Category: Resource Reviews

Source: A Life Overseas

Dear parent or sibling of a loved one living in a conflict zone,

I see you. Oh how I see you. I see you grabbing your phone before you are even out of bed to see what happened overnight in the Middle East and find reassurances that your family there is okay. I see you wondering why they haven’t gotten on an airplane and come back “home” to safety. I see you texting them, asking them several times a week (several times a day maybe?) “How are you? How are the kids? What do you need?”

Read more. Not related to such a worker, but know one? Check on them. Let them know they are not forgotten.

Source: International Bulletin of Missionary Research

Each year, the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary provides statistics about the world’s 2.6 billion Christians. This year’s IBMR article highlights new future projections to the year 2075 (while previous data went only to 2050). Major findings of the 2075 data include:

• The continuation of Christianity’s shift to the Global South
• The increased importance of Christian-Muslim relations in light of the latter’s increasing share of the world’s population
• The Demographic Republic of the Congo eventually replacing the United States as the country with the most Christians in the world

The full article is available to subscribers or can be purchased.

The one-page statistical snapshot, though, is free and well worth perusing and using if you write or teach about missions and the state of the world. 

Source: Everywhere to Everywhere

More than 300 million people today live outside the country of their birth, a population that, if gathered in one place, would rank among the largest nations on earth, representing nearly 4% of the world. Most have moved because the world is broken: war, economic collapse, famine, environmental disaster, violence. Christians rightly pray for justice and peace and work toward wise and compassionate policy. Nations have the responsibility to order their borders and laws.

But Christians must also ask a deeper question: What if God is at work in this movement?

Read Four Ways to See the Nations at Our Doorstep.

Source: Missions Catalyst Calendar

April 6 to August 9, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online). New online classes begin regularly. A Perspectives class in Spanish is being offered these same dates.

April 7-8, Support Raising Bootcamp (Dallas, TX, USA). Provided by Via in various locations throughout the year.

April 9, Mobilization DNA—What Greg Livingstone Taught Me (and What Churches & Mobilizers Still Need Today (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus

April 13-17, Abide Debriefing (Joplin, MO, USA). Check the website for dates of upcoming debriefing retreats. Provided by TRAIN International.

April 14-16, Debriefer’s Toolbox Training (Marietta, GA, USA). Get equipped to debrief global workers or refresh your skills. Provided by TRAIN International.

April 15, Mobilizers—Join the Conversation! (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus and Gospel Mobilization.

April 15-17, Gather (online). Thrive’s three-day virtual event for women serving cross-culturally.

April 16-19, Haven Retreat (Santa Clara, Panama). For kingdom-minded women serving overseas from various nations; different locations each year. Provided by Azmera.

April 20-24, Storytelling Training (online). Offered regularly by StoryRunners, a ministry of Cru.

April 23, Recruitment or Mobilization? What’s the Difference and Why it Matters (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

April 23, Ignite Online Training: Intro to Discovery Bible Study (online). Provided by All Nations.

April 23-26, Haven Retreat (Cape Town, South Africa). For kingdom-minded women serving overseas from various nations; different locations each year. Provided by Azmera.

April 23-26, The Christian Medical and Dental Association National Conference (Loveland, CO, USA). An annual event; the largest of its kind.

April 24, The Nexus: Blue Ridge (Roanoke, VA, USA). A one-day regional event for church mission leaders; provided by Missio Nexus.

April 24-25, The Mobilized Church Workshop (Calgary, AB, Canada). Unlock your church’s potential to reach the nations. Hosted by the Global Missions Toolbox with Pioneers Canada, The Sending Collective Canada, 16:15, and The Damascus Road Foundation.

April 27 to May 23, COMPASS (Palmer Lake, CO, USA). Language and culture acquisition provided by Missionary Training International.

See the complete calendar. Submissions welcome.

1. New Book for Mobilizing Workers: Silver & Bold
2. Articles: Helpful for Church Mission Leaders
3. Research: The State of Mission Mobilization
4. Graphic: A Framework for Measuring Gospel Progress and Sustainability
5. Events: Conferences, Classes, Training and More in March

Read or share the email edition.

Silver & Bold: Age As an Asset in Global Missions, by Steve Richardson with Maxine McDonald. Pioneers, 2026, 158 pages.

Serving in global missions isn’t only for the young. It’s for people like Betty Wilson, who began serving in Central Asia when she was 66 and is still at it than 20 years later, and Mike and Rosemary Harris, who joined their kids and grandkids in a multi-generational ministry in West Africa.

Silver & Bold explores the opportunities and concerns of those who begin new cross-cultural careers in their 60s, 70s, and beyond and provides case studies and insights from those who have done it.

All the quotes and stories in this book are from people serving with Pioneers, but I think you could use it for general mobilization efforts as well. Recently Pioneers launched Encore, a new program tailored to sending older workers, but other agencies send the silver-haired, too, and many have been doing it for years. May God use this book to inspire more to recognize the opportunity and join them.

Learn more or buy the book, or read an excerpt, Rethinking Retirement Dreams. Note that Pioneers will also let you read the whole book online for free (registration required), but they’re selling the Kindle edition for $2.99 so that may be the most convenient option for many.

Read about and learn about other books from Pioneers.

I was happy to hear that Steve Richardson’s other recent book, Perfect Peace Child, made it through multiple couriers to a Sawi teacher in Southeast Asia near where the events it describes took place. She’s thrilled. And 150 copies of a Ukrainian edition of Is the Commission Still Great? were given to participants at a recent mission conference in Kyiv.

More interested in mobilizing young adults? Great! Be sure to check out Tithe Your Career, by Paul Van Der Werf and Katy White—a great book challenging new college grads to start their careers with a season of cross-cultural service (GoCorps). We wrote a review of it last July.

Sources: Various

Praying for Missionaries

Many people are willing to pray for missionaries but unsure how to begin. Here’s a simple challenge to pray for missionaries you don’t know the same way you’d pray for people you do know (Reimagine Network).

Read Praying With Jesus for an Unknown Missionary. See also 7 Ways to Pray for Missionaries (Wycliffe) and the 2018 book, Praying for Your Missionary.

Setting Mission Goals

How can we proactively set goals to engage the entire congregation more missionally and measure our progress in doing so? See how four churches set goals and measure their progress (Catalyst Services).

Read Raise Your Church’s Missions Temperature. You might also appreciate the books Mapping Church Missions and On Mission Together.

Pastoral Influence in Global Missions 

Pastors juggle many priorities, so let’s not be too critical if promoting missions is not on top of the list. Still, you or a mission-minded pastor you know might get some good ideas from a mission professor’s reflections on opportunities he missed (J.D. Payne).

Read Pastor and Missions: Nine Things I Should have Done. You might also appreciate the message, Moving Beyond the Missions Slot.

Source: Missio Nexus

Missio Nexus has put together a collection of mission mobilization resources including data about the state of mobilization, best practices for mission mobilizers, what we need to know about Gen Z, and more. Some of it requires a member login but there’s plenty that doesn’t. Much to read, of course, but they have visual media too. See a helpful explainer video, below.

Note: Looks like this item was published prematurely. My apologies!

I can’t take back the email but am removing the item from our website. It reflects a model that hasn’t been released yet, illustrated by an AI-generated image that’s quite different from what they’re working on.

The good news, though, is that the working group is finalizing designs now and plans to release it publicly in March or April. We’ll share it then.

Marti

Source: Missions Catalyst Calendar

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

March 3-5, Indigenous Ministry Partnership Roundtable (Scottsdale, AZ, USA). Event provided by Missio Nexus and the Coalition on the Support of Indigenous Ministries (COSIM).

March 3-5, Standards Introductory Workshop (online). Make your mission trips better with the seven standards of excellence.

March 5, How to Multiply Training Results With Coaching (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

March 7, How to Make Disciples in the Workplace (online). Training from All Nations.

March 9 to April 4, COMPASS (Palmer Lake, CO, USA). Language and culture acquisition provided by Missionary Training International.

March 10-11, Support Raising Bootcamp (Cincinnati, OH, USA). Provided by Via in various locations throughout the year.

March 12, What Is a Disciple-Making Movement? (online). Training from All Nations.

March 17-20, Field Security Seminar (Union Mills, NC, USA). Provided by Crisis Consulting International.

March 18, Mobilizer Family Monthly Zoom Calls (online). Don’t go it alone! Dave Jacobs of Gospel Mobilization hosts monthly calls bringing mission mobilizers together. Register once and come every month.

March 19, Employing Foreign Workers Overseas: Tips and Traps (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

March 23-27, Refugee Highway Partnership Roundtable (Malaga, Spain). An annual gathering.

March 24, How Leaders Lose Their Way (online). Pete Greer shares from his new book in this thought-leader briefing from Missio Nexus.

March 26, Impact With Integrity: Ethical Storytelling for Global Missions (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

See the complete calendar. Submissions welcome.