Category: Resource Reviews

Source: Mission Aviation FellowshipImagine flying over breathtaking landscapes only to land on an airstrip hand-dug by local villagers on a remote mountain deep in the jungle. It sounds like an adventure movie, but it’s real life for the pilots of Mission Aviation Fellowship. Ends of the Earth brings viewers face-to-face with hard-to-reach villages, awe-inspiring landscapes, and the incredible people who are willing to risk it all for the sake of sharing Christ’s love.

Production and distribution of this film were much delayed by the pandemic, but it was released in theaters almost a year ago and later made available via streaming. Now you can get it on DVD. Looks like Vision Video has the best price (US$14.99).

Visit the film’s website to watch the trailer, learn more, or purchase.

This beautiful documentary might be a good addition to a mission conference or class or be something to watch with your family or small group.

Source: Jews for Jesus, The Lausanne Movement, and others

Orthodox Jews are one of the most unreached groups in a number of major cities around the world. The Lausanne Movement’s Jewish Evangelism Network, together with other Jewish ministries, has published a free prayer guide designed to mobilize a global movement of intercession for the Orthodox Jewish community (referred to here as the Heredim).

At 49 pages, this informative prayer guide features large pictures and an extensive bibliography along with scripture, stories, and prayer points related to history, culture, daily life, festivals, and more.

It looks like this booklet was designed for print but is only available here as a PDF download. Excerpts might make a good resource for a group prayer meeting, and you could offer the whole guide to those who want more.

Learn more or download the prayer guide.

Sources: Various

Missionary Advocate Teams for Local Churches

Advocate teams should provide ongoing presence and intentional care to their missionaries as well as be a voice for them to the church as a whole and to church leaders, says Nathan Sloan.

Read Advocate Teams, the Local Church Caring for Missionaries (Mission Frontiers). This edition includes other articles on missionary-care topics.

Three Ways to Pray for Missionaries

“Prayer is supplying missionaries with essentials for their survival… I’ve found that there are some simple prayer requests that are always applicable and always needed,” says Elliot Clark.

Read Prayer Will Win the Nations (Desiring God).

Talking With Kids About Poverty

Poverty. War. Famine. Disease. These are incredibly complex issues to understand as an adult, let alone for a child. But this era of social media and instant news means our kids are more exposed to these global realities than ever before. How do we tackle these tough conversations?

Read Tips for Talking With Your Kids About Poverty and Other Tough Stuff (World Vision).

Flying With Kids Internationally

Rebecca Hopkins says she now measures her worst nights of sleep against nights flying with kids. But she made a list of tips from friends and her own experience that can help you with those long-haul flights.

Read Flying With Kids Internationally: 25 Tips (Go.Serve.Love.)

Finally, on the Lighter Side…

What are duffling and metapacking? Have you ever suffered from the fortnightlies or bait and glitch, or been seated behind the passenger of imminent domain?

Read Because There Just Aren’t Enough Words to Describe the Overseas Experience, Here Are a Few More for Your Lexicon (A Life Overseas).

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

August 1 to December 4, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online). New online classes begin regularly. A second online class will be offered from August 15 to December 18. Many in-person classes begin in August as well, though perhaps not at pre-pandemic levels yet.

August 1-5, Cubs to Lions (Dallas, TX, USA). Discipleship for Christians with a Muslim background offered annually by Horizons International.

August 3, From Harlem to the World – the Local Church Mobilized for Global Missions (online). Peer-to-peer event for church leaders from Missio Nexus and Sixteen:Fifteen.

August 9 to September 4, Equipping for Cross-Cultural Life and Ministry (Union Mills, NC, USA). Provided regularly by the Center for Intercultural Training.

August 11, Mobilizing Children and Families (online). Free webinar from Sixteen:Fifteen and Weave Family Ministries.

August 16, Contend: Monthly Day of Prayer For Mission Mobilization (global). Coordinated by GMMI and held the third Tuesday of each month. 

August 17-29, Field Security Seminar (Lake George, CO, USA). Prepare to live, work, and travel in high-risk environments. Offered by Crisis Consulting International. Also offered August 22-25.

August 18, Communications and the Mission of God: Aligning Organizational Communications with God’s Purposes (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

August 24 to October 5, Intro to Mobilization (online). Join Frontiers USA for a seven-week cohort exploring mobilization and ways to mobilize in your own context. Great idea!

August 25, Debriefing Short-Term Missions (online). Webinar from Sixteen:Fifteen and SOE.

August 26, A New Word: Redeploying Returning Missionaries Among Diaspora People (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

August 29 to September 11, ORIENT pre-field training for global workers (Eminence, MO, USA). Provided regularly by TRAIN International.

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

1. Podcast: Mission Shift, Exploring the Changing Face of Global Missions
2. Course: Pathways (in the Bible Translation Movement)
3. Video: Why Should a Pastor Take a Vision Trip?
4. Resource Roundup: 20 Ways to Learn More About Refugees
5. Articles: Found Around the Web
6. Events: Mission Training, Debriefing, Classes & Conferences

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

Source: Cru City Global

Conversations with 20 Christian leaders, ministry practitioners, and missiologists from around the world led to eight narrative episodes exploring where global missions is today, how we got there, and what’s next.

This is a great podcast. I love the way it combines clips from diverse voices telling first-hand stories with conversations between the hosts as they grapple with what we’re hearing and what it means for us and our mission efforts in a changing world.

Start at the beginning, or if you have limited time, jump in at episode 2 and see if it grabs you. Want to go deeper? Several of the guests have written books about these topics.

Learn more or listen. Scroll down for bios of hosts and guests.

I found this podcast through a podcast directory from Missio Nexus along with some others I was not aware of.

Source: Wycliffe Bible Translators

Ever wondered what it would be like to be part of the Bible translation movement? Or maybe you have someone in your church who would be interested in this journey through the global Bible translation movement.

Pathways is a two-week, interactive online course, June 11-14 and 18-21. Live Zoom sessions will take place at both 7 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. PT on July 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, and 21; choose which time is most convenient for you.

Cost $25 or $15 for students.
Register by July 1.

Learn more or sign up.

See also PathWays to Global Understanding. Similar name, different course, but also one we’d recommend.

Source: Mission to the World

For Dennis Hermerding, lead pastor of King’s Cross Church in Cypress, Texas, a vision trip to Central Asia presented an opportunity to experience what he couldn’t get from simply listening to missionaries share their stories. Actually stepping foot in this Central Asian city allowed him to immerse himself in a culture.

Vision trips allow pastors and other mission leaders to see firsthand what God is doing on the mission field and to further investigate how he might be calling them to be a part of his work. It can be transformative, not just for the pastor, but also for the missions culture of the entire church.

Read full story and watch the short video (also below).

On a similar note, read Vision Trips: What Your Church Is Missing by Not Taking One (International Mission Board).

Source: World Relief

Over the past year, crises in Afghanistan and Ukraine have reminded us of the devastating impacts of war—especially on those forced to flee their homes.

Around the world, a record breaking 100 million people have been forcibly displaced. Of those, 26.6 million are considered refugees, having fled across an international border due to war, violence, conflict, or persecution. That’s millions of mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, teachers, doctors, and friends—each created in the image of God—with full lives and identities long before they became refugees.

We’ve compiled a list of books, podcasts, videos, and more to help answer your questions about refugees.

Read full article. It’s quite a list. Lots of resources to share with others.

Sources: Various

Last-Minute Tips for VBS

Vacation Bible School season is upon us. Here are six VBS tips for turning the last-minute madness into mad fun! Read 6 Last-Minute Tips for VBS (Lifeway Research).

Belief in God Reaches New Low

Eighty-one percent of US adults say they believe in God, down six percentage points from 2017 and the lowest in Gallup’s trend. Read Belief in God in U.S. Dips to 81%, a New Low (Gallup News).

Is It Wrong to Share Your Faith?

Only 52% of born-again Christians report witnessing to someone in the past year. And 47% of Millennials feel it’s wrong to share your faith with someone from another religion. How would you respond? Read Is It Wrong to Share Your Faith? (Meet the Need).

Why Global Missions?

“Every pastor should be concerned about missions and take steps to support and encourage church participation in missionary work.” Read 10 Reasons for a Pastor to Do Global Missions (MorningStar Missions).

Staying Sent

People work hard to become missionaries and to get to the mission field. But what can they do to help make sure they stay on the field? Here are three practices that can help. Read Staying Well Sent (SEND International).