Category: Resource Reviews

Source: Missions Catalyst Calendar

May 1, National Day of Prayer (USA). An annual event.

May 1, Global Day of Faith at Work (international). Sponsored by the Lausanne Workplace Network and World Evangelical Alliance, and meant to be annual.

May 1, A Discussion about Member Care’s Future: The Shared Foundations Initiative (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

May 1-3, Engaging Islam Conference (Edmonton, AB, Canada). Learn proven tools to engage with your Muslim friends and neighbors. Hosted by Newcomers to Canada Project.

May 1-4, The Christian Medical and Dental Association National Conference (St. Charles, MO, USA). An annual event; largest of its kind.

May 2, Maximize Your Summer Fundraising (online). Webinar from Tailored Fundraising.

May 5 to July 20, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online intensive). New online classes begin regularly.

May 8, BAM Global Summit (online). A Lausanne Movement gathering.

May 12-16, Engage Spiritual Retreat (Union Mills, NC, USA). Sponsored by Mesa Global and the Center for Intercultural Engagement.

May 13-16, The Mobilizer’s Retreat (near Asheville, NC, USA). Sponsored by Missio Nexus and Gospel Mobilization/World Gospel Mission.

May 14, Unlocking the Power of Holism in Ministry Partnerships: Empowering the Global South Church for Great Commission Engagement and Sustainability (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

May 18 to June 13, Equipping for Cross-Cultural Life and Ministry (Union Mills, NC, USA). Provided regularly by the Center for Intercultural Training, and followed by a language-learning acquisition course.

May 19-21, Support Raising Bootcamp (online). Provided by Via in various locations throughout the year.

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

May 20-22, Ministry Mental Health Summit (Toronto, ON, Canada).

May 21, Recruiting Gen Z: What Urbana’s Latest Research Says About the Attitudes and Behaviors of this Emerging Generation (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

May 26 to June 21, COMPASS (Palmer Lake, CO, USA). Language and culture acquisition provided by Missionary Training International.

May 29, Marketing, Biblically (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

May 30 to June 28, Chinese Worldviews Virtual Seminar (online). Provided annually by China Academic Consortium.

View the complete calendar, updated throughout the year. Your submissions are always welcome.

In this edition of Resource Reviews:

1. Invitation: Join a Scripture Memory Challenge
2. Roundup: Resources for Parents, Families, and Young Adults
3. Book: A Handbook for International Transition
4. Bible Study: God’s Heart for the Nations, 30th Anniversary Edition
5. Events: Missions Conferences and More Coming in April

Read or share the email edition.

Source: Navigators

Dawson Trotman said there is no other spiritual discipline that gives you more bang for your buck than Scripture memory.

You can do it on your own, but it’s more fun (and often more effective) with a bit of accountability.

For the last year, Navigators has been offering a seven-day Scripture memory challenge. Want to join them? It’s just one verse a month.“Our community has slowly grown as people have discovered how helpful this method is,” they write. “Now thousands of people are committing to memorizing one verse a month together.”

Sign up for text messages and join the April challenge.

Don’t have a U.S. number or rather not sign up for anything new? Here’s the verse for April:

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” – Hebrews 11:6

Sources: Various

Short training courses for parents

Via Families is releasing easy-to-use online courses designed to help busy parents raise children who love Jesus and love the nations. So far, Frameworks includes three, half-hour courses and they are free. More courses are on the way.

• Spiritual Development Ages 2-3
• Creating Meaningful Family Traditions
• The Power of Everyday Moments

Poke around the Via site for other great resources relating to raising globally minded kids.

Podcast on mobilizing families

Mission mobilizer Dave Jacobs and his son, Pastor Sam Jacob, recently shared a fun conversation about experiences that helped set the direction of Sam’s life direction and obstacles he’s faced, along with eight things you can do to mobilize families to the nations.

Two podcast episodes on engaging the next generation

On her Leading Tomorrow podcast, Jolene Erlacher recently interviewed Jayelle Dolan about Encouraging Spiritual Disciplines in the Next Generation. I found this episode inspiring and practical, especially given the distractions and fragmentation so many of us wrestle with now, no matter our age.

I encourage you to listen to an episode of the One Collective podcast, Innovate for Good. In The Decision Dilemma: Why Too Many Options Leave Us Stuck, Jenny Collins of Taylor University shares how young adults can break free from indecision, take meaningful steps forward, and trust that God will guide them along the way.

Two articles about training young adults

Ted Esler of Missio Nexus recently wrote about trends in missionary training. As Bible colleges close or close their missionary training programs, unaccredited residential training programs have helped fill the gap. He includes a short list and readers suggested a few more in the comments. Read The Jesus School.

Similarly, Andrea Kroeze, a youth ministry leader with Touch the World, wrote Why a Gap Year Might Be the Right Step for Your Young Adult.

Know someone who could benefit from the gap year program at Touch the World? Or maybe you’d like to learn from their model and set up something in your context. Go for it! As the Lord leads, that is.

Sources: Worlds Here and There

Worlds Here and There: A Handbook for International Transition, by Paul Snider and Donna Kushner, Lulu.com, 2024. 65 pages.

If you’ve moved to another country, you know it can feel like entering a new world. Your culture, climate, and community all change drastically. And in transition, it can feel like you’re stuck in between different worlds.

This activity book provides ways to identify and process the differences between those worlds and helps the reader develop self-understanding, connect with their team, family, or community, and take steps towards healthy transition.

The book includes six different activities, prompts for reflection, questions for discussion or sharing with others, and instructions for leading the main activity as a family or for a large group. It’s meant for missionaries, military personnel, and international workers and can be used with families, individuals, and teams.

Learn more or buy the book (US$15.99; paperback only). I have not seen the book myself, but it comes with good endorsements. Take a look. The authors serve TCKs/MKs through Cru. Check out their MK resource list.

You might also be interested in this collection of books on preparing and sending missionaries (William Carey Publishing) or this informative article: When Counseling Missionaries, Please Remember These Six Things (Jonathan Trotter, Remnant Counselor Collective).

Source: 16:15 Outfitters

Since its original release, God’s Heart for the Nations has helped churches, small groups, and individuals explore God’s purpose for the world through Scripture. Now, to mark three decades of impact, this refreshed edition includes enhanced content, updated insights, and a modern design to make it more accessible and engaging than ever.

In addition to the printed study, this edition also features a brand-new digital curriculum, providing:

• Introductory videos for each lesson
• An optional digital course with additional resources
• Interactive features to help individuals and groups apply biblical truths to their lives and ministries

Learn more or place an order at discounted, pre-release prices. The study and additional resources are due to be released March 31.

See also: Why Should We Care About Missions? (Global Missions Toolbox).

Source: Missions Catalyst Calendar

April 2, Digital Missionary Conference (online). Participate live online and through virtual reality. Provided by theChurch.digital.

April 4-6, Catalyze Salem (Salem, OR). A mobilization/training event from Frontiers.

April 6-10, Training in Formational Debriefing (Aurora, IN, USA). What if you could offer debriefing to missionaries in a way that furthered their spiritual formation?

April 7-8, Support Raising Bootcamp (Austin, TX, USA). Provided by Via, formerly Support Raising Solutions. More classes held around the world throughout the year.

April 7 to August 10, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online). New online classes begin regularly. A Spanish class begins April 21.

April 8-10, Sahara Challenge (Raleigh, NC, USA). Training to serve unreached Muslim people locally and globally. Provided by Crescent Project.

April 10-13, Haven Retreat (Buenos Aires, Argentina). For kingdom-minded women serving overseas from various nations; offered in different locations each year. Provided by Azmera.

April 14-18, Storytelling Training (online). Offered regularly by StoryRunners, a ministry of Cru.

April 15, Contend: Monthly Day of Prayer For Mission Mobilization (global). Coordinated by GMMI and held on the third Tuesday of each month.

April 22-25, COMIBAM (Panama City, Panama). Large Ibero-American mission congress from a network of the same name.

April 29 to May 1, Standards of Excellence introductory workshop (online). Provided regularly to help short-term mission leaders and mobilizers make their mission trips better.

View the complete calendar, updated throughout the year. Your submissions are always welcome.

1. Challenge: Eat Like a Refugee for Five Days
2. Data: The Number of Unreached People Groups Is…
3. Invitation: The Personal Retreat, One Day a Month
4. Books: How Kingdom Movements Are Multiplying
5. Events: Conferences, Classes, and More in March

Source: Jeannie Marie

Ready for a preposterous global challenge (that you can do right at home?)

Imagine experiencing what refugees eat every day—not just thinking about it, but actually living it. I’m inviting you to try something radical: eat like a refugee for five days.

Just oatmeal, rice, beans, and flour. That’s it. Whether you do this with your family, small group, or entire church, one thing’s certain: this experience will change you.

Why? Because when we step into someone else’s reality—even for a few days—it transforms our perspective forever.

Can’t travel overseas for a short-term trip right now? Perfect timing to bring this global experience home.

Get directions to do your own Eat Refugee Rations Global Challenge with your family, small group, or your whole church. A project for Lent? Jeannie shares lots of fun ideas for how you can make this work.

Source: Joshua Project

Mobilizers, prone to simplify things, like to weave statements like this into mission presentations: “According to Joshua Project, there are 7,190 unreached people groups.” But you don’t have to delve too deeply to see that the number of unreached people groups—or people groups in generals—is more complicated than it appears.

One layer of complication comes from this question: Do we count a group like the Bambara, who live in 12 West African countries, as 12 groups or one?

• Taking the first approach produces a list of 17,280 people groups, 7,190 of them considered unreached.
• The second approach leads to a list of 10,296 people groups, 4,422 considered unreached.

Joshua Project plans to start using the second set of numbers alongside the first. Learn more about the benefits and challenges of making this distinction. You might also want to read a short article from Joshua Project Executive Director Chris Clayman, People Groups: A Missional Priority or a Problematic Paradigm?

Interested in how many languages are spoken in the world today? The new edition of the Ethnologue, released February 21, lists a total of 7,159 living languages worldwide—a net decrease of five languages since the previous update a year before.