Category: Resource Reviews

Source: Global Frontier Missions

What if we simply obeyed the Great Commission to make disciples Jesus gave in Matthew 28? What if missionaries didn’t feel the burden to “reach” an entire people group but were faithful to find one or maybe a small handful of available and teachable disciples that they can equip to go out and make disciples as well?

Watch the video below and read a related article. It’s the latest addition to their GFM 101 series, which also addresses topics like the state of the world, God’s heart for the foreigner, who the unreached are, and the biblical basis for missions. The videos are short enough to easily include in a newsletter, message, or presentation.

Also from GFM: Read The Most Promising Attributes of New Missionaries, with reflections on resilience from a panel of mission veterans.

For a deeper dive on multiplication, see A Theology of Multiplying Disciples: Addressing the Seedless Grape Phenomenon (by Warrick Farrah from Arab Baptist Theological Seminary, via Circumpolar).

Source: Culture Bound

Culture Learning: The Art of Understanding What No One Can Teach You, by Mark Hedinger. Culture Bound, 2021. 168 pages.

Cultures are hard to pin down and always changing; no one can teach you all you need to know or tell you specifically how you should live and work in an unfamiliar culture. But you can learn how to learn, and that will take you further than any expert. At the core is developing active learning skills and attitudes like being intentional, paying attention, asking good questions, taking notes, and withholding judgement. The author provides examples and builds his case on a number of helpful models and metaphors.

This book is directed toward people, and cross-cultural workers in particular, who are living and working within the context of another culture (or who soon will be). It could also be helpful for those whose ministry is geared toward welcoming migrants. Note that the book has a strong Christian perspective. It uses scripture and focuses on ministry applications.

Since such things seem better caught than taught, reading a book is less helpful than going through a training course, but the book is based on tried-and-true training methods and will whet your appetite for more.

You can get it on Amazon for US$15.99 or $9.99 for the Kindle edition. Learn more or find other resources on the Culture Bound website. Mark Hedinger is the president of this ministry based in Portland, Oregon.

Have you experienced the challenges of culture stress and acquisition for yourself? Here are a few recent articles you may appreciate:

• Read What to Expect When You’re Ex-pat-ing, by Janel Breitenstein (Go.Serve.Love.) This one has a lot of links to other sources.
• Get a pithy summary of What I Would Tell My Younger Me Starting Out in Cross-cultural Ministry from Sue Eenigenburg (Screams in the Desert). What would you put on a list for the younger you?
• Check out a short article on Abandoning Outcomes (from Bill Gaultiere of Soul Shepherding for Missio Nexus). Inspired by the late, great Dallas Willard.

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

May 2-3, People Raising Conference (online). Be equipped for raising personal support.

May 2 to July 31, Encountering the World of Islam (online). New online classes start several times a year; also available in other formats and languages. *Cost reduced from $249 to $99 for this class only.*

May 2 to September 4, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online). New online classes begin regularly.

May 3-4, The Mobilized Church (Kansas City, MO, USA). Provided by Sixteen:Fifteen in partnership with Avant Ministries. 

May 3-5, CEO Peer2Peer Retreat (Scottsdale, AZ, USA). Event for mission organization CEOs provided by Missio Nexus.

May 5, Stay Connected: On-going Coaching Circles (online). Part of a series of Nugget trainings from Beyond.

May 11, Caring for Missionaries from the Local Church (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus and Sixteen:Fifteen.

May 12, Results of Mobilization Research (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus and the Center for Mission Mobilization.

May 12 to June 9, Foundations of Media to Movements (online). Develop a social media outreach strategy; from Media Missions U.

May 14, The Send (Kansas City, MO, USA). Collaborative stadium gathering activating believers to live a missional lifestyle, reaching real mission fields at home and abroad.

May 16-19, Standards Introductory Workshop (online). Training in the Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission; offered regularly.

May 16-20, ABIDE re-entry debriefing (Savannah, GA, USA). Provided by TRAIN International.

May 17, Contend: Monthly Day of Prayer For Mission Mobilization (global). Coordinated by GMMI and held the third Tuesday of each month.

May 17-18, Support Raising Bootcamp (St. Paul, MN, USA). Provided by Support Raising Solutions.

May 18, Thought Leader Briefing: Woke Driving Conditions: Navigating the New Political Environment (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

May 20-22, Evangelical Views on Women in Ministry & Marriage: Differences in Interpretation, Not Inspiration (Post Falls, ID, USA). From the Women’s Track of Missio Nexus.

May 26, Webinar: An Introduction to the Theology and Practice of Cross-Cultural Risk (online). A webinar from Missio Nexus.

May 30 to June 25, COMPASS (Palmer Lake, CO, USA). Language and culture acquisition provided by Missionary Training International.

May 31 to June 3, EMDC gathering (The Netherlands). An international gathering for practitioners of digital evangelism and media ministry.

View complete calendar. Submissions welcome. Note that the calendar has been moved to a Google doc. Our website is still down.

Source: Frontiers USA

Deepen your prayer life and discover unique treasures from around the world in a new 30-day prayer guide.

Through short, daily emails, you’ll uncover ancient traditions and cultural objects that are central to Muslims’ everyday lives—from artisanal foods and essential housewares to games and architecture.

Each day’s email equips you with practical ways to pray for Muslim men, women, and children to find and follow Christ.

Sign up by April 1 to start the prayer guide in time for Ramadan.

We are seeing lots of missionaries, teams, and ministries share resources to help you pray for Muslims during Ramadan. Pick one and go for it!

Source: Global Mission Mobilization Initiative

Rethinking Global Mobilization: Calling the Church to Her Core Identity, by Ryan Shaw. IGNITE Media, 2022. 309 pages.

It’s far too easy and common to reduce mission mobilization to inviting individuals to respond to the Great Commission—specifically by becoming missionaries. But do we really believe every Christian has a part in to play in God’s global mission and that it’s a calling for the whole Church? If so, how might that enlarge and energize our mobilization efforts?

Ryan Shaw is President of Global Mission Mobilization Initiative (GMMI, formerly SVM2) and has spent recent decades catalyzing mission mobilization efforts in many countries. He invites us to rethink mission mobilization, develop a biblical theology of mission mobilization, recognize historical patterns of mission and mission mobilization, and devote ourselves to a more unified strategy of global mission.

Although plenty of books have been written to mobilize Christians for world mission, little has been written about mission mobilization itself. This sweeping volume—not too thick but quite thorough—may prove to be a seminal one. There’s a good chapter on types of mission mobilizers, another looking at each of the Great Commission passages, and a chapter about why the author sees the fulfillment of the Great Commission as central to the mission of the Church. Shaw addresses objections and obstacles and supports his points with scripture and other citations.

Visit the book website to learn more. You can get the book from Amazon or elsewhere (US$7.99 for the Kindle edition and US$12.99 for the paperback). You might also want to watch a conversation about the book with Bevin Ginder of GlobalCAST Resources. 

See also What We Mean by “Mission Mobilization” on the GMMI website and consider joining the Monthly Day of Prayer for Mission Mobilization, the third Tuesday of each month. The focus for March is praying for the Church in Ukraine.

Rethinking Global Mobilization is included on a recent compilation from The Center for Missionary Mobilization and Retention: See Recommended Books for New Mobilizers.

Source: TWR MOTION

Adam, a missionary in North Africa, lives in a country where the government was censoring the internet big time until a few years ago. And during that period, he felt God call him to use the internet to share the gospel, which happens to face overt hostility from authorities.

Despite his hesitation, Adam answered the call. He and other missionaries discovered that social media marketing is a gold detector in identifying and connecting with people who are asking faith questions online, like: “Who is Jesus?” or “Is the Bible true?”

Watch the trailer below, then go to the website to watch the 27-minute documentary about how missionaries are leveraging digital media to further kingdom ministry in some of the most difficult places. Admittedly, it is something of a promotional piece for TWR MOTION (a ministry of Trans World Radio). But it’s great at vision casting and explaining how these strategies work.

You might also be interested in a couple of shorter videos we have linked to before: an explainer-type video on leveraging media to start disciple-making movements and a case study about digital media and church planting in Bosnia.

Note that ministries focused on media and missions tend to work together quite a bit. If one does not offer the resource or training you need, they may be able to help you find it elsewhere.

Last week, I came across a digital media outreach tool that might touch your heart: Watch this short video of a young, Ukrainian refugee praying over her country (version with English subtitles).

Sources: Various

Managing Security

Could you use some help to understand or make decisions related to safety and security, like travel planning, or deciding to leave a country or stay put? Read articles from Concilium and share them with others.

Dealing with Stress

Research suggests people serving in international, cross-cultural ministry carry high loads of stress which can hinder their effectiveness. Sustaining in Stress is a new ebook from Valeo (formerly GRC) with eight tips for those living and serving cross-culturally. Registration required.

Finding Refreshment

It may not be too late to sign up for a five-day web-based event designed to refresh and renew women serving internationally. It goes from March 28 to April 1. Learn about the Thrive Virtual Gathering.

Feeding Yourself

How to cook from scratch is something they don’t teach you in missionary training school. Our friends at Go.Serve.Love compiled a a list of things you should learn how to make. See 21 Recipes for Food You Used to Buy (hover over titles to see the links). What would be on your list?

For Fun and Fellowship

Interested in family fun and learning? Check out the Trivial-Pursuit-style game WisKnol (from “wisdom and knowledge”). Not-so-trivial categories include Old Testament, Scripture Recall, Fascinating Facts, and Missions and Evangelism. A Missions Catalyst reader who helped create it recommends it, and proceeds help support 10/40 Window mission efforts.

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

April 2 to May 1, 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World (global). An annual prayer campaign.

April 4-6, Support Raising Bootcamp (online). Similar events are held throughout the year in various locations by Support Raising Solutions. Sessions will be offered in Capetown, South Africa (April 12-14), Kigali, Rwanda (April 22-24), and a virtual event is planned for those in Southeast Asia (April 26-28).

April 4 to August 7, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online). New online classes begin regularly.

April 6, On Mission 2022 (online). Free virtual conference from Missio Nexus; an annual event. This year’s theme: Risk in missions, a global perspective.

April 7, Regional Update: The Muslim World (online). Provided by Beyond.

April 7-9, Christian Community Health Conference (Cincinnati, OH, USA). An annual event provided by the Christian Community Health Foundation.

April 10-14, Five Days of Prayer for Sikhs (international).

April 11-13, Crisis Management Seminar (Akron, OH, USA). Provided by Crisis Consulting International.

April 11 to May 7, COMPASS (Palmer Lake, CO, USA). Language and culture acquisition provided by Missionary Training International.

April 12-13, Equipping Missions for the Cultural Challenges of Singleness, Marriage & Sexuality (Chicago, IL, USA). Event for mission leaders from Missio Nexus.

April 14, Attributes-Based Training: How to Help New Workers Make It on the Field (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

April 14, The Status of Bible Translation & The Global South (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

April 19, Risk in Missions: Practical Insights for Agencies and Churches (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

April 21, The Cost of Missing Half the Church: Let’s Not Fear a Re-look (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

April 21, Fresh Paradigms: Learning How to Make Disciplemakers (online). Part of a series of online Nugget trainings from Beyond.

April 21-24, Christian Medical and Dental Association National Conference (Indianapolis, IN, USA). An annual event for medical professionals.

April 23, Trip Leaders Security Workshop (Colorado Springs, CO, USA). Provided by Crisis Consulting International.

April 25-29, Perspectives Intensive for Pastors & Leaders (Fresno, CA USA).

April 25 to May 8, ORIENT pre-field training for global workers (Eminence, MO, USA). Provided regularly by TRAIN International.

April 28, MultiplyUs Conference (online). Case studies and encouragement to implement disciple-making movement strategies and practices.

View complete calendar. Submissions welcome!

In this issue:

1. Field Guide: Ten Ways to Help Afghan Refugees
2. Conference: Global Perspectives on Risk in Mission
3. List: 50 Largest Relief and Development Organizations
4. Prayer Guide: 11 Ways to Pray During the Crisis in Ukraine
5. Events: Informative Conferences, Classes, and More in March

Read or share the email edition or scroll down or more.