Category: Resource Reviews

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

October 3 to February 12, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online). New online classes begin regularly.

October 4-6, GACX Forum 2022 (Minneapolis, MN, USA). Sponsored by a global alliance for church multiplication.

October 4-7, Pastoral Training in Member Care (Asheville, NC, USA). For anyone involved in caring for global workers; usually held annually.

October 4-30, Equipping for Cross-Cultural Life and Ministry (Union Mills, NC, USA). Provided regularly by the Center for Intercultural Training.

October 5, Preparing Missionaries to Go to the Hard Places (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

October 7-8, EMS Annual Conference (Dallas, TX, USA and online). An annual event from the Evangelical Missiological Society. The International Society for Frontier Missiology will also participate in this event.

October 13, Mobilizing Latin Americans (online). Free webinar from Sixteen:Fifteen, part 3 in a series on mobilizing people of color.

October 17-19, Standards Introductory Workshop (online). Learn about the Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission.

October 17-21, ABIDE re-entry debriefing for global workers (Joplin, MO, USA). Provided regularly by TRAIN International.

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

October 18-19, Amplify Outreach (Wheaton, IL, USA). Conference from the Billy Graham Center focused on evangelism, apologetics, and church leadership.

October 20 to November 17, Strategic Storytelling for Movements (online). Accelerate your media strategy through the power of story. Offered regularly by Mission Media U.

October 20-21, Support Raising Bootcamp (Knoxville, TN, USA). Provided by Support Raising Solutions.

October 21-22, NWA for the Nations (Fayetteville, AR, USA). Northwest Arkansas Missions Conference.

October 22-23, Voices of the Persecuted Church Conference (Dallas, TX, USA). Provided by the Back to Jerusalem Movement.

October 24-27, Thrive Retreat (Prague, Czech Republic). For cross-cultural workers from the US and Canada who serve overseas.

October 24 to November 19, COMPASS (Palmer Lake, CO, USA). Language and culture acquisition provided by Missionary Training International.

October 27-29, Refugee Highway Partnership North American Roundtable (Beaverton, OR, USA).

October 27-29, 24:14 DMM/CPM Conference (Spring, TX, USA). Multiplying disciples and churches across North America.

October 28-29, Help! We’re Going on a Short-Term Trip (Philadelphia, PA, USA). Seminar for team leaders from CultureLink, this time in partnership with Catalyst Services.

October 28-29, The Mobilized Church Workshop (St. Louis, MO, USA). Provided by Sixteen:Fifteen.

View the complete calendar, updated regularly. We welcome submissions.

1. Resource: Global Guide to Praying for the Persecuted in 60 Nations
2. New Class: Frontier Filmmaking Seminar Online
3. Book: Mobilizing Gen Z, Challenges and Opportunities for the Global Age of Missions
4. Event: Virtual Tickets Now Available for Missio Nexus Conference
5. September Events: Helpful Training, Inspiring Conferences & More

Read or share the email edition or scroll down for individual items.

Source: Voice of the Martyrs

VOM’s Global Prayer Guide was created to help you pray more specifically for our brothers and sisters in Christ who risk rejection, imprisonment, and even death as they obediently serve the Lord on dangerous and difficult mission fronts.

The guide includes information on each of the 60 restricted nations and hostile areas where VOM serves our persecuted Christian family members.

Access all the contents from an interactive website. You can also join the VOM mailing list for a free printed copy.

Source: Create International

“For years, I wanted to attend a film school to learn the art of visual storytelling. I kept pushing that dream aside because it seemed too expensive,” says Jeremy. He heard that Create International (a ministry of YWAM) offered training, but the program he had his eye on would require him to travel overseas, leaving his wife and kids for six weeks.

Then Create International announced a new Frontier Filmmaking Seminar Online (FFSO). “This was a game-changer. I registered immediately. I now recommend it to almost everyone I meet who wants to share the gospel with unreached people groups.”

As part of the class, Jeremy connected with Grace, a young woman in Africa who was already learning to make movies. “We collaborated to produce a short film for an unreached group. She found the actors, costumes, props, and a good location to shoot a short script I wrote. She shot the film using only a smartphone! The story was a modern African version of Jesus’ story about a foolish rich man planning to build more wealth for himself and grow idle—not realizing his life was about to end.”

Read I Made a Movie in a Language I Don’t Speak. It includes a link to watch the film Jeremy and Grace made.

The next eight-week Frontier Filmmaking Seminar Online starts September 28 and costs US$250, with some scholarships available. The first two lessons are also available for free (registration required).

Source: William Carey Publishing

Mobilizing Gen Z: Challenges and Opportunities for the Global Age of Missions, by Jolene Erlacher and Katy White. William Carey Publishing, 2022. 194 pages.

Have you seen shifts in the mindset, experiences, and readiness for mission of today’s young adults, particularly those in the US? This book will help you understand the characteristics of Gen Z (born 1996-2010), how these affect their approach to missions specifically, and how we can best connect with, serve, and care for them along the way. I found the book readable, motivating, and research-informed and was impressed by how practical it is without being prescriptive.

For example, the authors provide thoughtful suggestions for including more biblical principles in our mission presentations, ways parents and other adults can disciple young adults through the challenges in today’s culture, and strategies for mobilizers and team leaders to cultivate coaching relationships with young believers. The book also addresses the changing face of missions, globally, and the challenges and opportunities this presents for Gen Z (and the rest of us, too).

Learn more or purchase from William Carey Publishing for US$9.99 (epub) or $14.99 (paperback).

Just want the highlights? Listen to an interview with one of the authors (Missionary Mobilization Podcast).

Source: Missio Nexus

This year’s Mission Leaders Conference and National Church Mission Leaders Conference, on the theme “counting the cost,” is just a month away (September 28-30). It will include four plenary sessions, 12 workshop tracks, and 58 breakout sessions. More than 1,000 mission leaders are expected to attend.

I (Marti) can’t make it every year but will be there for this one. What about you? I’d love to meet or reconnect.

Can’t make it in person? Virtual tickets are now available and start at US$99 for Missio Nexus members. You’ll have access to all of the live sessions and workshops available daily as well as on-demand access to recordings after the event is over.

Learn more or register.

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

September 1, Missional Marketing: Building Messages That Matter (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

September 4-16, Second Language Acquisition (Union Mills, NC, USA). Provided regularly by the Center for Intercultural Training.

September 5 to October 24, The Mobilized Church (online). Virtual workshop from Sixteen:Fifteen; also offered as an in-person event in various places.

September 5 to December 4, Encountering the World of Islam (online). New online classes start several times a year. Also available in other formats/languages.

September 8, Exploring Issues of Sexuality on the Mission Field (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

September 8-10, Help! We’re Going on a Short-Term Trip (Atlanta, GA, USA). Seminar for short-term team leaders from CultureLink.

September 8-15, Women’s Development Week (Charlotte, NC, USA). Ministry skills and growth training for women in ministry, provided by the Women’s Development Track of Missio Nexus.

September 8 to October 6, Foundations of Media to Movements (online). Tools and training from Mission Media U to develop outreach strategies using new media.

September 12-13, People Raising Conference (online). Be equipped for raising personal support. Offered regularly by People Raising.

September 12-13, Support Raising Bootcamp (Charlotte, NC, USA). Provided by Support Raising Solutions in various cities and online.

September 13, Shaping the American Church of Tomorrow by Learning from the Global Church of Today (Wheaton, IL, USA). Panel discussion with David Garrison, from Global Gates, Motus Dei, and others.

September 13-19, Traction Conference (Wilderswil, Switzerland). Conference to serve men who are global workers serving cross-culturally. An annual event from Catalyst International.

September 15, Don’t Waste Your Conference! How to Make the Most of a Networking Event (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

September 19-20, Support Raising Bootcamp (Nairobi, Kenya). Provided by Support Raising Solutions.

September 20, Contend: Monthly Day of Prayer For Mission Mobilization (global). Coordinated by GMMI and held the third Tuesday of each month.

September 20-21, The Mobilized Church (Murietta, CA, USA). Provided by Sixteen:Fifteen.

September 22-25, New Wineskins Global Missionary Conference (Ridgecrest, NC, USA and online). An Anglican event held every three years.

September 27-28, Standards Introductory Workshop (Orlando, FL, USA). Learn about the Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission.

September 28-30, Mission Leaders Conference (Orlando, FL, USA). An annual event from Missio Nexus.

September 28 to November 30, Frontier Filmmaking Seminar (online). Join Create International for an eight-week training in how to write, produce, direct, film, and edit gospel films for unreached people groups in their language and cultural context.

View the complete calendar, updated regularly. We welcome submissions.

In this edition: Inside Xinjiang, to the ends of the earth with mission aviation, and ways to pray for ultra-orthodox Jews. Image from MAF.

1. Book: New China Chronicles Book Focuses on Xinjiang
2. Documentary: Ends of the Earth (with MAF) Now on DVD
3. Prayer Guide: Ways to Pray for Ultra-Orthodox Jews
4. Short Takes: Found Around the Web
5. Events: Helpful Mission-Related Training, Conferences & More

Read or share the email edition or scroll down for individual articles.

Source: Asia Harvest / Piquant Editions

Xinjiang: China’s Gateway to the World, by Paul Hattaway. Piquant Editions, 2022. 347 pages.

You may know what is happening to Uyghurs (and others) in the Chinese province of Xinjiang. But you might be surprised to learn more about why this region is significant to the nation, or its rich Christian history going back 1,400 years. It’s quite a story!

The China Chronicles series is an ambitious project to document the advance of Christianity in each province of China, decade by decade, from the time the gospel was introduced to the present day. The primary purpose is to bless and encourage the persecuted church in China. Yet the books are written first in English and are very accessible to a Western audience. Previous books focus on Shandong, Guizhou, Zhejiang, Tibet, and Henan.

This volume, the sixth, includes stories about Nestorian, Catholic, and Swedish mission efforts alongside those of people you may know, like George Hunter, Percy Mather, and the plucky team of CIM women called the Trio. But the focus is just as much on the Chinese missionaries and martyrs. Read the story of the Uyghur Bible and learn about the launch and impact of groups like the Back to Jerusalem Evangelistic Band and the Northwest Spiritual Band in the 1940s and 50s, as well as the ups and downs, breakthroughs and challenges of recent decades. Some of the stories are very sobering and many are inspiring.

Visit the Asia Harvest website to learn more and purchase this volume or others at US$9.99 for Kindle editions or US$18 for the paperbacks. These are great books!

By the end of October, you will be able to get all of them from William Carey Publishing, which has already published the first two at a lower price. So that may be the way to go.

On another note, William Carey has lots of good books, including a new one about mobilizing GenZ for missions. Check it out.