Author: MC

France: Digital Responders Needed for a Summer Olympics Outreach

Source: SBC International Mission Board, May 28, 2024

[Soon] thousands of people from across the globe will descend on the city that’s home to the Eiffel Tower for the Olympics.

While volunteers are traveling to Paris to serve, people can also minister from their living rooms.  

Digital engagement ministry strategies will extend the reach of the gospel far past the closing torch. Through chatting with a digital responder, not only will spectators hear the gospel, they’ll have the opportunity to connect with a Christian in their home country.

Read the full story for interesting details about how the strategy will use specially designed trading pins popular at such events. Maybe you or someone you know would like to join the digital response team?

Ukraine: Evangelicals Among the Main Groups Targeted by Russian Forces

Source: Evangelical Focus, May 20, 2024

More than two years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, the consequences at all levels are devastating.

One of the most targeted groups by Russia in occupied Ukraine are Protestants, only surpassed by members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Time magazine has reported that 34% of the registered religious persecution events had Protestants as victims, and 48% of them were in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Furthermore, there are 600 places of worship destroyed, over 30 cases of religious clergy killed and kidnapped, 109 known cases of interrogations, as well as forced expulsions, imprisonments, arrests, and sometimes even torture.

The full article includes links to other coverage and also reports that the vast majority of Orthodox Ukrainians have switched their membership away from the Russian Orthodox Church.

Got a burden for this part of the world? Check out Pray for Eurasia which profiles 175 unreached people groups Users can also set up a daily notification as a reminder to pray. The app is available in English, Ukrainian, Russian, and German. Spanish and Chinese will soon be added.

Haiti: More Than $130K Raised After a Missionary Couple Killed

Source: The Christian Post, June 2, 2024

More than $130,000 has been raised through online campaigns for Davy and Natalie Lloyd, American missionaries who were killed in Haiti by gangsters and whose remains were flown back to the United States on Saturday. The couple, along with the Haitian director of their mission, Jude Montis, 45, fell victim to an ambush at their mission compound on May 23.

Davy, 23, and his wife, Natalie, 21, were known for their commitment to providing education and religious services for children in Haiti. They were part of the Oklahoma-based group, Missions in Haiti, which was established by Davy’s parents in 2000. Natalie was the daughter of Missouri state Representative Ben Baker.

Two official fundraising campaigns were set up to cover the funeral expenses and transportation costs for transporting the couple’s remains back to the U.S.

Read the full story. Note that while these deaths got national headlines in the U.S., criminal gangs killed nearly 5,000 people in Haiti last year.

See also American Missionaries Killed in Port-au-Prince (Christianity Today) or watch the video below from South Africa’s INcontext International.

In other news, read about Haitians seeking solace from gang violence in Voudou practices (Religion News Service).

Book: Come and See, a History and Theology of Missions

Source: Union Publishing

Come and See: A History and Theology of Missions, by Glen Scrivener and Justin Schell. Union Publishing, 2022.

Could you use a “mission 101” resource that covers the biblical basis for mission and the expansion of Christianity for your church, mission committee or student small group? Here’s a solid option.

Learn more or buy the book in paperback or a digital edition; a video series (ten 30-minute videos) and a free, downloadable study guide are also available.

See also The Mission of God and the Witness of the Church, Justin Schell’s new book coming out next month from Crossway, or Glenn Scrivener’s 2022 book The Air We Breathe, which explores Christianity’s extraordinary impact on history and culture.

Article: Social Media Guidelines for Short-Term Missions

Source: The Chalmers Center

Many Western Christians’ first engagement with cross-cultural ministry is through a short-term mission trip. When we go, though, we also need to commit to embodying healthy and dignifying ways of telling others about the trip.

We live in a “pics or it didn’t happen” culture where every latte, sunset, or family gathering is fair game for a picture and a social media post. For many of us, it’s how we allow friends and family to share in our day-to-day lives. But we need to be mindful of how these habits play out in short-term missions (and cross-cultural ministry settings more generally).

Chalmers has created a social media guidelines sheet you can share with your short-term teams. They also have a whole book on helping without hurting in short-term missions.

Speaking of sharing our stories, see One Big Change to Make for Ethical Storytelling (Nonprofit PRO) and Creating Change Through Marketing (Lasting Change Podcast).

Or maybe you want to learn ways to share Jesus stories with people who don’t know him. All Nations has been doing webinars and workshops on that and now offers self-paced online courses.

Podcast: The Power of Intentional Prayer

Source: Lausanne Podcast

Do you feel stagnant in your ministry? Dr. Jason Hubbard, the leader of International Prayer Connect, shares how he was once a prayerless pastor of a prayerless church, and tells of his journey turning to God in intentional prayer igniting a revival in his congregation and leading to multiple church plants in his community.

The episode offers practical advice, inspiring stories, and insights to help you make prayer for the global mission of God a cornerstone of your ministry.

Watch or listen to the episode (43 minutes). Among other things, it states that 90% of the unreached live in or near 110 large cities—a great focus for prayer. What cities, you ask? These ones.

Podcast: Five Joshua Project Tools to Help You Mobilize

Source: Gospel Mobilization Podcast

How many people groups are there in the world, and what do people need to know about them to take action? Hear about what’s happening at Joshua Project (including a big change in the works) and how you can best use the tools they provide. Chris Clayman, now the Executive Director, has some fun and inspiring stories to tell.

Listen to the episode. Also from Gospel Mobilization: Check out the mobilization continuum—a tool you could use to help someone express their posture toward world mission.

By the way, about 1,000 people have taken the Joshua Project Survey. Got five minutes? They especially want to hear from missiologists and mission educators, researchers, prayer coordinators, strategists, and tech workers.

If mission data is what you do, it’s not to late to sign up for the Mission Information Workers Conference (see calendar item below).

Data: Disasters, Displacement, and Synchronized Baptisms

Sources: Various

  1. Wonder how often a major earthquake, tsunami, or volcanic eruption happens? See the Days Since Incident dashboard (via Justin Long). Fun, in a dark sort of way, if you live in a region bracing for the next “Big One.”
  2. Did you know the number of internally displaced people has grown 50% in the last five years? So says the International Displacement Centre in a recent report. That’s a new record and reflects a lot of people in need; more than 75 million. How can we respond?
  3. More than 12,000 people were baptized over two days in what Baptize California organizers say is America’s largest baptism ever. They also announced plans for another event, Baptize America, scheduled for Pentecost Sunday, 2025. Look for a variety of reports online.

Events: Missions Conferences and More in June

June 2-28, Equipping for Cross-Cultural Life and Ministry (Union Mills, NC, USA). Followed by a Field Security Seminar and a Language Learning Accelerator course, all from the Center for Intercultural Training.

June 3-5, Mission Information Workers Conference (online). Accelerate the development of mission information and the mission information community.

June 3 to August 6, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online). New online classes begin regularly.

June 5-6, The Mobilized Church (Denver, CO, USA). Discover keys to unlocking your church’s mission potential; offered several times a year by Sixteen:Fifteen.

June 6-8, ACMI Virtual Conference (online). An annual event for people ministering among international students. From the Association of Christians Ministering among Internationals.

June 22-23, Mission Agency Consultation (Littleton, CO, USA). Workshop for organizational leaders provided by Sixteen:Fifteen.

June 14-16, Rethinking Forum (Philadelphia, PA, USA and online). Hosted by the MARG Network for people who share both a love for Jesus and a love for Hindu people. This one’s been going for 20+ years now. Come early for meetings focused on Indian international student ministry, June 13.

June 17-21, Abide Debriefing (Joplin, MO, USA). Help for moving forward with hope and momentum; from TRAIN International (held multiple times a year; also June 24-28, July 22-26 and July 20 to August 2).

June 18, Contend: Monthly Day of Prayer For Mission Mobilization (global). Coordinated by GMMI and held on the third Tuesday of each month.

June 19-29, Breathe (Wilderswil, Switzerland). A retreat for mission workers offered annually by Catalyst International.

June 20, World Refugee Day (international). Many churches observe this with prayer on the Sunday before or after.

June 20, Launching Collaboration in the People Care & Development Community (online). From Missio Nexus.

June 25-27, Safe Travel in Risky Environments (Laurens, SC, USA). Security training for missionaries from Morton Executive Decisions.

June 27, The Ethical Edge—Leveraging AI for Authentic Content Strategy and Creation (online). Peer2Peer webinar for marketing and communications professionals from Missio Nexus.

June 28 to July 1, Field Security Seminar (Union Mills, NC, USA). Provided by Crisis Consulting International.

June 29, Day of the Christian Martyr (international). An annual event from Voice of the Martyrs.

June 30 to July 6, Wilderness Reboot (Blue Bronna, Alberta, Canada). Re-entry retreat for MKs/TCKs (aged 21-35) navigating the ongoing re-entry into Canadian society; an event for teens (17-20) will be held in August.

View the complete calendar. Submissions welcome.