Category: Resource Reviews

Source: Zwemer Center for Muslim Studies

Tens of thousands of Afghan refugees are arriving in the United States. Here are ten things to consider as you assist them in the resettlement process. And wouldn’t the same points apply for serving refugees outside the US?

Read Ten Ways to Help Afghan Refugees, by Dr. Trevor Castor. See also Afghan Refugees and the American Dream, from the same author.

You might also be interested in online courses from Zwemer Center exploring topics like understanding the Qur’an, approaches to evangelism, and the world of Muslim women.

Missio Nexus is offering a March 3 webinar about helping Afghan refugees.

Source: Missio Nexus

OnMission is a free, virtual conference designed for those serving or interested in global missions. Whether you are a church missions leader, professor, student, or missionary, this content will be applicable and helpful.

The 2022 event is focused on the topic of risk in missions. More than a dozen speakers will bring a global perspective as they address the topic of risk from their global and contextual perspectives.

The premiere broadcast will take place April 6, 12-3 pm Eastern time. The broadcast will be about three hours in length and can be streamed to your phone, tablet, or computer. If you prefer listening at your own pace, you can get the material on demand. All the content should be posted so you can revisit it or browse it by April 12.

Learn more or register to attend.

Source: Ministry Watch

Christians have long been on the frontlines of relief and development efforts. So it’s no surprise that among the largest [US-based] relief and development agencies are Christian ministries. Two of them, World Vision and Compassion International, top $1 billion in revenue.

This list should not be interpreted as a list of recommended ministries. They are ranked by total revenue, and not by ministry effectiveness, financial efficiency, or any other measure. A comparison of this year’s list to last year’s list reveals a few differences. Here are a few of them.

• The total revenue of the 50 ministries on this list tops US$8.2 billion.
• Most of the ministries have grown significantly. World vision grew by US$200 million.
• Last year, annual revenue of US$3 million would land you on this list. This year, it took US$5 million in revenue to make it into the top 50.

See the list. It includes links to profiles Ministry Watch has created to evaluate each ministry on a number of fronts, including transparency and efficiency and resulting in a donor confidence score.

Ministry Watch articles do not hesitate to delve into controversy or ask hard questions. You might appreciate a recent conversation with Ed Stetzer about foreign mission strategy and support raising. It made me squirm but also reminded me of some common pitfalls and unintended consequences.

Source: SEND International

This simple guide can help as you pray for other brothers and sisters in Ukraine during this time of uncertainty.

1. Ask God to redeem this situation by drawing many people to himself. May Ukrainians and Russians discover that Jesus is the only true source of peace, safety, comfort, truth, and freedom.
2. Pray that Ukrainians ultimately would hope not in governments, elections or diplomacy, but in Jesus Christ.
3. Ask God to deliver Ukraine from evil. May he have mercy and heal this land. May he give Ukraine peace and the chance to develop as a nation that values truth, justice, and freedom, all rooted in the goodness of God.
4. Pray for a culture in which political disagreements don’t lead to hatred or violence.  
5. The conflict between Ukraine and Russia can spill over into personal conflict within families, especially when family members live on opposite sides of the border and are influenced by different sides of the “information war.” Pray for unity and a love for one another that supersedes the problems between the countries.
6. Ask God to bless soldiers’ wives and children with peace and safety while their husbands and fathers are gone.
7. Pray for the various world leaders involved in diplomacy over Ukraine. 
8. Pray that the evangelical church will remain united, even as it faces difficult questions, such as how involved believers ought to be in politics or in armed conflict.
9. In the past few years, the Ukrainian evangelical church has become much more passionate about sending its own cross-cultural workers to reach the lost. Pray that this conflict will not dissuade Ukrainians from taking the gospel message to Russia and to other lands.
10. Pray for Christians in the military. This is a challenging time; ask God to guide them as their faith is being tested in new ways.
11. Fears stemming from the conflict come up frequently in conversation. Pray that missionaries and other believers will have many opportunities to explain to their neighbors and friends the reason for the hope within them, even in this time of trial.

See the guide on the SEND website.

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

March 2 to April 10, Seek God for the City (global). An annual prayer campaign coordinated by WayMakers.

March 3, Afghan Arrivals, Big Picture and Great Commission Opportunities (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

March 3-5, Ralph D. Winter Lectureship (La Mirada, CA, USA and online). Provided by Frontier Ventures. Topic: Homogeneity and Hybridity, Revisiting the Homogenous Unit Principle.

March 4-25, Theology of Disability Workshop (online). Set aside a few hours each Friday in March for this free workshop from Accessible Hope International.

March 7-11, ABIDE re-entry debriefing for global workers (Joplin, MO, USA). Provided regularly by TRAIN International. They also offer pre-field training.

March 7 to July 10, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online). New online classes begin regularly.

March 8-9, Support Raising Bootcamp (Charlotte, NC, USA). Similar events are held throughout the year in various locations by Support Raising Solutions. Note that SRS is offering one of these workshops online April 4-6.

March 9-11, Standards Introductory Workshop (online). Learn about the Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission. Workshops will be offered virtually as well as in person several times in 2022.

March 10, Groups: They Are Everywhere (online). Part of a series of Nugget trainings from Beyond.

March 10, Love Thy [Refugee] Neighbor (online). Part of a training series from AllNations.

March 15 to April 10, Equipping for Cross-Cultural Life and Ministry (Union Mills, NC, USA). Provided by the Center for Intercultural Training.

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

March 17, Simplifying Muslim Outreach (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

March 19, Telling Stories Like Jesus, Part 2 (Lee’s Summit, MO, USA or online). Training event from AllNations.

March 23, The End and Future of the Church-Parachurch Relationship (online). CEO Thought Briefing from Missio Nexus.

March 24, Vision Casting: Looking for Other Disciplemakers (online). Part of a series of Nugget trainings from Beyond.

March 27 to April 1, Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills (Orlando, FL, USA). Workshops are provided regularly in different locations by International Training Partners.

March 28-31, European Member Care Consultation (Budapest, Hungary). Sponsored by Member Care Europe; usually held on an annual basis.

March 29-30, The Mobilized Church: Keys to Unlock Missions Potential (online/various locations). Provided by Sixteen:Fifteen.

March 31, Caring Preventively for Third-Culture Kids (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

March 31 to April 1, Strategic Storytelling for Movements (online). Mentored course by Mission Media U on applying elements of story to your outreach.

View the complete calendar. Corrections and submissions are welcome.

Source: The Center for the Study of Global Christianity, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Do you need to know…

• How many Christians are there in the world?
• What percentage of the world population are they?
• How many live in cities?
• How many live in Africa? Asia? Latin America?
• How many denominations are there? How many churches?
• How many mission agencies are there? How many missionaries?
• How much money is given to global foreign missions?
• How many people are unevangelized?
• How many people belong to other world religions or are unreligous?
• How many non-Christians know a Christian?

Every year the staff of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity publish an annual statistical table which is their most-cited resource. It’s just a one-page summary. Check it out.

For a more detailed picture with explanations, commentary, and ministry suggestions, you’ll have to pick up the related article World Christianity and Religions 2022: A Complicated Relationship in the International Bulletin of Mission Research (purchase or subscription required).

Source: Wycliffe Global Alliance, Operation World

For help visualizing the state of world evangelization, download a free digital version of the Operation World Wall Map, available in several languages. Though the most recent edition of the Operation World book, published in 2010, may be showing its age a bit, some of the related resources (including the English version of this map) have been updated in partnership. For more like this, see Mission InfoBank.

Want to know how many languages are there in the world, and how many have or still need the Bible? Wycliffe Global Alliance released new data back in September. See 2021 Scripture Access Statistics and follow links for additional data, graphics, and more.

People of many nations have landed on the shores of North America looking for refuge, community, a new home, and hope. These diaspora people groups have settled in urban areas, often creating sub-communities within larger cities.

As global dynamics continue to change there are great opportunities at our doorstep to engage with people that were at one time difficult to access. God has brought the nations to us; will we be faithful in taking his gospel to them?

View the North America Diaspora missiographic series. Cities include greater New York, Toronto, Los Angeles, Chicago, and now the latest, Vancouver.

Source: Touch the World

Some 1.5 million American Christians serve on short-term mission trips every year, but more than 95% of them receive little or no pre-trip training. The Missions Academy hopes to help change that. Their curated selection of online courses address topics like these:

1. A biblical understanding of missions
2. Methods for culturally sensitive ministry
3. An understanding of the complexities of poverty
4. A heart focused on service

Access materials from anywhere, move at your own pace and interact with others preparing for mission.

Materials are designed with youth (over 12) and young adults in mind, but you should be able to use them with adults as well. It all feels agency-neutral (not specific to one brand or type of ministry) and is in line with the Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission.

A few mini-courses are free. Longer courses (still in bite-size pieces) range from US$17 to US$47 and are available in “bundles” of recommended training, or you can access all courses for US$9/month. You can also purchase workbooks including a 30-day devotional and a re-entry journal.

Touch the World also does in-person training and they are currently developing a global poverty simulation that can give your group a taste of what it’s like to live on two dollars a day.

Learn more about Touch the World or go right to The Missions Academy.