Life-Changing Cross-Cultural Friendships, by Gary Chapman and Clarence Shuler. Zondervan, 2022. 160 pages.
After knowing each other for decades, bestselling author Gary Chapman and counselor and diversity trainer Dr. Clarence Shuler have come to believe that we can heal the racial divides in our country, one relationship at a time. Are you in?
I haven’t read this book yet, but our friend Shane Bennett has. Read his review for the Dennison Forum.
Missions Catalyst is a free, weekly email digest designed to inspire and equip Christians worldwide for global ministry. We’ve been curating and creating content for 25+ years. Help spread the word.
Source: Welcome Churches
From childhood we are primed to fear strangers, our divided communities reinforce the cultural barriers, and the global pandemic has forced us to keep our distance. We have spent much of the last two years closing our doors to others. The Hospitality Pledge is an attempt to revive, encourage, and inspire a national surge in welcoming. It is a commitment to making 2022 a year of Christian hospitality.
Why now? Many people in our communities need to be shown hospitality, including those experiencing loneliness or homelessness or seeking asylum. Millions of people are fleeing conflict, persecution, famine, and climate disaster and need a safe place to call home.
The Hospitality Pledge is an invitation to take three simple yet revolutionary actions each week.
Learn more, sign the pledge, and subscribe to a series of encouraging emails. Welcome Churches is a UK charity with a vision to see every refugee in the UK welcomed by their local church. Love it! Find resources on the Welcome Churches website. Some but not all are UK-specific.
Dear readers,
Do you know about Brigada Today?
Founded in 1995 in the same initiative that birthed Missions Catalyst, this free, weekly web-and-email journal offers resources, mission trends, motivation, strategy tips, and tools for Great Commission Christians. I use it to keep up with new resources and upcoming events. Maybe you do, too.
This month, editors Doug and Tina are asking us to pray for Brigada. Among other things, they ask us to pray that during these last months of 2015, the Brigada community would grow from 6,000 participants to 7,000.
So I prayed. I also started to wonder if we could help them reach that goal. That’s why I’m writing. If you haven’t seen it—or haven’t seen it lately—I’d encourage you to check out Brigada.
Thanks for reading and considering this request. Next week we’ll be back with the September edition of Missions Catalyst Resource Reviews.
Blessings,
Marti Wade
For the Missions Catalyst team
Dear Readers,
Do you find Missions Catalyst inspiring, informative, or useful for your ministry? We sure hope so! If you do, maybe you can give us a hand.
Our publication is created and distributed by a small team of volunteers using affordable tools. This keeps production costs very low. We’ve been able to stay afloat since the mid-1990s, despite the economic and organizational storms.
We do, however, need to cover our direct expenses (primarily web hosting, mailing service, and promotion). Those costs add up to about US$1000 a year.
Rather than selling ads, recruiting sponsors, or charging fees, we’re trusting God to supply the funds through (tax-deductible) donations from readers.
If you find yourself able to give, please consider a donation to the Missions Catalyst account with Pioneers. We have a few bills due at the end of this month, so a gift right now would be particularly helpful. Questions? We’d be glad to hear from you.
Much thanks!
blessings,
Marti Wade | publisher and managing editor
When news stories, articles, events, or resources catch our eye (especially between editions), we often send out links on Twitter. It’s a flexible, efficient, and convenient platform for us. Seems an ideal place for spreading breaking news. So that’s how we use it.
» If you’re interested, follow us on Twitter.
» See also: Missions Catalyst on Facebook.
Interested in providing practical help to Missions Catalyst? We could use another team member. Here are some of the tasks involved. If you’d like to discuss volunteering your time and skills in one or more of these areas, let’s talk!
Missions Catalyst Tasks
1. News sleuthing – Read dozens of mission-related news sources looking for stories to highlight in our news digest.
2. Writing articles – Produce monthly, quarterly, or occasional articles on topics related to mission mobilization.
3. Reviewing resources – Look for and learn about materials likely to be useful and interesting to our readers; assess and describe them in a brief but balanced way.
4. Maintaining calendar – Seek out and sift through information about upcoming mission-related events likely to appeal to our readers; post them to online calendar.
5. Copyediting – Polish and organize content provided by writers; prepare all materials for publication.
6. Proofreading – Check links, formatting, style, and grammar.
7. Redistribution – Increase footprint by posting links to our content and other items on social media sites and elsewhere; initiate conversation and interact with those who respond.
8. Tech and design help – Update website look and increase its usability; possibly explore other tools and platforms.
Note: Content submissions are always welcome!
Life’s been a bit crazy at Missions Catalyst headquarters (Marti’s house), so we haven’t fully analyzed the results of our survey. But here’s a snapshot of the results. Thanks for all who participated. We’re encouraged!
>> Download Short Summer Survey 2012 – Statistical Report.
Dear Readers,
I wonder if you can give five minutes to help us explore how our newsletter is hitting the mark or missing it? We’ve developed a short summer survey that asks for your input on some of our burning questions about how to best serve you.
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| Click on the image above – or this link. |
We’d also be glad to hear from you about anything else you’d like to discuss.
Much thanks!
