October 2013 – Missions Catalyst

Missions Catalyst 10.30.13 – Special Edition

This week’s special edition comes from a long-time friend of Missions Catalyst who now works with the Center for Mission Mobilization, home to a variety of mobilization ministries. Check ’em out at www.mobilization.org.

Missions Catalyst is a free, weekly electronic digest of mission news and resources designed to inspire and equip Christians worldwide for global ministry. Use it to fuel your prayers, find tips and opportunities, and stay in touch with how God is building his kingdom all over the world. Please forward it freely!

A Purpose Bigger than Ourselves: Thinking Big about Kids and the Kingdom

By Karen Hardin

We all know some pint-sized members of God’s family – kids. They have the simple faith God requires, eagerly crave involvement, and long to be committed to a cause. By God’s spirit, believing children are full members of Christ’s body. Yet we as adults often minimize the contribution they can make, putting kids on hold until they’re older or more grounded in their faith.

It’s time to think big. What if we teach children that God loves not only them, but also all the peoples of the world, and is at work making his name great among the nations? What if we affirm that our kids’ lives have meaning because God has uniquely designed them to partner with him in a work that impacts eternity? What if we give children opportunities to commit to the greatest purpose of all – advancing the kingdom of God?

Two sets of adults are uniquely positioned to turn these “what ifs” into reality – parents and children’s ministry leaders. Here are some resources to inspire and equip the boys and girls sitting around your dinner table or in your church class.

Free Resources from Weave

Weave, a new children and family ministry of the Center for Mission Mobilization, has created the following tools to help families to embrace both the person and purposes of Christ in their home discipleship.

Family Handouts

The Journey family handouts reflect the same themes as the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course. This set of 15, one-page lessons was crafted to help parents shape their family into World Christians.

Each handout includes a Bible passage, thought-provoking discussion points, suggested family activities, and prayer points. Free to download.

Web-based Activities

The Weave website provides monthly activities that connect families to the global story of God. Free subscription.

Content includes:

Hands-on activities that help families discover God’s global heart and purposes in Scripture and unpack how and why we do missions.
First-person stories of boys and girls in unreached cultures along with a cultural activity and prayer points.
Practical ways for families to live out their unique role in the Kingdom in everyday moments – bedtime, mealtime, in the car, on vacation, at school, etc.
Recipes that allow families to explore other cultures with their taste buds.
Short videos of families who are living out God’s global purpose in their own, unique way.
Journal articles and posts that offer wisdom, support, and encouragement.
Ways to join a community of families who are on the same journey.
Compilation of 200 recommended mission resources gathered from across the publishing and ministry world. (A few are highlighted below). Multiple search features enable you to sort by the age of your children and the type of resource you need. Each resource description includes a direct link for ordering.
Suggested service projects (use the category tab to sort by service projects).

eBook

If you register with the site, you will receive a free copy of Living Your Legacy, an eBook that helps families develop a vision statement that reflects their unique makeup and aligns with God’s purposes.

Three Ministries Focused on Kids

Kidz at Heart

Kids at Heart offers families a way to learn about other cultures and cultivate a heart for the world through their Kidz Kan program. Monthly content focuses on different countries like Uganda, India, and Latvia. Activities include crafts, games, recipes, stories, memory verses, and giving opportunities. US$22 annual subscription; discounts available for bulk orders.

Window International Network

Window International Network has developed Window Kids, a mission website that helps children explore countries and peoples in the 10/40 Window. Kids can visit the 10/40 Window Wardrobe to create their own character, learn geography, play online games, and explore cultures through photos, music, and recipes. This website also includes a monthly online magazine and offers opportunities for children to pray for their peers in unreached cultures. Free subscription.

Woman’s Missionary Union

The WorldCrafts division of WMU has four sets of felt finger puppets you can use introduce preschoolers to people from other cultures around the world: South America, West Africa, World Set A, and World Set B. Each five-puppet set is US$19.99.

Fall Observances

Churches worldwide participate in the following observances in November. Here are related activities and lessons for children and families.

Orphan Sunday

Orphan Sunday is November 3. My Life As An Orphan is a 45-minute simulation that helps children compare their daily life with that of boys and girls living in orphanages. Rotating through five stations, participants read short stories and look at photos from several different countries. The simulation culminates with scripture on God’s heart for orphans as well as prayer. This is a great large-group activity for parents and children to participate in together. A related activity for youth groups is a Pizza and Porridge Movie Night. Both lessons are free downloads.

International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church is November 10. Here are two lessons for children that explore forms of persecution around the world, address reasons why God allows persecution, and explain how God uses the suffering of his children to expand his kingdom. Both lessons introduce our God-given responsibility towards believers who suffer as well as towards those who persecute them. Persecution: What Can I Do? is a 45-minute lesson for children in grades 1-3. Persecution: What and Why? is a 60-minute lesson for grades 5-8. Both include hand-on activities, scripture, and prayer. Download each for US$5.

Karen Hardin serves with Weave, a children and family ministry of the Center for Mission Mobilization.

Missions Catalyst 10.23.13 – Resource Reviews

In This Issue: More infographics, IDOP, lots of webinars and events

Want more? Follow us on Twitter.

Marti Wade is a writer, speaker, and project manager for the Church Partnerships Team at Pioneers. As a mission mobilizer, she has also trained and sent out many short-term teams to do relationship-based research to serve among the world’s least-reached peoples.

Marti has managed and published Missions Catalyst since 2004 and is the author of Through Her Eyes, a book about the lives of women serving cross-culturally in the Muslim world. She and her husband Chris live in Oregon.

WEB SERVICES: More on Infographics

Source: Various

Last month we told you about Missiographics, the new “infographic” newsletter due out from Global Mapping International, and many of you showed interest. It’s now been launched. You can sign up any time. And it’s free!

You might also check out a recent infographic-inspired video from our friends at Frontiers, Let’s Change the Odds. Very creative! Could your ministry use something like that? Test your infographic skills or get ideas at visual.ly.

Live in the U.S.? Get a helpful visual presentation of the demographics where you live from InstaGIS. Useful for understanding your neighbors and your community. Perhaps it could help you rethink who your church is reaching or could reach, or what their needs might be? Thanks, Brigada, for the tip.

» Readers, we’d love to hear about your visual media creations or good finds. Comment on this topic below.

BOOK: Cat and Dog Prayer

Source: UnveilinGLORY

Cat and Dog Prayer: Rethinking Our Conversations with Our Master, by Bob Sjogren and Gerald Robison. Biblica Publishing, 2010. 115 pages.

It is said that dogs live to please their masters while cats think their masters exist to please them. Many of us fall into the same trap when we relate to God, and our prayers reflect it. If Christians, as the authors report, average three to seven minutes a day in prayer (much of it giving thanks for food), it looks like most of us are too busy for prayer or have lost interest.

“Our natural tendency is to be self-absorbed, especially in how we pray. Our prayers are more of a laundry list that revolves around ‘us’ and our needs and comfort. Because God rarely answers these kinds of prayers, many of us quickly give up on praying, believing that God doesn’t answer prayer. As a result, we end up checking in from time to time making sure he knows we’re there and reminding him of our needs – hoping he’ll do something about them.”

Cat and Dog Prayer, a sequel to Cat and Dog Theology, is designed to help the reader move you from self-centered prayers to God-focused prayers. It’s a quick read, hard hitting, and makes points you will be able to remember and put into practice.

» Learn more or purchase for US$14.99 from UnveilinGLORY (or elsewhere). Their website also includes information about related materials and workshops.

EVENT: International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

Source: Open Doors and IDOP

The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) is a global day of intercession for persecuted Christians worldwide. Its primary focus is the work of intercessory prayer on behalf of persecuted communities of the Christian faith.

This year IDOP is Sunday, November 3, November 10, or whenever you, your church, family, school, or small group can honor this important call to prayer.

» Learn more or get free resources from One With Them (Open Doors) or International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.

EVENTS: Find Your Tribe at Frontiers Connect

Source: Frontiers USA, via Shane Bennett

Have you ever thought of taking the the gospel of Christ to the Muslim world? Frontiers Connect is a two-day gathering that will allow you to explore those thoughts as you:

– Meet some who have lived in the Muslim world for the sake of the gospel.

– Discover what the news won’t tell you about God’s work in the Muslim world.

– Discover what the Bible says about Muslims.

– See what you could do for the sake of the Kingdom among Muslims.

You may remember Shane asked us for input on how Frontiers could design a great event to enlist young people (and others) in the cause of the unengaged? Frontiers Connect is the result.

Locations:

October 25-26, 2013 (Fairfax, VA, USA)

November 8-9, 2013 (Easton, MA, USA)

January 24-25, 2014 (Birmingham, AL, USA)

February 7-8, 2014 (Kansas City, KS, USA)

March 14-15, 2014 (Portland, OR, USA)

April 11-12, 2014 (Houston, TX, USA)

April 25-26, 2014 (Chicago, IL, USA)

May 9-10, 2014 (Fort Collins, CO, USA)

May 30-31, 2014 (Central Coast, CA, USA)

» Register for US$20 per person.

» Editor’s note: Frontiers not your tribe after all? Scope out agencies and opportunities through the services of Mission Next.

EVENTS: Webinars

Source: Missions Catalyst Calendar

Three of the ministries we try to keep an eye on are offering webinars in the next two months – a great low-cost way to get a taste of these topics without leaving home!

From Delta Ministries:

November 6, 13 – Should Your Youth Group Be Doing Mission Trips? (two parts)

December 4 – Getting the Most Out of The Next Mile Curriculum

From Missio Nexus:

October 31 – Counterproductive Missions

November 7 – Better Intercultural Communication in Any Ministry

November 14 – Doing Church and Mission in Contexts of Suffering, Persecution and Martyrdom

December 5 – Church Planting as a Family – Possibilities and Problems

December 12 – Nurturing an Organizational Culture with a Developmental Bias

From Fifteen:Sixteen:

November 7 – Blazing a Trail through the Missions Strategy Maze (free, and featuring Ellen Livingood of Catalyst Services).

EVENTS: Conferences and More

Source: Missions Catalyst Calendar

Yes, more events! Something else you’d like to see listed? We’re glad to help you spread the word. No money need change hands either. Just help us see it’s something that would interest and serve our readers.

October 31 to November 2 – Oasis Conference (Dallas, TX, USA). For Christians reaching out to Muslims in North America; provided by Crescent Project.

October 31 to November 3 – GO Equipped TENTmaking course (Gothenburg, Sweden). Provided by Global Opportunities.

November 7-9 – Global Missions Health Conference (Louisville, KY, USA).

November 7-9 – Simply Jesus Gathering (Centennial, CO, USA). For anyone interested in (re)discovering the ways of Jesus.

November 9 – Tulsa Mission Movement Conference (Tulsa, OK). Take a one-day, deep dive into the biblical basis for mission, the history of mission, the state of the world, and the world Christian lifestyle; Perspectives Course appetizer or refresher.

November 12-14 – Church Partner Forum (Orlando, FL, USA). A Pioneers event for sending and supporting churches

November 14-15 – Disciple Making Training (Plano, TX, USA). Sponsored by ActBeyond (formerly Mission to Unreached Peoples).

November 28 to December 1 – GO Equipped TENTmaking course (Stuttgart, Germany). Provided by Global Opportunities.

December 9-11 – Mobile Ministry Consultation (Orlando, FL, USA). On how to reach the next generation for Christ via mobile device strategies.

December 27-30 – Cross Conference (Louisville, KY, USA). A new student missions conference, for the global glory of Jesus Christ.

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

Missions Catalyst 10.16.13 – World News Briefs

In This Issue: A human chain in Pakistan

About Us

Pat Noble has been the “news sleuth” for Missions Catalyst since 2004. In addition to churning out the news, she is working to create a SWARM (Serving World A Regional Mobilizers) in Northern New York using the NorthernChristian.org website. You can connect with her at www.whatsoeverthings.com.

PAKISTAN: Human Chain Formed to Protect Church

Source: The Christian Post, October 8, 2013

Between 200-300 Pakistani Muslims and Christians united and gathered to make a human chain around a church in Lahore, Pakistan’s second largest city on Sunday [October 6].

Just two weeks after a church bombing killed more than 100 people in Peshawar, the human chain, organized by the citizen group “Pakistan for All,” is part of the movement’s goal to raise awareness about minority rights and concerns.

“Well the terrorists showed us what they do on Sundays. Here we are showing them what we do on Sundays. We unite,” Pakistan for All organizer Mohammad Jibran Nasir told The Express Tribune.

Mufti Mohammed Farooq opened the event by reading several passages from the Quran that called for tolerance of other beliefs, while Father Nasir Gulfam, who had just preached the church’s Sunday service, stood by his side before they took hold of each other’s hands, modeling their message.

» Read full story.

» Readers might be interested in another story from The Christian Post, this one from the U.S.: Muslim-Born Man Testifies, ‘I’ve Never Seen This Type of Love Before’ After Church Unites to Save His Local Business.