Category: Resource Reviews

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

September 2-15, Orient Pre-field Training (Joplin, MO, USA). Provided by TRAIN International.

September 2-28, COMPASS (Palmer Lake, CO, USA). Language and culture acquisition provided by Missionary Training International.

September 8-10 and beyond, Sending Church Elements (Louisville, KY, USA and online). Explore how to become a mature sending church. Offered by The Upstream Collective.

September 9 to December 8, Encountering Muslims (online). Also available in other formats and languages; new online classes start several times a year.

September 9 to January 12, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online). New online classes begin throughout the year.

September 11, Sinai Summit (online). An annual event from Crescent Project featuring powerful stories from former Muslims and insights from leaders in Muslim ministry.

September 11-12, People Raising Conference (online). Be equipped for raising personal support.

September 11-13, Mission Leaders Conference (Louisville, KY, USA). This annual conference from Missio Nexus includes several very practical pre-conference events for specific audiences; take a look.

September 12 to November 7, School of Missions Advocacy (online). Mobilizer training from Globalcast Resources, a ministry of YWAM.

September 13-14, Missions Expo (Cape Town, South Africa). Free, community-based mission conference.

September 16-20, Storytelling Training (online). Get hands-on experience with oral Bible storytelling with five three-hour sessions provided by Story Runners.

September 18 to October 16, Biblical Languages Bootcamp: Greek (online). Begin to read the New Testament in Greek in five weeks. Provided by Mission Media U.

September 18-24, Traction Conference (Wilderswil, Switzerland). Conference to serve men who are global workers serving cross-culturally. Provided by Catalyst International.

September 19 to November 14, Mission Leader Cohort (online). For both new and seasoned church mission pastors from The Upstream Collective.

September 22-24 and beyond, Sending Church Elements (Bothell, WA, USA and online). Explore how to become a mature sending church. Offered by The Upstream Collective.

September 22-28, Fourth Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization (Seoul, South Korea and online). A global gathering, by invitation only.

September 23-24, Standards Introductory Workshop (Merritt Island, FL, USA). Learn to apply the seven standards of excellence in short-term mission; provided regularly in-person and online by MissionExcellence.

September 24-25, The Mobilized Church (Phoenix, AZ, USA). Discover keys to unlocking your church’s mission potential; offered by Sixteen:Fifteen.

September 26 to October 24, Foundations of Digital Engagement Strategies (online). Learn how digital  media can accelerate disciple-making in your ministry. Provided by Mission Media U.

September 27-28, One Body: Hope for the Persecuted Church (Arlington, TX, USA). A new event hosted by the Anglican Persecuted Church Network.

September 29 to October 4, Interlude Debriefing Retreat (Philadelphia, PA, USA). A week-long retreat for adult global workers to process their experiences in a contemplative setting with peers and trained debriefers. Offered by Barnabas International.

September 30 to October 3, GACX Forum (Dallas, TX, USA). An annual event from the Global Alliance for Church Multiplication.

View the complete calendar. Submissions welcome.

Note that October will bring the Christian Community Development Association’s annual conference, the Billy Graham Center’s Amplify Outreach Conference, and an interesting event commemorating 500 years since Tyndale’s Bible was published—plus some smaller or more niche conferences, retreats, and training events that may be just what you or others you know need. Take a look.

In this edition:

1. New Podcast: Following the Journey of Eric Liddell
2. Book: The Faith Road, a True Story of Peril and Mission in Southeast Asia
3. Booklet: The Great Progress of the Gospel
4. Video Series: All-Terrain Missionary Marriages
5. Events: Conferences, Classes, and More Coming up in August

Read or share the email edition.

7/25/24 Note: Found two typos in this edition — one just a repeated the word, but the other more substantial: in item #3, yes, we know William Carey published his “Enquiry” in 1792, not 1892. Sorry! Fixed both on the website but won’t resend the email. If you see mistakes like that, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

If you take issue with the claim that the gospel has taken root in people groups that include 75% of the world’s population (in item #3), read the rest of the article and take it up with the authors. They assert that more than half of the unreached are in “Frontier People Groups,” no more than .1% Christian and with no known and sustained disciple-making movements. That’s a stricter definition than the “less than 5% Christian, less than 2% evangelical” standard used to measure UPGs, which is what me see more often. That’s how the source can say the segment constitutes 25% of the world population instead of 42.5%.

Source: Radical

This summer’s Paris Olympics mark the 100th anniversary of a Christian athlete’s unexpected triumph at the 1924 games—a victory immortalized in the iconic film Chariots of Fire. But Eric Liddell’s greatest glory wasn’t winning a gold medal in Paris. It was losing his life for God’s glory in China.

Follow Liddell’s remarkable journey from victory on the racetrack to death on the mission field and find out what’s happening today with the gospel he loved in the countries he knew best.

Learn more and listen to the podcast, Glory Road. It’s well produced and insightful.

Also, in case you missed it, take a look at mission mobilizer Alicia Bennett’s Olympic Family Devotional.

The Faith Road: A True Story of Peril and Mission in Southeast Asia, by Eliot Branch. College Press, 2021. 210 pages.

Hear how an ordinary man from rural Missouri came to follow Jesus and introduce others to him in a tiny landlocked country in Southeast Asia. Eliot partners with expatriates and national missionaries to launch an effort to reach the (initially estimated) “Final 58” unreached people groups of Laos.

Follow Eliot, Nick, and a team of first-generation believers as they launch out in five-day faith journeys following the practices described in Luke 10 and attempt to stay one step ahead of the police to reach the remaining lost peoples at the ends of the earth.

Missionary biographies are many, though I’ve never read one about Laos. This one winsomely explains and illustrates key principles for walking with God and reaching the unreached in any context.

Nik Ripken, author of The Insanity of God, says in the foreword: “I beg you to hear my heart: this is not a book about missions for missionaries. This is a book for the church. This is a message for all Christians. This is a story for you.”

Learn more or get the Kindle edition for just US$2.99. Also available in paperback.

Also worth a read, Aila Tasse’s Cabbages in the Desert: How God Transformed a Devout Muslim and Catalyzed Disciple Making Movements Among Unreached Peoples. We highlighted that one when it came out in May.

Four thousand years ago, God made a covenant with Abraham, saying, “through your offspring all nations (families) on earth will be blessed” (Genesis 22:18). God was promising that all people groups would be made right with him by faith (Galatians 3:8).

Jesus commanded his followers to disciple all people groups (Matthew 28:19). Thus, movements to Jesus spread into a growing number of non-Jewish people groups through witnesses like Paul, who said, “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ has not been named, not building on another’s foundation” (Romans 15:20). In each generation, God calls some, like Paul, to such pioneer work.

• In 1792, William Carey worked out that the gospel had spread through cross-cultural witnesses to places containing 25% of the world’s population.
• In 1974, Ralph Winter figured that 40% of the world lived in people groups with their own movements to Jesus. 
• In 2024, just 50 years later, the gospel has taken root in people groups containing 75% of the world’s population.

Where would Paul go today?

Read more or download The Great Progress of the Gospel as a PDF (also available in print). It’s packed with charts and data about the 5,000 Frontier People Groups who represent 25% of the world’s population. Much of the material is open source (with attribution) and also available from JoshuapProject.net/GreatProgress.

Source: Modern Day Missions

Being in any marriage has its challenges, but being in a missionary marriage takes those challenges to a whole new level. All-Terrain Marriages is a free, eight-week video resource that leads missionary couples through four main topics of conversation that prepare them to thrive in any terrain God may call them to live and serve in. It’s led by Danny and Stephanie Gutierrez who served in Peru.

New sessions will be released every Monday for eight weeks (through August 5). Check the YouTube captions for links to download discussion guides.

Watch the video playlist or learn more about Modern Day Missions. Thanks to Brigada Today for the heads-up.

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

August through October, Missionary Care Cohort (online). Help your “sent ones” stay connected. Provided for local churches by The Upstream Collective.

August 3, Turning Triggers into Glimmers (online). Training event from AllNations.

August 3-10, Classic ReBoot (Calgary, AB, Canada). Eight-day re-entry retreat for MKs/TCKs (aged 17-20) re-entering Canadian society. They also have also a wilderness edition for older MKs.

August 5-9, Engage Retreat (Union Mills, NC, USA). A spiritual retreat provided regularly by the Center for Intercultural Training. The next one will be in October.

August 5 to December 8, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online). A second August cohort begins August 12. New online classes begin regularly. In-person fall classes will be launching soon as well; check the website for details.

August 11 to September 6, Equipping for Cross-Cultural Life and Ministry (Union Mills, NC, USA). Followed by a Language Learning Accelerator course, both from the Center for Intercultural Training.

August 13, How to Be an Effective Church Missions Leader (online). Peer2Peer event for church missions leaders. Provided by Missio Nexus.

August 20-23, Field Security Seminar (Lake George, CO, USA). Provided by Crisis Consulting International. The next one in the USA will be in November in North Carolina.

August 24, Missions Expo (Pretoria, South Africa). Free, community-based mission conference, an offshoot of a similar event in Cape Town (September 13-14).

August 28-29, Field Leaders Contingency Planning Workshop (Cape Town, South Africa). Provided by Crisis Consulting International, and followed by an August 30 Women’s Personal Security Workshop.

View the complete calendar. Submissions welcome. Looks like much is planned for September, including a few big conferences: Missio Nexus, GACX, and the fourth Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization.

Source: MobilizerMom

Today, children are learning about different faith traditions at school and are meeting people from different places more than ever before. Christian families around the world can easily use the excitement for the Summer Olympic Games to engage their children with God’s heart! This family devotional is for Christian families who want to learn about different places around the world but want to see those peoples and cultures through a Christ-centered, gospel-focused lens.

The 50-page Olympic Family Devotional includes:

• Engaging, scripture-based reflections that connect Olympic themes with biblical principles.
• Thought-provoking prompts to foster meaningful family conversations.
• Fun, faith-building activities that bring your family closer together.
• Daily prayers to guide and uplift your family throughout the Olympic season.

Purchase from Amazon for US$4.99 ($2.99 for the Kindle edition). You can also sign up for bonus content.For something a bit simpler, see a four-day family devotional and fun links to take your kids on a virtual trip to France.

Source: The Navigators

Editor’s Note: Apologies to our readers in the southern hemisphere where summer is now a memory. Have winter travels planned? These tips may still be apt.

Would you like to deepen your connection with God while you travel this summer?

Try these seven travel hacks for spending time with God during your summer adventures in this free resource, Travel Hacks for Traveling with God.

Use these simple ideas of connecting with God that incorporate things you already do when you travel: pack, enjoy a beautiful view, spend time with others, take lots of photos, etc. Let go of your everyday routines when you’re away from home and discover how God is with you always.

Read Travel Hacks for Traveling with God. Maybe you want to share them with a group or a friend you’re discipling, too.

1. Article: Get Your Pastor’s Perspective
2. 10 Globally Inspired Recipes for Your Family’s Table
3. Download: Grab Your 30-Day Praise Calendar
4. Article: God Doesn’t Waste Gifts in Missions
5. Data: What Is the World’s Emotional Temperature?
6. Events: Missions Conferences and More in July & August

Read or share the email edition.