids, you need relationships with people who have money to give. Ergo, you need to be nice to rich people. But somehow you can’t prefer them over poor people.

Easier said than done, in my experience.

2. Self-righteousness

How many overseas trips does it take to cancel out the sins of your youth? Will learning a foreign language or two finally earn God’s approval? Will disregard of your culture’s main narratives of accumulation and status through wealth make God like you more?

Clearly not. But I’d be dishonest not to admit that below the surface of my consciousness there lurks a bit of this notion that God likes us more when we do more stuff for him. And that brings us to…

3. Pride, the Ugly Brother of Self-righteousness

Can we agree it’s hard to preach a sermon on the heart of God or what God is trying to do in the world and not think, “Hmmm, I must know the heart of God!” Even when our words are couched in scripture, as well they should be, we may believe we’re the ones with a right understanding of the Word. Those we speak to need to have their thoughts tweaked, changed, or maybe even traded in for the new model.

Whenever we are sure we believe rightly about a given issue, lifestyle, political approach, or really anything, pride is waiting to jump us. Since God says clearly that he “opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble,” my frequent prayer is this: “Father, help me be humble! I don’t want you to have to oppose me.”

4. Idolatry

Is it possible we might value the work of God ahead of the God of the work? I’ve wrestled with accusations of this from people I’ve loved and trusted. “You’ve made an idol of your ministry.” I don’t think so, but I get that sometimes such things are easier to see from the outside. I do know that I don’t want to progress years down the road in my work only to look back and see God waving far behind me.

We’re called to be passionate, self-sacrificing, and diligent. Our work can be hard and require attention and focus. May God give us grace such that while working hard, our chief focus stays fixed on the author and perfecter of our faith.

5. Judgement

A couple of Sundays ago I attended the first service at a pretty big church in Salt Lake City. At the conclusion, with no place to be, I sat in the lobby watching the service-one people depart and service two begin to show up. After a few minutes it occurred me that I was clearly judging on outward appearance, not like the Lord who “looks on the heart.” I’m not proud of my thoughts: “Those guys are cool. Those guys are weird. Those guys are trying way too hard to be cool.”

It’s so easy for mission mobilizers to fall into judgement. God has called us to call the attention of his body to those for whom his blessing has yet to arrive. Most won’t respond as we wish. Some will not care at all. How do you deal with that? Have you ever shaken your head and seethed just a bit? I sure have.

Jesus soberly warns us that the way we judge is the way we’ll be judged. That gives me pause. So, in this case, do the words of Brené Brown: “I know my life is better when I work from the assumption that everyone is doing the best they can.”

Someone not answering my call to live among the unreached? If that’s cool with them and cool with God, it should probably be cool with me, too.

6. Lack of Compassion

To think that mission-y people might not be compassionate seems a little crazy. Why else would we do what we do? Well, I for one, have a long list of sub-par motivations. But what I’m referring to here is this: In our passion to complete the Great Commission, we may give short shrift to the Great Commandment. I know, I know, the best way to love someone is to tell them how to spend eternity with God. I just want to be sure I’m willing to share my sandwich while I’m doing that.

I also recognize in myself a deeper, more driving concern for Muslims, Turks, Indians, refugees, and basically most brown people far and sometimes near than I have for the white people who live in my town.

I’m happy for God to give gifts and vision to each of us as he desires. None of us can care enough for everything and everyone who needs care. But I don’t want to not love anyone Jesus desires to love through me.

7. Finally, Despair

Haven’t faced days of despair in your life or work as a mobilizer? I’m happy for you. For me it’s sometimes hard to shake the sense that it’s been a long time since Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand.” Yet the kingdom’s not here the way I wish it was. Too much injustice. Too little compassion. Too many living and dying without hearing of a God who wants them desperately.

I know, deeply know, that the hope of God is the only way I can survive, but despair lurks in the shadows. As Stephen Foster says, “Long have you lingered outside my cabin door.” As God warned Cain, “sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

Since I’m feeling pretty despair-free these days, reach out if you like and I’ll juice you up! You can return the favor later.

May God give us all grace
to walk in holy freedom with him,
humbly obedient to carry out the good works
he has prepared in advance for us to do.

Subversive Mobilization: Remember Uyghur Kids

I’ve been praying lately for the million-plus Uyghurs in Chinese concentration camps. Some experts say if the coronavirus reaches the camps the results could be devastating. I’m also concerned for their kids who’ve had to make their way to relatives or been shipped to orphanages. I can’t imagine what things might be like for them.

Will you join me? Consider putting a note on your bathroom mirror or the dash of your car that simply says, “Remember Uyghur kiddos.” Take a shot of it and share it on Facebook or Instagram to invite others to join you in praying.

God loves those munchkins. Let’s join him in that.

Reclaiming Haiti | 40 Pakistani Christians Freed

Missions-Catalyst-no-tagline_largePakistani Christians - croppedSome of the 40 Pakistani Christians acquitted and released after years in prison gather to thank advocates and supporters. Photo via Jubilee Campaign; see story below.

In this edition: