Category: Resource Reviews

Source: Missionary Coaching and Support Center

Want to help the cross-cultural workers you support thrive and be fruitful? Consider recommending (and maybe paying for) the specialized life-coaching services of the Missionary Coaching and Support Center.

Members are given an initial consultation via Skype, access to valuable material on common areas of struggle, regular group discussion calls, an online community, and feedback on specific questions from the coaches. Quite a lot for US$14.99 a month. You’ll find free things on their website, too.

» Learn more or sign up. Readers, feel free to put in a word for other coaches or “member care” resources you’d recommend by commenting on this item on our website.

Source: TheNations.us

Can you reach the nations from the US? “Many people think that the only way to reach the unreached is to sell everything and move halfway across the world,” says TheNations.us. “While those cross-cultural missionaries are certainly needed, there are many ways that you can reach God’s world right now.”

The site highlights suggested next steps for those who want to reach the unreached, and it includes a couple of fun features:

1. Nations Map: View an interactive map that displays data about where immigrants and internationals live in the US, sorted by country of origin and religion. It also shows the location of mobilization ministries.
2. Nations Verses: Explore more than 500 Bible passages about God’s heart for the nations, classified by several themes.
3. Go Chart: Compare some of the major agencies sending out long-term missionaries. Looks like this piece is still developing.

» Visit the site.

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

Continuing Events

June 28 to July 27, 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World (global). Join the millions of Christians around the world who have participated in this largest ongoing international prayer focus on the Muslim world.

July

July 8 to August 18, Mobile Ministry Training Course (online). Six-week class. Learn how to use mobile technology for evangelism.

July 7-18, Engaging Islam (Boulder, CO, USA). Training in evangelism and discipleship.

July 15-18, Thrive Retreat (Snowmass Village, CO, USA). For North American women serving cross-culturally.

July 19-26, New Wilmington Mission Conference (Western Pennsylvania, USA). Annual, week-long multi-generational mission conference; a tradition for more than 100 years.

July 21-25, European Church Planting Symposium (Leuven, Belgium). Provided by European Christian Mission, in partnership with others.

August

August 3-9, ReBoot Re-entry Program (Calgary, AB, Canada). For returning missionary kids, ages 17-20, transitioning to life in Canada.

August 3-23, Manarah – Training in Outreach among Muslims (Dearborn, MI, USA). Intensive course on Islam and daily guided outreach with seasoned mentors from Christar.

August 4-8, Kairos Course (Temple City, CA). Kairos is a nine-session, interactive course on world Christian mission. This one’s in Chinese!

August 4-10, MK/TCK Re-Entry Retreat (Gaston, SC, USA). Retreat designed for teens transitioning to college from missionary families.

August 8-17, Kairos Course (Savannah, GA, USA). Held on two weekends and one weeknight.

August 10-16, ReBoot Re-entry Program (Kitchener, ON, Canada). For returning missionary kids, ages 17-20, transitioning to life in Canada.

August 11-15, Kairos Course (Louisville, KY, USA). One-week intensive.

August 19-20, Personal Support Raising Boot Camp (Schroon Lake, NY, USA).

» View the complete calendar and/or submit an item.

In This Issue: The case for better storytelling; a journey into the jungle

1. VIDEO: “YembiYembi” Documents Journey into the Jungle
2. BOOK: “Go Tell It” Makes the Case for Better Storytelling
3. FREE DOWNLOAD: “Born to Fly” Offers Anti-trafficking Curriculum
4. EVENTS: Ministry Development Experiences for Women in Missions
5. ARTICLES: Eyewitnesses to the Modern Age of Persecution
6. CALENDAR: June Events

EDITOR’S NOTE: Changes at Missions Catalyst

This edition of Missions Catalyst is the first we’ve sent through Mailchimp. This change in service providers will help us bring you emails that can be read more easily on a phone or mobile device. While we’re at it, we’ll make a few other design changes (and similar improvements to our website). If you have any problems, please let us know!

We’d also be glad to have your feedback or suggestions about content or design, and welcome your comment on any of the items below.

Source: New Tribes Mission and Jungle Light Studios

This recently released, free, 30-minute documentary tells the story of an American family’s journey into pioneering ministry with an isolated tribal group in Papua New Guinea. It includes scenes of their preparation, adjustment, evangelism, and church planting, leading to the completion and distribution of a translation of the New Testament in the local language.

Though many of today’s missionaries serve in places where you don’t need to borrow a dugout canoe and clear land for an airstrip, remote tribes like the Yembi still need to hear the gospel message. Could you use this well-crafted video with your church or group?

» Watch YembiYembi – Unto the Nations and other videos from New Tribes.

» You might also be interested in a video we reviewed previously. Never the Same portrays the Richardson family’s return to Papua New Guinea 50 years after the events described in “Peace Child” (Pioneers).

Source: Moody Collective

Go Tell It: How – and Why – to Report God’s Stories in Words, Photos, and Videos, by Jim Killam and Lincoln Brunner, Moody Publishers, 2014, 165 pages.

This slim volume is designed to equip readers and writers to tell compelling stories that allow others to see what God is doing in the world. The authors, journalists who now work for the mission agency ReachGlobal, make a case for excellence in reporting. They cover responsibly researching and interviewing, crafting your story, engaging your audience, setting a scene with details and dialogue, and honoring your sources, as well as nuts and bolts like choosing equipment, preparing for a video shoot, setting up sound and lighting, and more.

Go Tell It includes lots of helpful examples and insights from the authors’ own work, a variety of photographers and videographers, and writers like David Aikman (who wrote the foreword) and the gospel writer Luke (who, they point out, is a master journalist).

I found this book inspiring – a refresher course on things I learned in journalism classes decades ago. Although it also comes recommended for short-term and long-term missionaries who write newsletters or give presentations, it has more to offer those who create communication pieces on behalf of a ministry or group – from a volunteer making the mission trip video for your church to an intern in a mission agency’s communication department. A narrow audience, perhaps, but one that may find this book a gem.

» Get this book from Amazon (or elsewhere) for US$10.35 (US$8.09 for the Kindle edition). See the publisher’s website to learn more or read a generous excerpt.

» See also The Art of Storytelling: Easy Steps to Presenting an Unforgettable Story, by John Walsh.

Source: Born2Fly International

The Born2Fly Project to stop child trafficking recently released a Portuguese translation of its widely used trafficking-prevention curriculum – just in time for this summer’s World Cup in Brazil. Organizations in Brazil that work with teens and children are encouraged to download the free curriculum.

“Whenever there’s a large international sporting event – such as the World Cup, Super Bowl, or Olympics – it’s not only fans who show up, but also human traffickers,” says Diana Scimone, president of Born2Fly. “Our goal is to reach kids before the traffickers do.”

Born2Fly is a world leader in child-trafficking prevention curriculum, producing numerous materials for children and teens in English, Spanish, Russian, Thai, Hindi, Chinese, and other languages.

The six-session trafficking prevention program for children and teenagers includes a 70-page teaching program with age-appropriate material and activities for young children and teens, a companion book that tells an allegory about trafficking without words, and additional lesson material for Christian schools.

» Learn more or download the materials. Readers might also be interested in Diane Scimone’s book, Audacious: The Bold, Brave, Brazen Plan to Shut Down the Global Child Sex Industry.

Source: Women’s Development Track

Though many personal and professional Christian growth opportunities are open to women as well as men, many women are less able to participate, due to life circumstances and obligations. Others prefer a woman-to-woman mentoring environment.

The Women’s Development Track is an inter-agency effort to provide a spectrum of options to encourage and equip women in Christian ministry so that more women may gain confidence and vision to step into what God has set before them. One-week modules are designed for women with various gifts and in different stages of life and are facilitated by experienced women as mentors. Available modules focus on topics related to personal growth and discovery, ministry skills, and Bible and theology.

» Learn more or sign up.

Source: Christian History Institute

The Christian History Institute, in partnership with Voice of the Martyrs, has published a special edition of their quarterly magazine, Christian History, with accounts and analysis of the persecution of Christians in the modern era. Lots of compelling articles. It may especially be useful for educators. The free, full-color magazine is available online or in print.

» Learn more, subscribe, or read the articles.

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

June 1, Internet Evangelism Day (global). Annual.

June 2-4, Crisis Management Seminar (Warrenton, MO, USA). Training for those who lead mission organizations in responding to crisis situations. Followed by a Field Security Seminar for on-the-ground personnel in dangerous locations.

June 2 to August 24, Encountering the World of Islam (online). Twelve-week class will help you discover God’s heart for Muslims. Next class starts September 8.

June 5, Ukraine in Disarray – What’s What and What’s Next for Its Churches and Its Missionaries? (online). Webinar provided by Missio Nexus.

June 8, Global Day of Prayer (international).

June 10-20, Refresh! (Grenoble, France). Retreat for cross-cultural workers, provided by Heartstream Resources.

June 15, World Refugee Sunday (international). Churches praying for refugees and displaced people. Some also observing this event June 22.

June 16-20, International Conference on Computing and Mission (Warrenton, MO, USA). Annual event.

June 19-27, Summer Institute on Islam (South Hamilton, MA, USA). Training event facilitated by Pioneers.

June 20-22, American Society for Missiology (St. Paul, MN, USA). Annual meeting.

June 21-28, Sahara Challenge (St. Paul, MN, USA). Intensive training for ministry to Muslims, from Crescent Project.

June 25 to July 5, “Breathe” Conference (Switzerland). A ten-day retreat designed to refresh and renew cross-cultural workers. Provided by Catalyst International.

June 27-30, GOFest (Bulstrode, Bucks, UK). Free, annual mission festival for all ages.

June 28 to July 27, 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World (global). Join the millions of Christians around the world who have participated in this largest ongoing international prayer focus on the Muslim world.

June 29 to July 9, Refresh! (Thailand). Retreat for cross-cultural workers, provided by Heartstream Resources.

» View the complete calendar and/or submit an item.