Category: Resource Reviews

Sources: Various

Global Emotions

In 2022, Lebanon was ranked as the angriest country in the world, reported a recent story from Mission Network News, “The top five angriest countries last year include Turkey, Armenia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, with Lebanon in first place.”

They were quoting Gallup’s annual Global Emotions report, which assesses the emotional temperature of some 100 countries and presents findings in an interactive format. It includes both highs and lows, so you can see the least angry places, the places where more people report smiling or laughing, and more. Fascinating. Check it out.

Dangerous Places

Every year, the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) releases its Global Peace Index report. This report measures how dangerous or safe a nation is based on 23 different indicators, including political terror, deaths from internal conflict, and murder rate.

Read Most Dangerous Countries in the World 2023 (World Population Review). I bet you have visited at least one or two of them, though maybe not recently. And you may find more data you can use on the World Population Review website.

The latest IEP report, released in June, says global peacefulness has reached its lowest level in 15 years.

Source: International Christian Concern

Last Words of the Martyrs: Life-Changing Spiritual Lessons from Believers Who Paid the Ultimate Price, by Jeff King (self-published), 2023. 182 pages.

Jeff King, since 2003 the president of a group serving persecuted Christians, tells and reflects on the stories of Christians who were martyred and those they left behind. He shares scripture and his own struggles to respond to what he sees and hears, and he calls on readers to turn from comfort and self-sufficiency to depend on God the way the persecuted do.

This is a short and well-crafted book though a challenging one. Nearly all the stories focus on Christians who were victims of Islamic extremists. The author paints a very dark picture of Islam and says we are currently in history’s third wave of Jihad. But he also explores how the intense suffering of the persecuted is key to the growth of the Church.

Learn more or purchase from International Christian Concern or elsewhere; looks like Amazon has a better price. Note that the book website includes a book trailer and other resources, including a study guide for small groups.

See also When Faith Is Forbidden: 40 Days on the Frontlines with Persecuted Christians (Voice of the Martyrs, 2021). That one is more of a devotional, it seems, but I have not read it.

Source: Liturgies for Life Abroad

Sometimes we just don’t have the words. Praying back Scripture and the prayers of others can help.

Liturgies for a Life Abroad provides written prayers for those who find themselves living a life outside of their passport country and making a home in Christ. It includes both short “breath prayers” and longer liturgies by Heather Fallis. Lots of insight but minimal commentary make these relatable and sharable.

Follow the account on Instagram or Facebook.

For more resources to help us (and those we care about) thrive in cross-cultural life, explore and follow Global Trellis.

Source: Create International

Are you one of those people who gets worked up about the low quality of many Christian films? The Frontier Filmmaking Seminar Online is a fairly new, amazing way to train believers who want to follow the example of Jesus, using stories to increase peoples’ hunger and thirst for God’s kingdom. This eight-week online course has now trained more than 100 people from dozens of countries to create video stories with excellence. Many expat workers point national believers toward this class in order to equip them for better media creation.

The next course is coming up quickly, starting March 3 and going to May 2. The cost is US$250. Some scholarships are available.

Create International is a global ministry of Youth with a Mission (YWAM).

Learn more or sign up. Looks like there is an in-person version of this course coming up this summer. Can you make it to Mozambique?

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

March 1-2, MOVE Conference (Marietta, GA, USA). An annual event sponsored by Johnson Ferry Baptist Church but designed for anyone passionate about local, national, and international missions.

March 3-5, The Gathering (Tulsa, OK, USA). An annual gathering of missional professionals to plan, pray, and prepare to reach 15 of the last unreached people groups. Sponsored by Priority 15.

March 3 to May 2, Frontier Filmmaking Seminar (online). Learn to make cross-cultural evangelistic films with Create International.

March 6 to April 1, COMPASS (Palmer Lake, CO, USA). Language and culture acquisition provided by Missionary Training International.

March 6 to May 22, Encountering the World of Islam (St. Louis, MO, USA). Also available in other formats and languages; new online classes start several times a year. 

March 6 to July 9, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online). New online classes begin regularly.

March 9, How May We Best Care For and Honor Women Serving Overseas? (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

March 7-9, Standards Introductory Workshop (online). This 10-hour seminar is designed to help short-term mission leaders make their mission trips better; provided by MissionExcellence, a ministry of MissionWorks.

March 12, Call to Prayer Virtual Prayer Gathering (online). Join others to engage the Muslim world through prayer on the second Sunday of each month. Special guest: Dr. Nabeel T. Jabbour.

March 13-17, Storytelling Training (online). Get hands-on experience with oral Bible storytelling with five three-hour sessions provided by Story Runners.

March 16-18, Christian Community Health Conference (Covington, KY, USA). Provided by the Christian Community Health Foundation.

March 16-18, IMPACT Conference (Atlanta, GA, USA). The annual event from Indo-Malay Partners in Action.

March 18 to April 18, 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World (international). Consider using materials from pray30days.org or 30daysprayer.com.

March 20, The Most Important Prerequisite: Passion for Jesus (online). Hour-long webinar from Frontiers USA; join live or watch the replay a week later.

March 20-24, Kairos Course (Louisville, KY, USA). An interactive overview of the plans and purposes of God. This intensive version of the course is offered in partnership with Team Expansion. Offered again October 16-20.

March 22-23, Men and Women Leading Together: Pursuing Godly Partnerships (Kansas City, MO, USA). Event organized by the Women’s Development Track at Missio Nexus.

March 23-25, Ralph D. Winter Memorial Lectureship (Pasadena, CA, USA and online). Beyond Contextualization: Crossing Religious and Cultural Boundaries. Event sponsored by Frontier Ventures.

March 24-25, The Journey Deepens (Beaverton, OR, USA). Retreat provided by MissionNext to help you deepen your walk with God and discern next steps.

March 26 to April 21, Equipping for Cross-Cultural Life and Ministry (Union Mills, NC, USA). Followed by a Language Learning Accelerator course from April 23 to May 5. Provided by the Center for Intercultural Training.

March 27-31, Abide Debriefing (Joplin, MO, USA). Help for moving forward with hope and momentum; from TRAIN International (events held throughout the year).

March 31 to April 1, The Mobilized Church Workshop (Roanoke, VA, USA). From Sixteen:Fifteen. Offered in various locations throughout the year.
View the complete calendar, updated regularly. We welcome your submissions.

Source: Mobile Ministry Forum

The mobile phone is the most rapidly adopted technology in human history. Do you know how to use it to connect and communicate with those who have yet to discover abundant life in Jesus? This free, one-hour course will show you how to use your phone to improve and expand your gospel witness in face-to-face interactions, overcoming language barriers and more. The material looks very engaging and inspiring. You can go through it at your own pace, or better yet, complete it with a friend or group.

Learn more or sign up. You may also want to poke around the Mobile Ministry Forum website.

Looking for tools to help you in virtual outreach efforts, too? Check out online training courses from Missions Media U.

• February 23 to March 31 Foundations of Media to Movements. Learn to develop a social media outreach strategy.
• April 6 to May 4, Strategic Storytelling for Movements. Accelerate your media strategy through the power of story.

Sources: Various, via Project Ablaze

Looking for a video to show your church, small group, class or conference? You may find one in this collection of 36 videos curated by Project Ablaze. Note they come from a variety of sources; content and quality varies.

Browse the video collection.

If you are looking for someone to make a mission video for your team or organization, check out Ablaze Media Productions.

Source: Mission Matters Podcast

The Mission Matters Podcast is a partnership between Sixteen:Fifteen and Missio Nexus. Each month hosts Matthew Ellison and Ted Esler invite guests to discuss the mission of God as well as the matters of the mission. While Ted is on sabbatical, Bob Blincoe of Frontiers will be joining Matthew for a three-part series on “The Hardest Places on the Planet.”

The first episode is great! Bob Blincoe tells the story of his own experiences on one of the first missionary teams in Iraq and shares helpful insights on how to build grit and resistance for workers called to the hardest places on the planet. Episode 2 (February 15) will feature Mary Ho of All Nations talking about lessons from the life and death of John Chau. Episode three (March 15) will include guests from TRIAD discussing preparing to send to the hardest places.

Find The Mission Matters Podcast wherever you get your podcasts or watch it here.

You might also want to listen to Dick Brogden on Building Resilience for the Missionary Task (Global Missions Podcast).

Source: U.S. State Department

“Best government decision ever!” Shane Bennett wrote in a recent edition of Muslim Connect. He’s talking about a new program called Welcome Corps. It looks like a great opportunity for people like many of us.

Through this program, Americans can band together to sponsor refugees, taking on tasks like finding a refugee family housing and furniture, meeting them at the airport, getting their kids into school, and helping them find jobs and learn the ropes. The pilot effort is looking for 10,000 Americans who can help 5,000 refugees. Canada and Australia also have private sponsorship programs, according to the UNHCR. This sounds much like the Sponsor Circles program we wrote about a year ago. Not sure what the difference is. Do you know?

Think this is something your church or small group could do? Learn more or get started.

And don’t go it alone. Check out Christian networks like the Refugee Highway Partnership.